British Government to Move into “Private Space” of UK Muslims

News:

Britain’s top Muslim policeman has called for children as young as five to be monitored for signs of “Islamist extremism.” In an interview with The Guardian, Scotland Yard Commander Mak Chishty said there was now a need for “a move into the private space” of Muslims to spot views that could show the beginning of radicalisation far earlier than previously assumed.

Chishty, head of community engagement for the Metropolitan police in London, said ISIS propaganda is so powerful he had to be vigilant about his own children. He said children aged five had voiced opposition to marking Christmas, branding it as “haram.” He also warned that there was no end in sight to the parade of British Muslims, some 700 so far, being lured from their bedrooms to Syria by Islamic State.

He said this could be shown by subtle changes in behaviour, such as shunning certain shops, citing the example of Marks & Spencer, which could be because the store is sometimes mistakenly perceived to be Jewish-owned. Chishty said friends and family of youngsters should be intervening much earlier, watching out for subtle, unexplained changes, which could also include sudden negative attitudes towards alcohol, social occasions and western clothing.

Comment:

This statement by Mr Chishty is merely the latest in a series of comments and actions by officials and local councils to tackle so-called extremism in the Muslim community. This invasion and investigation of Muslims’ thinking is clearly based upon the belief that the more Islamic a person is, the more of a potential threat they pose. ‘Deradicalisation’ has therefore come to mean making Muslims less Islamic and more ‘westernised’ or secular, using coercive means.

This exposes the hypocrisy of the secular liberal value of freedom, such that when Muslims wish to practice their basic beliefs, and now even to celebrate their own religious holidays rather than those of others’ faiths, are deemed a violent threat to society.

Comments such as these will only support the implementation of policies such as the CTS Bill and further injunctions against Muslims, restricting their actions in public and private.

This is to be an expected trial of those who uphold Allah’s (swt) words as truth as He (swt) says in Surah Al Ankabout verses 2-3:

﴿أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ * وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ﴾

“Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: "We believe," and will not be tested? And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make known the truth of those who are true, and will certainly make known the falsehood of those who are liars.”

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Aisha Hasan