During a recent spate of terrorist-related arrests in Birmingham, the senior police officer in charge of the investigation held a press conference. Not an unusual occurrence of course, except that this appeared more designed to give reassurance to the local Muslim population than to provide any information about the alleged plot. Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw went out of his way to ensure his force’s operations did not damage relations with the city’s sizeable Muslim community.“ We have not waited for our communities to come and speak to us, we have actively sought them out. It is critical we involve them in what is going on, and they understand the reasons for what we are doing and are able to come forward to express their concerns to us.”
This is the new face and voice of the public sector dealing with counter-terrorism. Police, local authorities, community workers, politicians: all are engaged in a massive “hearts and minds” effort to try to avert another July 7 outrage, while at the same time seeking the support of ordinary Muslims.
The aim is to bear down on radicals without stigmatising the whole Muslim community. It is a hard, but necessary, task. After July 7, the received wisdom held that talking to the self-styled leaders of the Muslim community, like the Muslim Council of Britain, was the way to proceed. This was the sort of ‘top-down’ approach that is inevitably proposed by central government, when what was needed was a ‘bottom-up’ policy. Committees, roadshows, seminars were duly established and, predictably, got nowhere. There was lots of talk and little action. Judging by the number of alleged plots that were being targeted by the intelligence agencies, the radicalisation of young Muslim men seemed to be, if anything, accelerating.
Recently, the government suddenly changed tack. Out went any reliance on purportedly representative bodies to tackle the problem. Ruth Kelly, the Communities and Local Government Secretary – whose department took over this responsibility from the Home Office in 2005 – announced a new strategy based around a multi-million pound fund to help councils tackle home-grown extremism. This year, the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund will distribute £6m to 70 local authorities deemed potential extremist hot spots. The plan places local bodies – including schools, police forces and religious leaders such as imams – at the centre of plans to tackle extremists.
The initiative is running alongside a tough new approach from police and prosecutors who have been told to take a far harsher line with so-called preachers of hate. Shortly further ideas to improve community cohesion will be published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
“It is only by refocusing our approach to the local level and working through local authorities that we will build communities where extremism is resolutely isolated and where all doors are shut to those who seek division and violence,” Kelly says. Among the councils being targeted are the cities of Birmingham and Leeds, and the London boroughs of Newham and Hounslow. Other authorities receiving funds include those that have experienced broader community cohesion problems, such as Bradford and Burnley, where there were race riots in 2001 and the BNP has a foothold at local elections. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, which faces challenges from the far-Right and radical Muslims, is also set to benefit.
