Policy Exchange exposes its Islamophobic agenda in a desperate defence of PREVENT

<p dir="ltr">A report by Policy Exchange, due to be published tomorrow, [1] is an academically poor and desperate attempt to defend the Islamophobic PREVENT strategy [2]. The report smears Muslim organisations for challenging the policy and holding the government to account for the targeting of their community.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>In response, Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE said:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">“The report stands as a testament to the unified resilience of Muslim organisations, against all odds, in effectively defending their communities from one of the most pernicious and insidious government policies, that is PREVENT.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Despite the Government having a near absolute monopoly on power, access to mainstream media and PR agencies, the report promotes a false reality of ‘unopposed activists’ critiquing PREVENT in order to explain away communities' wholesale rejection of PREVENT.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“The report fails to contend with any of the substantive arguments presented by CAGE and others against PREVENT. It is a ‘rinse and repeat’ of tired Islamophobic tropes, stereotypes and mischaracterisations.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It is very telling that in its attempt to defend PREVENT, Policy Exchange has completely ignored the vast body of critique from beyond the Muslim community. This underlines their open Islamophobic agenda.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s indicative of Islamophobia in the UK when Former PM’s give their name to such open hostility to Muslim civil society.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Civil society organisations defending their communities are no stranger to state sponsored defamation. However, to suggest critiquing prevent equates to enabling terrorism is not only desperate, but also libellous. The former Prime Minister and Policy Exchange seem wholly unable to respect the long standing democratic tradition of dissent and holding those in power to account.”</p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <hr /> <h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">This Ramadan Donate generously to CAGE and support our work in challenging PREVENT</h3> <p dir="ltr">[fusion_button link="https://cagengo.samcart.com/products/donate2cage/" text_transform="" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment_medium="" alignment_small="" alignment="center" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" border_width="" border_radius="" border_color="" border_hover_color="" size="large" stretch="no" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]DONATE NOW[/fusion_button]</p> <hr /> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>[1] Policy Exchange is a neoconservative think tank with a track record of targeting Muslim civil society organisations in its reports. See here: <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2F0Lp-2Bzl3uW9IgNfFYUYtGTi3CnCUIWcxV11gBmH1Ffx4paDLjAuTDenSKX5RblqrDRdd9k8n-2B3bAqJ7XwmUWkQ-3D-3DLerx_Px-2FG7reG1HwqoyE0R-2BceOVl2DgBOLsC7ecBqmparHU-2Fzglxa-2FdDNfH2Tu-2FEJsqA-2FsdSUGLRDBoIKUBuG-2F6oyaYuOSSN461shvNhhP0GEtlR5aehMDmwEnyoXLUJVT5ztRvE-2Beg3Nry5-2B4DkLBnQvwdpcLNTwOFgeV976r8IpConm4JaMNb0vBioEsunQS7GmKX0vOkO7vlfn6MQyOv7SB8seCv7bC2LpcGWl7mAvBqQBwwFX4SqZo6wgET8wE7ii1u3AwzJeIeX4eoqBt200YNAZr2mhaLRsFY5CaREHRk44rKALyAiZ7WxaSzIcGu42plDcVIuNXhcqsKNI2EuJN8EcAET-2Ba6vQjwLwigHIe-2BubJnSgtiNV226xlehYWgPH" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn%3D-2F0Lp-2Bzl3uW9IgNfFYUYtGTi3CnCUIWcxV11gBmH1Ffx4paDLjAuTDenSKX5RblqrDRdd9k8n-2B3bAqJ7XwmUWkQ-3D-3DLerx_Px-2FG7reG1HwqoyE0R-2BceOVl2DgBOLsC7ecBqmparHU-2Fzglxa-2FdDNfH2Tu-2FEJsqA-2FsdSUGLRDBoIKUBuG-2F6oyaYuOSSN461shvNhhP0GEtlR5aehMDmwEnyoXLUJVT5ztRvE-2Beg3Nry5-2B4DkLBnQvwdpcLNTwOFgeV976r8IpConm4JaMNb0vBioEsunQS7GmKX0vOkO7vlfn6MQyOv7SB8seCv7bC2LpcGWl7mAvBqQBwwFX4SqZo6wgET8wE7ii1u3AwzJeIeX4eoqBt200YNAZr2mhaLRsFY5CaREHRk44rKALyAiZ7WxaSzIcGu42plDcVIuNXhcqsKNI2EuJN8EcAET-2Ba6vQjwLwigHIe-2BubJnSgtiNV226xlehYWgPH&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651002512357000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15_peRmz7353WNcJgk-2I_">https://powerbase.info/index.<wbr />php/Policy_Exchange</a> </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The report in question is titled 'Delegitimising Counter-Terrorism' and is authored by Sir John Jenkins, Dr Damon L. Perry and Dr Paul Stott, with a foreword by Former PM David Cameron. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>[2] CAGE, this year, launched a comprehensive online resource with over 200 pieces of content, featuring know your right guides, reports and views from across the board that demonstrate the consensus rejecting PREVENT. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The ‘Abolish Prevent’ website captures a decade of advocacy by CAGE against PREVENT, and provides a way forward beyond the failed PREVENT policy, which has been widely endorsed by over 100 professionals and academics. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Within it is a timeline of CAGE’s role in the abolish Prevent movement, charting our work since 2011, see here: <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2F0Lp-2Bzl3uW9IgNfFYUYtGQym1-2FQtpaol-2F-2FicpmY5z22hQReRIDZBwqjls2tLAoCv-2BNIqF0sagu0chAx5SJbZYw-3D-3D9jc2_Px-2FG7reG1HwqoyE0R-2BceOVl2DgBOLsC7ecBqmparHU-2Fzglxa-2FdDNfH2Tu-2FEJsqA-2FsdSUGLRDBoIKUBuG-2F6oyaYuOSSN461shvNhhP0GEtlR5aehMDmwEnyoXLUJVT5ztRvE-2Beg3Nry5-2B4DkLBnQvwdpcLNTwOFgeV976r8IpConm4JaMNb0vBioEsunQS7GmKX0vOkO7vlfn6MQyOv7SBx-2F1trnDSW74eTVatQ7zo-2F9qicGqw-2FEcIRJKCTm1NaPsO-2Fm5SWQmg3DjM9wRyuZS-2FHJEzd-2FxUcrYlmhvptti3hAaoIe4b7-2Ba9T-2B95BK2yYgv8LDD8M25NYeJuNtAQ7DpSknTPSJbmTGP07e8JL5Dnjw3W8EpsY-2FoM25X-2FfaroGAM" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn%3D-2F0Lp-2Bzl3uW9IgNfFYUYtGQym1-2FQtpaol-2F-2FicpmY5z22hQReRIDZBwqjls2tLAoCv-2BNIqF0sagu0chAx5SJbZYw-3D-3D9jc2_Px-2FG7reG1HwqoyE0R-2BceOVl2DgBOLsC7ecBqmparHU-2Fzglxa-2FdDNfH2Tu-2FEJsqA-2FsdSUGLRDBoIKUBuG-2F6oyaYuOSSN461shvNhhP0GEtlR5aehMDmwEnyoXLUJVT5ztRvE-2Beg3Nry5-2B4DkLBnQvwdpcLNTwOFgeV976r8IpConm4JaMNb0vBioEsunQS7GmKX0vOkO7vlfn6MQyOv7SBx-2F1trnDSW74eTVatQ7zo-2F9qicGqw-2FEcIRJKCTm1NaPsO-2Fm5SWQmg3DjM9wRyuZS-2FHJEzd-2FxUcrYlmhvptti3hAaoIe4b7-2Ba9T-2B95BK2yYgv8LDD8M25NYeJuNtAQ7DpSknTPSJbmTGP07e8JL5Dnjw3W8EpsY-2FoM25X-2FfaroGAM&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651002512357000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1PB9smoesdP0cujQ2c1f8C">https://www.abolishprevent.<wbr />com/</a></em></p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>CC image courtesy of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/policyexchange/49012425587/">Policy Exchange</a> on Flikr</em></p>