Al‐Qaida‐influenced violent extremism, UK government prevention policy and community engagement
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/jacpr.2011.0020 |
| Date | 31 January 2011 |
| Published date | 31 January 2011 |
| Pages | 32-44 |
| Author | Bob McDonald,Yaser Mir |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research • Volume 3 Issue 1 • January 2011 © Pier Professional Ltd32
Introduction
The engagement of communities in the
design, development and delivery of services
is a common operating principle within UK
public services and governance arrangements.
The UK Labour government sought to apply
this conce pt to the preven tative st rand of its
counter-terro rism strat egy, espe cially fol lowing
7 July 2005 (oft en referre d to a s ‘7/7’), when
four Musli m men carried ou t a se ries of
co-ordinated suicide bombings on London ’s
bus and underground system, resulting in
56 deaths and 70 0 injured; and c oncerns
Al-Qaida-influenced violent
extremism, UK government
prevention policy and
community engagement
Bob McDonald
Principal Lecturer, International School for Communities, Rights and Inclusion, University of
Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Yaser Mir
Senior Lecturer, International School for Communities, Rights and Inclusion, University of Central
Lancashire, Preston, UK
ABS TR AC T
UK government counter-terrorism policy in the wake of the London bombings of 7 July 2005
has included an evolving set of measures seeking to engage the support of and productive
interaction with UK citizens, so as to help oppose violent extremist ideology, to thwart
potential sympathy for its proponents and to avert future incidents. The primary focus of
such attempts has been Al-Qaida-influenced violent extremism. Government preventative
measures have provoked controversy, especially in British Muslim communities. The article
examines their reaction, from research commissioned by the Metropolitan Police Service and
undertaken in London by the International School for Communities, Rights and Inclusion
(ISCRI) from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), in its community engagement
(CE) Pathfinder programme. The findings from this research find many parallels in recent
academic literature and other commentaries. The authors contend that some government
programmes have erroneously served to stigmatise UK Muslim communities ‘en masse’,
which has been counter-productive to the government objective of gaining community
support and involvement, and has thereby compromised the effectiveness of counter-
terrorism preventative measures. The article highlights a different emphasis and some
specific elements for a revised prevention policy in counter terrorism from consideration of
these sources, including the primary evidence from Muslim communities themselves in the
community engagement Pathfinder programme.
KEY WORDS
Counter-terrorism; Al-Qaida; Muslim communities; community engagement; police;
preventing violent extremism; crime; community safety; discrimination.
10.5042/jacpr.2011.0020
To continue reading
Request your trial