It is ironic that Tony Blair’s new report is titled Narrative of Division.
It targets organisations Cage, IHRC, MPAC, MEND and Hizb Tahrir as “non violent extremist groups” and provides a body of “evidence” to help clarify the “grey area” (ie, the law and their basic political and religious rights) that has meant there is a debate over their “non-violent extremism” status.
In short, it’s part of the politicised agenda to build a body of “evidence” to criminalise these organisations and shut down Muslim political activism in the U.K. at a time that Muslims are being institutionally targeted like never before.
I won’t keep punning about the irony of Tony Blair talking about evidence for his latest war....
But I will - again - make this urgently seriously and sobering point;
I have recently written a series of articles about our current climate, Prevent and how it is being used by those inside and outside of our community to shut us down. (Read them here; http://www.moballeghi.com/radicalised)
I say us, and I don’t just mean Muslims. We are just the guinea pigs. This is about every single person in Britain.
This report is a part of that same “Narrative of Division.”.
It was Tony Blair’s Labour government that laid the foundations for this institutionally discriminative policy. A policy that has already begun to be legislated and that under Tory rule and now Brexit Constitutional Crisis is on double steroids.
Theirs is the “Narrative of Division”. And they are being helped by Muslims. Far too many Muslims, especially Islamic community leadership and infrastructure, including mosques.
When will this stop? When it is too late for every single one of us?
I plead again to those who have not being convinced by the clear FACTS of the argument, think for a moment why those in our community who receive Prevent funding for their “interfaith” “advocacy” and “consultancy” organisations , our mosque leaders who remain silent about Prevent in public and behind closed doors are propagating individuals (some from the same organisations Blair is targeting) are “extremists”.
To those who use the language of this Narrative of Division to give speeches, talks and workshops. When are you going to stop?
A lot of headway has been made recently to reinvigorate this vital issue and make people more aware. Let us not forget that many of the organisations targeted in this Tony Blair report are the few organisations that have campaigned against Prevent, CVE and surrounding policies from the start, which is why they are being targeted.
I for one will never be silenced away from thanking them and supporting them for that. Because when we are silenced what this toxic agenda wants for us can be executed with no opposition.
But there is opposition. Those who are pandering to this narrative, getting paid by it, or appeasing it for the “good” of their congregation. You are on the wrong side of the argument, and history will judge you so.
Look at your allies! Why are you singing off the same hymn sheet as the war monger Tony Blair?
One key organisation I have discussed in my articles was set up with Boris Johnson, the man who is calling your sisters Letter Boxes, a toxic Islamophobic, racist politician working hard to drive this whole country to the ground for the benefit of his few elite political friends.
It’s always the same story when you look in to this toxic network. Unjust connections and immoral money.
You hide behind the good-will of the community, who expect the right decisions from the community leaders and their islamic centres.
That is why you won’t debate the issues in public, and squirm back in to your shadows and spread petty personal smearing in private.
That is why you don’t promote open debate or questions. But when one of you gets a Queen’s honour you are suddenly writing paragraphs of gushing pride.
But the truth is when the community becomes aware and questions, their answers will put them on the right side of the argument.
You do not have the community. You are just using the unprecedented political and discriminatory pressure we are all under to pretend that you do.
THAT is why there is an effort to shut down those who are asking the important questions. To prop up those who don’t have the answers and silence those have the questions.
And just finally, on something that goes to the heart of the articles I wrote recently; I do not agree with everything all of these organisations do (who agrees with everything with anyone?) They too have fundamental differences on some political issues themselves.
But on this they are all on the same page. And that is the way it should be.
British Muslims have many different views on many different things. We are not going to unpack and solve the complexities of that. We have to learn to be with each and for each other despite it.
On this issue, it is clear that we are all on body, one person. We need to prioritise this issue for our community. We need to believe that we are one British Muslim Community, we need to have the political foresight to know this is urgent and that we need to act. We need to start defending each other.
And to those working against the community from within the community. And to that twat Tony Blair. You might not realise it. But it is a new day. Because the argument has escaped you and is not just contained within just 5 organisations.
The more you shut us down the more we will realise we need to speak up.
Tony, every time you open your mouth it helps our cause. So cheers 🏻
I am tagging the organisations he’s targeted so we can use this as an opportunity to share this post and follow them.
https://www.cage.ngo/
https://www.ihrc.org.uk/
https://mend.org.uk/
https://www.mpac.org/
http://www.hizb.org.uk/