By Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
There have recently been signs of an encouraging shift in attitudes towards Islamism within sections of the British government. Though there are still plenty of insiders claiming that "non-violent" Islamists are our best defence against the violence that their ideology inspires in others, at least the error of this has been recognised by some.
But the shift is by no means complete, as the recent controversy surrounding the rift between the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, has shown. The MCB has long been a trusted partner of the government on the issue of extremism, presenting itself as an "umbrella organisation" that represents the majority of Muslims in Britain. Anyone who cares to look at the histories of some of the people making this bold claim, however, can see that what the MCB really represents (and always has) is the ideology of the prototypical Islamist movements, Jamaat e-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood. All Ms Blears has done is to notice this. Read more ...
There have recently been signs of an encouraging shift in attitudes towards Islamism within sections of the British government. Though there are still plenty of insiders claiming that "non-violent" Islamists are our best defence against the violence that their ideology inspires in others, at least the error of this has been recognised by some.
But the shift is by no means complete, as the recent controversy surrounding the rift between the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, has shown. The MCB has long been a trusted partner of the government on the issue of extremism, presenting itself as an "umbrella organisation" that represents the majority of Muslims in Britain. Anyone who cares to look at the histories of some of the people making this bold claim, however, can see that what the MCB really represents (and always has) is the ideology of the prototypical Islamist movements, Jamaat e-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood. All Ms Blears has done is to notice this. Read more ...
Source: Standpoint
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