20 October 2016

My issues with the Muslim Council of Britain’s alternative to the Prevent strategy

Critics of the Government’s counter-terrorism Prevent strategy often claim that it disproportionately targets and focuses on Muslims, despite the fact that it actually works on countering the far-right too.

So what does the Muslim Council of Britain decide to do? It has decided to set up its own programme to target, er, Muslims.

In a direct challenge to the government’s ‘controversial’ Prevent scheme, the MCB plans to start the Muslim-run counter-radicalisation scheme next year.

The MCB said in a statement: "In reflecting the wishes of a cross-section of British Muslim society, our affiliates have directed the MCB to explore a grassroots-led response to the challenge of terrorism. Real challenges exists, as we see with Muslim families broken up as a number of children, mothers and fathers leave to travel to Syria."

Cross-section of British Muslim society? I’m guessing this probably won’t include Ahmadi Muslims who aren’t even deemed Muslims by the MCB.

Until this April, the MCB was affiliated with the Stockwell Green Mosque (also known as the Aalami Majlise Tahaffuze Khatme Nubuwwat), in which ‘Kill Ahmadis’ pamphlets were found. Khatm-e Nubuwwat is an organisation, founded in Pakistan, specifically to target and persecute Ahmadi Muslims. [Sedaa.org] Read more