Quilliam e-update: August-October 2009

Research (Research and Policy Unit)

In August, Quilliam published a paper, which was distributed widely to parliamentarians and other relevant individuals and institutions, on how to challenge the British National Party’s anti-Muslim rhetoric ahead of the party’s annual event in Derbyshire. The paper, In Defence of British Muslims: A response to BNP racist propaganda by Research Fellow Lucy James, sought to expose the flawed arguments used by the party as well as their tactic of presenting extremist Islamists to represent all Muslims. After Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time on 22nd October, Quilliam launched a BNP awareness programme aimed at MPs, Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) and special advisors.

In October Quilliam also published the first selected translation of a new ‘refutation’ of al-Qaeda’s jihadist ideology written by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a jihadist group formerly affiliated to al-Qaeda. The document, A Selected Translation of the LIFG Recantation Document translated by Research Fellow Mohammed Ali Musawi. 
 

Events

Quilliam held events at both the Labour and Conservative annual political party conferences in September and October respectively. The Labour conference fringe event was held in partnership with Progress, a leading think tank on the centre-left. Entitled ‘How should the left engage with British Muslims?’ speakers included the Rt Hon. John Denham MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), Ed Husain (Co-Director of Quilliam), Martin Bright (Journalist and Commentator) and Tahir Abbas FRSA (Visiting Professor, Birkbeck College, London). It was chaired by the Acting Director of Progress Jessica Asato. The Conservative conference fringe event was held in partnership with Policy Exchange, a leading think tank on the centre-right. The topic of discussion was ‘What would a real counter-extremism policy look like?’ and it was chaired by the Chairman of Policy Exchange, Charles Moore. Speakers included Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones (National Security Advisor to The Rt Hon. David Cameron MP), Maajid Nawaz (Director, Quilliam), Paul Goodman MP (Shadow Communities Minister) and Paul Richards (former Communities and Local Government advisor to The Rt Hon. Hazel Blears MP).

Quilliam held a roundtable meeting at the end of October to discuss Quilliam’s recent report ‘Pakistan: Identity, Ideology and Beyond’. Written following a tour of universities in all four provinces of Pakistan, the report calls for a paradigm shift in tackling extremism in Pakistan, recasting the struggle against Islamism as an ideological rather than a religious debate. See report below.
 

Talks and conferences

Quilliam staff has continued to speak at a range of events over the past three months both within the UK and abroad. Notably, Quilliam Director Maajid Nawaz attended Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s Iftar reception, Jummah prayers on Capitol Hill and addressed the US’s Council of Foreign Relations in September. In September Maajid also spoke in Brussels on the EU’s approach to Prevent and in Germany on the role of intelligence in challenging extremism. In October, Maajid was invited in October to address delegates at the ‘Alliance of Youth Movements Summit’ in Mexico City on its efforts in starting a social movement in Pakistan. Maajid spoke of starting a vibrant social movement which presents a counter-narrative to Islamist ideology. The summit was attended by senior executives from Google, Facebook, and Twitter, who shared their expertise in utilising technology to popularise positive messages and galvanise public support.

In the UK Quilliam co-director Ed Husain was invited to speak at a discussion on the BNP and far-right extremism at SOAS by distinguished Professor of Israeli studies, Colin Shindler in October whilst Maajid Nawaz participated in a panel discussion on Afghanistan in the House of Lords.   

In the media

Quilliam has continued to play a prominent role in national media discussions surrounding political extremism, including far-right extremism. Quilliam employees have appeared on a wide range high-profile programmes including Newsnight, Channel 4 News, ‘Any Questions’ on BBC Radio 4 and The Big Questions  in addition to local media channels such as LBC, Sunrise Radio and Ummah TV. Quilliam staff has also been extensively quoted in the Telegraph, the Financial Times, the Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Mail, The Daily Express and The Sun as well a range of local newspapers. A selection of these can be found here.

Training (Quilliam Outreach and Training Unit)

QOTU continued to roll out Radicalization Awareness Programme (RAP) training for the UK Border Agency (UKBA), Coventry City Council, and Islington and Hounslow Councils. They delivered their first ever RAP training in the US to the Department of Homeland Security.

QOTU also held a number of outreach events including a talk at Syracuse University, a talk at King Edwards school in Birmingham and a day-long seminar in Pendle called ‘Building Bridges’, with imams, community members and the local MP Gordon Prentice in attendance.

International (Global Affairs Unit)

‘Pakistan: Identity, Ideology, and Beyond’, by Fatima Mullick and Mehrunnisa Yusuf, was published in August 2009. The report calls on the Pakistani, US and UK governments to undertake a ‘paradigm shift’ in their approach to tackling extremism in Pakistan. The report is largely based on Quilliam’s recent ground-breaking work in Pakistani universities. This included Quilliam Director Maajid Nawaz speaking to a total of over 5,000 students on 21 campuses across Pakistan and responding to their questions and concerns about Pakistan and western policy in the region. Quilliam additionally collected and analyzed over 2,000 questionnaires completed by Pakistani students and polled over 1,000 students at 12 universities in the Punjab region. Crucially, the report outlined the need to recast the struggle against Islamism as an ideological rather than a religious debate and viewing its current situation as a symptom of its troubled identity.

The Pakistan report was presented to key international policy makers in the US. In September the report was launched at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. Maajid Nawaz presented the report to White House staff, Senate staff and officials from Richard Holbrooke’s Af-Pak team. The report’s recommendations were directed to the Pakistani, US and UK governments to bolster ongoing counter-extremism initiatives. The report was discussed at a roundtable held by Quilliam in October.