Daily Times

Britain appears to be losing the battle to contain the home-grown terrorist threat. At least that is the message the imminent release of hate preacher Anjem Choudary is sending. Not least because he has served less than three years of a five-and-a-half-year sentence for actively supporting recruitment to ISIS. Non-fulfilment of this custodial term has been explained by insufficient evidence to warrant longer detention. Though it does not clarify as to why even this was not carried out in full.

Choudary has long been known to the authorities; having co-founded the extremist group Al-Muhajiroun back in 1996. Banned a decade later, it simply re-emerged under different aliases. Such as ‘Islam4UK’ and‘Need4Khilafah’; proscribed in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Yet it took until 2016 for Britain to finally charge Choudary under the Terrorism Act 2002. Despite numerous documentaries featuring both he and those whom he radicalised over the years; including would-be jihadists setting off for Syria. The so-called London Bridge killer was one of Choudary’s men. As were the pair who murdered a British solider on the streets of south London.

And while the one-time solicitor can expect to be under police and MI5 surveillance — which will see him subjected to satellite tracking and other general restrictions to his freedom of movement — news of his release next month has already given way to a dangerous narrative. In which certain de-radicalised Muslims, such as Ed Husain, who now stand accused of being apologists for the West, embrace extremism of another kind.

It is one that attempts to paint Jeremy Corbyn, who is admittedly battling claims of anti-Semitism within the Labour party, as being of the same ilk as Anjem Choudary. To point out that this is disingenuous appears almost redundant. Moreover, charges of this Red-Green alliance, as Husain terms it, are based on dubious assumptions. Namely, that socialism poses a threat to the capitalist world order in the same way that Islamist fundamentalism does.

Wilful myopia of this kind reduces the breathing space for plurality of thought and diversity of opinion. Particularly given how it rests on false premises: Britain is a land whereby the rule of law always prevails (never mind Iraq); where family is protected (ditto Windrush); and where religious liberty is upheld (aside from the controversial Prevent strategy that essentially asks teachers to spy on children as young as three; and that is seen as exhibiting a pro-Muslim bias). And anyone challenging these or, indeed, Israeli state brutality against the Palestinians is somehow an undeclared enemy of the state.

All of which conveniently ignores the fact that critiquing British policy both at home and abroad demonstrates commitment to the democratic tradition; a system of governance that Choudary has publicly said will be ‘abolished’ if he has his way. Thus the key to de-legitimising such non-state actors is to either strengthen the criminal justice system to the point where incitement to terrorism carries a minimum life sentence. Or, failing that, potential revoking of citizenship should be looked into. But to be sure, the demonising of Mr Corbyn will help no one. Except perhaps Boris Johnson as he gears up for the premiership bid. And that is something that should be resisted at all costs.  *

Published in Daily Times, September 20^th 2018.