David Cameron used Centre for Social Cohesion research to give the Prime Minister a pretty effective going over at PMQs today on the government's confused and ineffective policies on countering Islamic extremism.
The basis for Cameron's line of questioning was the CSC's recent report into Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). HT are a revolutionary party devoted to creating an Islamic caliphate which, once established, would be prepared to commit the mass murder of civilians. The report exposed that the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation (ISF), a charity run by HT members that manages two primary schools and a nursery in London, has received over £113,000 in government grants.
When confronted with the facts, Gordon Brown seemed suitably embarrassed; as anyone would be upon discovering that their government was funding the ideology it was meant to be combatting. However what was also interesting about today's PMQs was that it brought the 'to ban or not to ban' issue front and centre once again. Cameron and Chris Grayling have both publicly promised to ban HT - then again, so did Tony Blair, with zero success. Brown claimed today that 'in the case of Hizb ut-Tahrir, we have investigated and looked at it. It is not a proscribed organisation and if the right hon. Gentleman has new evidence that should make us proscribe it, we shall look at it again.'
At present, any attempt to ban HT is likely to be impractical. While they certainly provide ideological legitimacy for acts of terrorism, there is no evidence the group has direct links to terrorism. HT are banned in other nations - in Germany, for example, the group is banned for their antisemitism. This is a possible avenue to explore, although current UK legislation does not allow for such restrictions, and the Public Order Act of 1986 already protects Jewish communities from racial hatred laws. It is possible that, if elected, Cameron may have to rethink his previous statements on proscription. Unless he changes the law, current legislation is simply not up to the task.
The end point the Conservatives should be aiming for is one where HT are treated with the same level of contempt as the BNP. They come from different places on the ideological spectrum, but are both dangerous and radical groups. Just as politicians and local councillors would often refuse to share a platform with the BNP, so it should be with HT and their various front groups. In order to help achieve this, the Conservatives need to communicate how dangerous HT ideology is to the extent that there is a genuine level of civic intolerance towards them - not just in Westminster, or in Muslim communities, but all over the country.
In their consistent appeasing of Islamists over the past few years, Labour has abjectly failed to accept that extremists are extremists, regardless of the colour of skin. If the Conservatives can rectify this, then part of the battle is won already.
