Another week, another expensive official report this time by Dame Louise Casey.
What were the earth-shattering conclusions that casual readers could draw from this report?
Well, the main ones that people have spoken to me about are that firstly apparently British Muslim communities are segregated – Wow! But hang on we knew that from the many previous reports. Mmm, not so earth-shattering as we initially thought.
Secondly, Muslim men are misogynists. Of course, that has to be true because it is an official document. Hold on let’s just take a second to think about it. I have thought and yes, it is true. Yes, it’s true that I know one Muslim bloke that is a misogynist – so you see it is true. We all are.
Thirdly pushing British values is going to stop radicalisation and terrorism. Mmm really? Teaching Schools kids or psychotic young people full of rage about the value of democracy and respect for law and order is going to stop people from carrying out terrorist acts. I don’t think so.
These reports are facile, they stigmatise whole communities. They are counter-productive. They undermine British Muslim’s sense of Britishness.
They play into the hands of radical recruiters. I can imagine recruiters saying to vulnerable young people – “You see… you call yourself British – they think you are just a problem. You’re not British”.
Instead of Politicians constantly blaming British Muslims for not doing enough to counter terrorism (by the way when was the last time any of us parents ever had any CIA style military intelligence training?), they should be saying we are all in it together. An explosion doesn’t discriminate. It kills or injures everyone near it Muslim or otherwise. Politicians should be saying that Muslims are a valued part of our society; they have fought and died side by side with British Soldiers in the British Army during both World Wars. We have contributed to the success of this nation.
If some people live in segregated communities shall we look at possible reasons? In the first wave of immigration from the Indian subcontinent, our parents came here to do the low paid work that White Brits wouldn’t do. They key word being low paid.
When you are low paid, you don’t have much of a choice as to where you live. You live according to your means. All the areas that have now become segregated were all occupied by indigenous people. Where did they all go? They moved out. They took the decision to segregate themselves. As more of them moved out more migrants moved in.
Why did they move to these areas? Well, because birds of a feather flock together. They moved near to people from their towns or villages from back home because they felt safer in those areas.
I remember in the early nineties when upon viewing a house for sale in Burnley that the neighbours came out and held an impromptu protest and told us that “You’re not moving in here”. The house-owner, shortly after we viewed the house, took it off the market.
The reasons for this so-called segregation are complex and need to be explored more thoroughly.
It’s getting to the point where ordinary, hard-working, nice, decent British Muslims (99.9%) are saying “Come on now cut us some slack”.
We are not to blame for the actions of a tiny number of people. They don’t do anything in our name. We don’t report radicalisation because we don’t see it. The radicals don’t exactly come driving around our neighbourhoods with a van and loud hailer. They don’t go out to Mosques because they are banned and because they know that Mosques have been infiltrated by informants – many of whom will be Muslim by the way. They are outside of the mainstream. I bet they don’t even live in one of the segregated Muslim communities.
Today most of us Brits are busy trying to keep a roof over our heads after the crash of 2008, put food on the table, look after our elderly parents, worrying about the education of our kids.
Do people really think that any parent wants to lose their kids to radicalism?
The burning question is, is this review going to help or hinder? I fear it might do the latter.
