Since Labour came to power, it has become clear that the battle against extremism has taken a back seat to political expediency. Labour has always had a counter-extremism problem, and after two decades of work I have done in this area which started post 7/7 under the Blair government, Labour continues to flounder in challenging Islamism in Britain.
This Government, it seems, is being straight-jacketed by Islamist loudmouths who have hijacked the public discourse space on who represents Muslims in the UK. These political extremists who have hijacked Islam continue to smear and threaten those within Muslim communities who dare to challenge their poisonous and divisive discourse. In the meantime, instead of supporting the Muslim voices who challenge Islamist organisations and their penumbra of supporters, this Government has opened its doors to these toxic groups in the mistaken belief that they are needed to placate Labour’s electoral base.
