{"id":1555344,"date":"2024-03-15T09:07:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T09:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1675785"},"modified":"2024-03-15T09:07:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T09:07:43","slug":"extremism-definition-a-deep-dive-into-authoritarianism-to-lay-cover-for-the-tories-aiding-israels-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/15\/extremism-definition-a-deep-dive-into-authoritarianism-to-lay-cover-for-the-tories-aiding-israels-genocide\/","title":{"rendered":"Extremism definition: a deep dive into authoritarianism to lay cover for the Tories aiding Israel\u2019s genocide"},"content":{"rendered":"
As Michael Gove launched his preposterous and dangerous new extremism definition, some of the groups he targeted have hit back – calling it a “deep dive into authoritarianism” and laying cover for the government “aiding and abetting” Israel’s genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n
As BBC News<\/em> reported, Gove told parliament that<\/a>:<\/p>\n groups like British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative will be assessed “against the new definition”. He also says the Muslim Association of Britain, Cage, and other groups will be “held to account to assess if they meet our definition of extremism”. “Islamism should not be confused with Islam,” Gove told MPs. “Islam is a great faith… Islamism is a totalitarian ideology”.<\/p>\n Earlier he told the BBC the new definition would help the government “choose its friends wisely”. The definition will be used by government officials to cut ties or funding to groups deemed to have crossed a line. But civil liberties groups, community groups and some MPs have criticised the move – saying it could risk free speech, or lead to unfair treatment<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of course, we all know what the Tories’ extremism definition is really about.<\/p>\n The two, token far-right fascist groups are there for window dressing, presumably – given that former Tory MP and deputy chairman Lee Anderson is mates<\/a> with a ‘former’ BNP member<\/a>; a fact known while he sat in both roles.<\/p>\n So, what this is really about is – much like the US state attempting to shut down TikTok<\/a> – setting fire to people’s rights to free speech, assembly, and protest. Oh, and with a healthy dose of Islamophobia as well – unless we missed Just Stop Oil, perhaps the most prosecuted group of recent times, being mentioned?<\/p>\n Gove’s extremism definition comes off the back of previous government moves to silence dissent against the state and further erode our rights.<\/p>\n For example, the Public Order Act coupled with the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts (PCSC) Act have effectively allowed police to stop all sorts of protest actions<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n The new Public Order Act powers\u00a0include penalties<\/a>\u00a0of a year in custody for blocking roads, railways and airports. In addition, protesters who use the tactic of locking-on could face up to six months in prison.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At the same time, the racist\u00a0Nationality and Borders Act<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a02023 Illegal Migration Bill<\/a> entrenched the Tories\u2019 hostile environment for Black, brown, and foreign-born people.<\/p>\n Moreover, we’re currently seeing one of the largest public backlashes in recent years against much of the Global North and Western powers – specifically over Israel’s ongoing apartheid and genocide in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.<\/p>\n Much of the public can see what’s going on: that most of the Global North is propping up a racist, colonialist endeavour in the Middle East (Israel) to further Western imperialism’s own interests in the region.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, settler-colonialist Israel has killed over 31,000 people in Gaza, including over 13,000 children – and is currently starving the population.<\/p>\n So, in response to Gove’s extremism definition and his naming of CAGE, the Muslim Association of Britain, and Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) in particular, several organisations have hit back.<\/p>\n The Canary<\/em> stands in solidarity with all these groups – republishing their responses in full. We’re sure Gove and others will brand us ‘extremists’ too.<\/p>\n The below is an open letter from the following organisations<\/a>:<\/p>\n “Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, announced a new and expanded definition of extremism and named some of our groups. His announcement is a continuation of the decades-long strategy aimed at inciting and exploiting fears against Muslims to build an authoritarian and repressive infrastructure that suppresses any dissent that is not licensed by Whitehall.<\/p>\n “We the undersigned:<\/p>\n “We demand the following:<\/p>\n “Collectively we will explore all avenues, including legal, to challenge the Government\u2019s deep dive into authoritarianism”.<\/p>\n MEND issued the following statement<\/a>:<\/p>\n “The new definition is a blatant attack on civil liberties and free speech. It is a highly politicised and undemocratic polemic aimed at trying to exclude and ostracise peaceful and law-abiding Muslim organisations that have been critical of the government from having a voice. Labelling groups that are critical of Government policy as \u2018extremist\u2019 is a lazy and convenient way of avoiding dialogue. It is a tactic more suited to stifling dissent in authoritarian repressive regimes than used to silence those exposing UK Government complicity in the Gaza genocide. Extremism policies undermine basic freedoms and lend the state arbitrary power to sanction any dissenting citizen.<\/p>\n “Gove stated in the commons that:<\/p>\n Islamism is a totalitarian ideology which seeks to divide, calls for the establishment of an Islamic state governed by sharia law and seeks the overthrow of liberal democratic principles… Organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain, which is the British affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups such as CAGE and MEND, give rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and views.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “MEND CEO Azhar Qayum said:<\/p>\n We challenge Michael Gove to repeat his claims outside of parliament and without the protection of parliamentary privilege if he believes he can provide the evidence to back up his view that MEND has called for the establishment of an \u2018Islamic state governed by sharia law\u2019.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “Gove himself has a long track record of Islamophobic views and associations. He is a founding member of the Henry Jackson Society which promoted an anti-Muslim agenda over many years and led the government\u2019s role in \u2018The Trojan Horse\u2019 affair. This falsely accused a number of schools in Birmingham of an \u2018Islamist takeover\u2019 on the back of a fake letter. Subsequent inquiries found no evidence of radicalisation in these schools. Given his own \u2018extremist\u2019 credentials, for him to be lecturing others as to who is or is not an extremist is an example of rank hypocrisy, and there would appear to be a persuasive argument that he is also an extremist on his own definition!<\/p>\n “In a General Election year, it is clear that Gove and the Conservative party are pursuing culture wars, politicising extremism for electoral gain to pander to a far right electorate. Defining extremism requires a calm, measured and cross-party approach and should not be used as a political football to target marginalised groups”.<\/p>\n The Muslim Association of Britain<\/a> issued a statement on social media:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n STATEMENT: MAB condemns Govt's erosion of civil liberties & politicisation of anti-extremism. The redefinition is a cynical move to appease the hard-right, targeting mainstream British Muslim orgs. All political parties must oppose this Orwellian narrative. \u2026 pic.twitter.com\/sDFafNZc8C<\/a><\/p>\n — Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) (@MABOnline1) March 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nFar-right Tories propping up white supremacy<\/h2>\n
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Laying cover for Israel’s genocide<\/h2>\n
‘A deep dive into authoritarianism’<\/h2>\n
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Extremism definition: a ‘blatant attack on civil liberties and free speech’<\/h2>\n
The ‘politicising of anti-extremism’<\/h2>\n
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