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Mashuq Ally chairs the Channel Panel in Birmingham that decides if someone needs to be referred to a mentor like Mr Qadir. Mr Ally is responsible for overseeing all Channel cases in the Birmingham area. Once a lecturer in Islamic studies, he is now an assistant director of Birmingham City Council and is in charge of equality and community cohesion.

Last year a government inquiry found evidence of what it defines as non-violent extremism in up to 16 state schools in Birmingham. In total about 5,000 pupils were in schools affected by the Trojan Horse affair.

The inquiry was led by Peter Clarke a former head of counter-terrorism assisted by a team of senior civil servants and experts. Clarke reported that the Islamist “ideology” his inquiry found was “an intolerant and politicised form of extreme social conservatism that claims to represent, and ultimately seeks to control, all Muslims”.

Its manifestations in these Birmingham schools included: “anti-Western rhetoric, particularly anti-US and anti-Jewish; segregationism: dividing the world into ‘us and them’, with ‘them’ to include all non-Muslims and any other Muslims who disagree; perception of a worldwide conspiracy against Muslims; attempts to impose its views and practices upon others; intolerance of difference, whether the secular, other religions or other Muslims” and disdain among teachers for the armed forces.

Both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, Theresa May, have described what Clarke found as examples of (non-violent) extremism. Indeed, the government’s recently published counter-extremism strategy said that Clarke had “described extremists gaining positions on governing bodies and joining the staff . . . extremist speakers making presentations to pupils and bullying and intimidation of staff who refused to support extremist views”.

However, when I asked Mr Ally if he regarded what Clarke had found as evidence of extremism he replied: “No I don’t, because I think that Trojan Horse was about essentially conservative Muslims using state schools or local government schools to promote their particular version of Islam, which wasn’t extremist, and also that was related to poor governance and management of those schools.”

Although Mr Ally said that this “conservative interpretation of Islam” was not one he would subscribe to, he nonetheless questioned whether Clarke had actually found any examples of anti-Semitism.

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Jack Shephard
December 22nd, 2015
2:12 AM
Well done, Mr Ware, for nailing the anti-Semites for what they are. Let them try and wriggle out of it but they said what they said. Mr Hurlow, what is wrong with you? A racist insult, especially one directed at you personally, is not alright, no matter how many times other people have been insulted in a comparable way.

Jonathan Hurlow
December 4th, 2015
7:12 AM
Dear John Ware As Birmingham based atheist Jew I would like to respond with the words of Jewish Canadian singer Geoff Berner `thank you, but no thank you`. Jews are a reducing minority in Brum and I increasingly share the worry that it is too acceptable to be callous about the right to life of Jews in the Middle East as a consequence of the suffering of Palestinians. However on this occasion I think your focus on Waqar Ahmed and Mashuq Ally is at the least unhelpful and at the most misleading. I listened to your radio programme and I am left struggling to understand your concern about Dr Mashuq Ally`s willingness to scrutinise so called trojan horse allegations whilst this is currently taking place in a legal forum. I went to a predominantly white christian Birmingham secondary school and was called a jew boy there too, what does that mean?Racist slurs in Birmingham are something that I commonly heard, this was just one of many. I do not fully understand Waqar Ahmeds potentially clumsy comment about IS, but it hardly seems unforgivable. He is strongly advocating a two state solution and this kind of voice is needed. In your wish to highlight problematic callousness to Jews including those in Birmingham and the Middle East I would kindly ask you to show greater judgement in your questioning, thank you, but on this occassion, no thank you.

Empress Trudy
December 2nd, 2015
2:12 PM
The French just discovered that their policy of throwing Jews on the fire to appease maniacs doesn't work any more. With a far smaller Jewish population in the UK, the Brits will soon run out of Jews to sacrifice and then, of course, the maniacs will come for them too. Neither France nor Britain has a plan B to address this.

