{"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":"
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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

Extremism definition: you what?<\/h2>\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

Far-right Tories propping up white supremacy<\/h2>\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

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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

Laying cover for Israel’s genocide<\/h2>\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

‘A deep dive into authoritarianism’<\/h2>\n

The below is an open letter from the following organisations<\/a>:<\/p>\n