By IRNA,
London : The British government Tuesday announced new guidance to help and support local authorities, schools, community groups and the police to tackle violent extremism and prevent radicalization in communities.
“The national security challenges we face demand fresh approaches. A key element of our strategy aims to stop people getting involved in extremist violence,” Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said.
“Only by working together and building on our shared values can we prevent terrorism in the first place,” Smith said at the launch, announcing also that the government was more than doubling funding to Pnds 24.5 million (Dlrs 48 m) to support more projects.
As part of the government counter-terrorism strategy, the new initiative controversially contains the development of a “deradicalisation” program to tackle what it sees as Muslims being drawn into extremism.
The Home Office insisted that the strategy, which refuses to accept political causes of terrorism, was needed to help bring back those who had “already crossed the line” in terms of ideology and outlook, but not yet committed any clear criminal offense.
Speaking at the launch, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls said that if Britain was to succeed in tackling the threat from violent extremism in the long term, it is “vital that we look to support the next generation of children and young people.” “Extremists of every persuasion tend to paint the world as black and white, accentuating division and difference, and exploiting fears based on ignorance or prejudice,” Balls said.
He said that education and positive activities for young people can be a “powerful weapon” to tackle this as well as giving them the opportunity to learn about different cultures and faiths, and – crucially – to “gain an understanding of the values we share,” The new guidance to local authorities sets out a range of factors, based on case histories of those involved in past terrorist attacks, that may leave a person more susceptible to exploitation by violent extremists.
But grievances about government policies, particularly foreign policy, discrimination or racism, and even counterterrorism measures themselves, are largely discounted as contributing factors.
The document also publicly confirms for the first time an attempt to map the country by the religious denominational background of the population, to better understand where radicalization is taking place.
The “prevent strategy” acknowledges that other extremists such as ight wing groups pose a threat, but says the most dangerous are those who distort Islam to attempt to justify murder.
A key element of the setting up of new Muslim organizations, including especially for women and youths, while putting in place to remove funding or other support for other groups deemed to be inappropriate.