Waqar Ahmed
November 28th, 2015
1:11 PM
Dear Mr Ware, Thank you for your article and selective quoting of my posts. I am of course someone as you have said not afraid of standing my ground despite the constant attacks and indirect death threats that I receive. People are able to draw their own conclusions from what they read and I am happy to go by what I have said and provide clarity - no doubt there will be many that will as a result of your article question my suitability for the work I have done for almost 10 years now in an official capacity and 15 years as a normal citizen. For the record I am a believer and supporter of the two-state solution, and Israel's right to exist, I have visited Israel and been hosted by both Palestinians and Israelis and warmly received by both. The Israeli people and Rabbis I met were also staunch supporters of peace in the region and also their government whilst at the same time recognising that religious illiteracy was a problem for both sides. The Israeli people I met themselves told me not to take any experience I may have at Ben Gurion Airport as reflective of the people Israel and that some actions the State may take are at times-extremely disproportionate. Indeed I did not blame the fact that I had an experience (and I will not mention it here or describe it for the reason of increasing a grievance culture that you state) but will mention that Jewish people including a Rabbi unknown to me offered me encouraging words of support and solidarity, even though I did not expect them to as it was not their doing, apologise for the actions of the security staff. But I mention them because they gave me hope of a future for a solution where Israelis can live together with Palestinians side by side in peace and security - a fundamental basic human right for both sides. Maybe you are right to suggest it was wrong of me to link the action/inaction of the Netanyahu led Government to Daesh, it was not suggested in its entirety to be reflective of Israel as you suggest but merely to speak out against an act of injustice where religious illiteracy is used to justify/condone an act of injustice against a people in a similar way as Daesh do. Ironically it was supposed to have the effect of separating state action/inaction from the people. (Maybe it is understood more in my head than those that may read it, a criticism I am happy to accept). What I refuse to accept however is that I am somewhat anti-Israel or someone who refuses to acknowledge conspiracy theories are a major factor. Of course Israel is not the same as Isis and extremely wrong to suggest so - but we have people who use religion to carry out acts of violence and sometimes these are ignored by the state which leads to intentionally or unintentionally a perception of condoning such actions. Sir, I no doubt will as a result of your article be questioned and abused and misunderstood by some, I am used to it and I will deal with it in my own way, which is to just get on with the job of ensuring our communities are safe not just here but also across the World including Israel and Palestine. My job of course is difficult as it is and only just gets harder by such reports, accusations questions of loyalty etc - but in the true Brit spirit I will just get on with the job at hand. Respectfully, Waqar Ahmed

Barbara King
November 27th, 2015
8:11 AM
Exactly agree with Peter Buckley. I think the Muslims referred to in this article who are put in charge of de-radicalisation are in fact only objecting to the "tactical error" committed by ISIS in exposing the religion for what it actually is. They are not fundamentally opposed to it per se. The supposed blind spot they have about the Palestinian conflict is a huge red flag. The government is being criminally naive. It has no cultural awareness of the environment in which Islam is flourishing, and of course knows nothing about Islam except for what has been fed to them by parties with a vested interest.

Peter Buckley
November 26th, 2015
7:11 PM
"Radicalization" is a word invented by The West to try to explain away the simple change that occurs within an individual muslim when he/she adopts "Medinan Islam" as opposed to "Meccan Islam". This is a big "tactical" error on the part of said Muslim, since it alerts the non-muslims about the true nature of the religion. More importantly, the word suggests that "something" has "radicalized" the individual in the first place. May I remind Guardian readers once more that many muslims, particularly Jihadists are, by their nature, "already radicalized", and that they need no pretext for violent behaviour. In the words of one such British jihadist: "When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network, a series of semi-autonomous British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology, I remember how WE USED TO LAUGH IN CELEBRATION whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was WESTERN FOREIGN POLICY. By blaming the government for our actions, those who pushed the 'Blair's bombs' line DID OUR PROPAGANDA WORK FOR US. More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: ISLAMIC THEOLOGY." http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/jul/01/comment.religion1 So there you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. The only thing that "radicalized" Hasan Butt and his jihadist friends was Islam. This idea that muslims are being "radicalized" into violent behaviour also collapses when you look at the routine daily mis-treatment of non-muslims in muslim countries. What is "radicalizing" so many muslims there? Is it the "mere presence" of non-muslims....?

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