British Muslims attack "draconian" proposals

LONDON

A London based Muslim Human Rights Organisation has attacked the government’s proposal to tackle terrorism saying that they will “tighten the stranglehold on Britain’s Muslims”.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) responded to the government’s ‘Tackling Extremism in the UK,” which was published in the wake of the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby and sought to review anti-terrorism strategy.  The human rights organisation said that the proposals would, “chip away at freedoms already eroded by over a decade of draconian anti-terrorism legislation and policy”. 

They said, “Plans to expand the definition of extremism to capture yet more beliefs and behaviours that are not in themselves illegal or indicators of extremist inclination amount to a new attack on "thought crime"

In a scatching critique of the government’s report IHRC said that the report failed to mention the “injustices perpetrated by Western nations” towards Muslims and that these actions continued to inspire reprisals. 

Massoud Shadjareh, chair of IHRC said, “Scapegoating the whole community for the actions of a tiny minority is likely to be counter-productive and lead to more social problems further down the line.”

The Government’s report was published in December last year and was as a result of a taskforce set up after the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby.  The commission said, “Widening the definition will allow the authorities to prosecute more behaviours that do not conform to what they deem to be "acceptable.”

The government report proposed having state approved imams and chaplains in universities and prisons, but IHRC said this was “clearly intended to fashion a government-friendly version of Islam.”

There are nearly three million Muslims living in the UK.  Figures released in December last year showed a dramatic increase in anti-Muslim attacks since the murder of Lee Rigby. 

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