IPPR article lambasts Policy Exchange's 'McCarthyism'

Wednesday, 08 April 2009 09:56

Andy Hull and Ian Kearns of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reflect on the shortcomings of the recommendations made in Policy Exchange’s report, ‘Choosing our friends wisely’.

The PX report, which suggests that the government has been less than judicious in its engagement policies with Muslims to the point of legitimating individuals and groups that are themselves part of the problem of tackling violent extremism, makes a plea for the government to adopt ‘due diligence’ in matters of engagement.

Hull and Kearns observe that:

‘Choosing our friends wisely, co-authored by former extremist Shiraz Maher, provides a list of nine sorts of people the ‘government must not engage’. If government actually followed this advice, they would find themselves unable to engage, among others, the United States, Israel or the Catholic Church.

‘The argument runs that the linkage between non-violent and violent extremism is underplayed: that non-violent Islamism is a gateway drug – the marijuana to jihadism’s cocaine. This claim is unproven. Very few, if any, of the 200 individuals convicted of terrorism offences in the UK since 9/11, for instance, have been members of Maher’s erstwhile Islamist outfit, Hizb-ut Tahrir. Takfiri terrorists view such organisations with derision. The conflation of the likes of Hizb-ut Tahrir with Al Qaeda – Policy Exchange calls them ‘cousins’ – is Bush’s ‘you’re either with us or against us’ all over again.

‘When the Home Secretary lambasts as extremists ‘the groups that fail to speak out and condemn violence when any reasonable person would be outraged’ one can’t help but worry that the Thought Police have arrived and a modern McCarthyism is just around the corner. We need government for all the people, not just those with whom we agree. Choosing our friends wisely must not mean we talk only to our friends.’

No policies on building an inclusive society can succeed when sections of it are intimidated or cowered into silence and submission fearful that speaking out in criticism will land them beyond the pale. If the government is sincere in its attempts to engage Muslims and to work together to defeat violent extremism it must learn to be receptive to and recognise the value of having critical friends.

Hull and Kearns write that 'What allows extremist views to gain traction in some segments of our society is not the fact that we’re too quiet in defence of our values but rather that we’re too loud in espousing them while being too timid in their application.'

Pointing out policy discrepancies such as these is exactly why having critical friends is so important.

Comments

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SP	\|2009-04-08 12:07:17

A very good article indeed. Some excellent points raised, hope this stimulates further responses to nonsensical suggestions from PX and other lobby groups.

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