London - The latest report by the CCE is shallow and bereft of analysis. It is no more than a feeble attempt to further weaponise ‘counter-extremism’ to eradicate dissenting political opinions and clampdown on groups which hold the state to account. The UK may have left the EU but the CCE is still besotted with Europe as this report is a copy of the Macron playbook which is being wielded against Muslims in France to devastating effect. France has seen legitimate civil society organisations shut down to be replaced by those anointed by the state. ‘Extremism' is a deliberately amorphous concept which makes it ripe for political abuse. The newly touted 'Hateful extremism' definition by the CCE, is stretched so thin as to be useless as an analytical tool. It is deliberately nebulous so it can be wielded against any groups that challenge the status quo. Since its inception, the CCE has been an expensive waste of time, and been used as the personal fiefdom of the handpicked lead commissioner to settle her own disputes through the expansion of coercive state powers. The report signals yet another shift in framing towards conflating ‘hate’, ‘hate speech’, ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism’ that has been underway for a number of years. Yet it is in effect indistinguishable from the approach long taken by Britain’s failed and discredited ‘counter-extremism’ programmes towards Muslim organisations: forever expanding the scope of criminalisation.
Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE said:
“The CCE has successfully gathered the Islamophobia industry within its ranks as documented in our report “CCE Exposed”, and it is now calling openly for state sponsored censorship and powers to close groups which challenge this authoritarian drift, through the use of extremely fringe examples, malicious smears and bad-faith interpretations.” “The CCE is a tool of state sanctioned ‘cancellation’. It represents a fringe authoritarian and insidiously Islamophobic lobby within the halls of power, which will seek to forever bolster the big brother state through weaponising social crises. They have no interest in resolving the systemic issues facing our society, but rather to simply exploit them for political and ideological expediency.” “CAGE’s work in documenting the Islamophobic and authoritarian nature of counter terrorism powers speaks for itself while the CCE resorts to innuendo against us. Our work is factually accurate and accepted by seasoned academics, UN rapporteurs and experts. The CCE amounts to a clearing house for 'counter-terror' advocates, laundering claims from some of the most stridently Islamophobic and censorious organisations in the industry.” Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
<span style="font-weight: 400;">London - The latest report by the CCE is shallow and bereft of analysis. It is no more than a feeble attempt to further weaponise ‘counter-extremism’ to eradicate dissenting political opinions and clampdown on groups which hold the state to account. </span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The UK may have left the EU but the CCE is still besotted with Europe as this report is a copy of the Macron playbook which is being wielded against Muslims in France to devastating effect. France has seen legitimate civil society organisations shut down to be replaced by those anointed by the state.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Extremism' is a deliberately amorphous concept which makes it ripe for political abuse. The newly touted 'Hateful extremism' definition by the CCE, is stretched so thin as to be useless as an analytical tool. It is deliberately nebulous so it can be wielded against any groups that challenge the status quo. </span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Since its inception, the CCE has been an expensive waste of time, and been used as the personal fiefdom of the handpicked lead commissioner to settle her own disputes through the expansion of coercive state powers.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The report signals yet another shift in framing towards conflating ‘hate’, ‘hate speech’, ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism’ that has been underway for a number of years. Yet it is in effect indistinguishable from the approach long taken by Britain’s failed and discredited ‘counter-extremism’ programmes towards Muslim organisations: forever expanding the scope of criminalisation.</span>
<h3>Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE said: <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">“The CCE has successfully gathered the Islamophobia industry within its ranks as documented in our report “</span><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/cage-releases-detailed-report-exposing-how-cce-is-driven-by-islamophobia"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CCE Exposed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">”, and it is now calling openly for state sponsored censorship and powers to close groups which challenge this authoritarian drift, through the use of extremely fringe examples, malicious smears and bad-faith interpretations.”</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">“The CCE is a tool of state sanctioned ‘cancellation’. It represents a fringe authoritarian and insidiously Islamophobic lobby within the halls of power, which will seek to forever bolster the big brother state through weaponising social crises. They have no interest in resolving the systemic issues facing our society, but rather to simply exploit them for political and ideological expediency.”</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“CAGE’s work in documenting the Islamophobic and authoritarian nature of counter terrorism powers speaks for itself while the CCE resorts to innuendo against us. Our work is factually accurate and accepted by seasoned academics, UN rapporteurs and experts. The CCE amounts to a clearing house for 'counter-terror' advocates, laundering claims from some of the most stridently Islamophobic and censorious organisations in the industry.”</span>
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Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@theeastlondonphotographer?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/police-protest-london?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>
