An ideology that at its furthest end seeks to destroy nation states to invent its own barbaric realm. That – in the words of the prime minister, David Cameron – is what defines Islamist extremism.UK parents to get power to cancel children’s passports over Isis fears. Defeating extremism is the “struggle of our generation”, Cameron said on Monday, as he outlined four pillars of a five-year strategy in tackling the “subversive” doctrine. Cameron trumpeted Britain’s liberal values as the “strongest weapon” for combating Islamist extremism but also said more must be done to deglamorise the cause, especially Islamic State. The prime minister said the government would work with people who understand what life is like under Isis to explain to young and vulnerable people the brutal reality of its ideology.Syrian, Iraqi and Kurdish communities will be given platforms from which to speak out against the carnage Isis is conducting in their countries, he said.Cameron said specific deradicalisation programmes would be set up – although he did not specify how this would differ from Channel, the government’s deradicalisation project under its Prevent strategy.Cameron has argued that the “grievances justification” for terrorism needs to be rejected and that hardships, poverty and war are not the causes of the international phenomenon of terrorism today. Although Cameron’s entire strategy has not yet been published, it includes some rather stringent measures, such as allowing parents to confiscate their children’s passports, requiring youths to receive their parents’ permission to travel abroad and banning hate speech and religious extremist dialogue. This proposed ban has already received severe criticism for impinging upon freedom of speech because western societies nowadays overwhelmingly support absolute freedom of speech and expression, particularly after the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in France earlier this year. The UK is a society that values its freedoms. Cameron may have a hard time convincing the public of the necessity of his anti-terrorism strategy, let alone passing legislation to that effect. Of course, it is not a coincidence that this strategy has come out as the PM is rallying support in parliament for anti-IS bombing in Syria, while the UK has only conducted airstrikes in Iraq so far.In the modern world, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. In his keynote address, Cameron discounted all justifications and explanations for the extremist ideology, but perhaps these grievances are not justifications but a call to war for the terror groups. It is a positive step that Cameron has proposed working towards the integration of the isolated factions of UK’s society and boosting female employment. The most effective way to stem radicalisation would be to promote a counter-ideology that propagates peace, tolerance and inclusion amongst ethnically and religiously diverse peoples, not just in the UK but globally.
pk.shafaqna.com
