London, Jul 20 (PTI) Extreme anti-blasphemy action in the name of “defending Islam” has had devastating impacts on lives in the UK and poses a serious threat to social cohesion, warns a new report by a counter-terrorism think tank.
‘Britain’s New Blasphemy Police? Understanding Islamist Anti-Blasphemy Action in the UK’ by the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) was released in the House of Commons complex in London on Wednesday.
The report’s author, HJS Research Fellow Charlotte Littlewood, concluded in her research that anti-blasphemy sentiment cuts across various Muslim sects and ideologies and takes on different forms.
Her report calls on a British government-led investigation into recent incidents of protests and also into the potential proscription of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and certain Khatme Nabuwaat organisations in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The report also calls on the United Nations to take a strong stance against blasphemy laws within its research, paying particular attention to the situation in Pakistan and its attempts to “export anti-blasphemy action”.
“Extreme anti-blasphemy ideology manifests across some Islamic sects and Muslim majority states, however, it is particularly prevalent in Pakistan, especially within the Sunni Barelvi sect, from which a number of individuals and organisations have influence in the UK,” the report notes.
“Extreme anti-blasphemy action for the sake of defending Islam has had devastating impacts on lives in the UK. It poses a serious threat to social cohesion, individual liberties and the peaceful coexistence of diverse communities within the United Kingdom. The threat is perhaps not taken as seriously as Salafi-jihadist style terror, yet it is nonetheless one that has a potential to inspire intimidation, violence and even mass killings,” it warns.
Pointing to case studies of when groups of protesters target UK institutions over perceived blasphemy, the analysis called on schools, cinemas and publishing houses to be given commitments of assured safety in the face of threats and robust guidelines being in place on how to respond to such threatening action.
“This report is a troubling read, which identifies extreme anti-blasphemy action as a growing risk to key tenets of our liberal democratic system, including the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” said Conservative Party MP Tim Loughton in his foreword to the report.
“It is time to afford extreme anti-blasphemy action the same attention we afford the likes of Al Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State). If the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in France are anything to go by, this ideological extremism has no lesser propensity for violence,” he said.
Among the recommendations in the report include tighter visa norms against extremist preachers and creating a watchlist of such individuals. PTI AK PY PY PY
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