A former government adviser and founder of a project to record anti-Muslim incidents in the UK has accused the Home Office of attempting to “silence” him after he warned about the threat of Islamism.
Fiyaz Mughal told the Telegraph that he raised concerns while he was working for the Home Office’s Channel programme, which is part of the Government’s counter-extremism strategy.
Mughal wrote an article last year saying it was “astonishing” that during a Home Office summit on extremism, “Islamism” was not mentioned for the first 90 minutes.
He said he received a call from the Home Office the following day which Mughal interpreted as an effort “to pressure me not to speak about Islamism in the public domain.
“My impression is he clearly saw the piece and was trying to pressure me not to speak about Islamism in the public domain – that’s what this was,” Mughal said.
Mughal, who is an expert in counter-radicalisation, told the Telegraph: “It was done so insidiously. He’s basically saying ‘if you come in line, I can help you a bit’. This was for me a clear attempt to get me to shut up about the lack of discussion, activity, and focus on Islamist extremism as the primary threat to the country.”
Mughal, who founded Tell Mama, which supports victims of anti-Muslim hate, was brought in to advise the government on extremism by Sir Tony Blair in 2005.
Since then, he has been invited to take part in numerous government projects, taskforces and working groups on tackling extremism.
At the end of last year he quit his Home Office role, saying he no longer felt comfortable with the “insidious pressure” that was put on him not to speak out about the dangers of Islamism.
He said: “As soon as Labour came in, I recognised a shift. Why has suddenly the focus on Islamism dropped off?
“My perspective is they feel it will cost them politically if they speak about it – they have bought into the ruse that it will cause community divisions. They desperately don’t want to lose the Muslim vote and support.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government regularly works with external partners and experts to discuss policy ideas, as broad consultation is an important part of responsible policy development.
"The UK has one of the most robust counter-terrorism frameworks in the world with the powers needed for the security services and police to keep us safe.”
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