Stopping an Un-Islamic State
Our security and emergency response services are amazing with their response times at and followup after the fact, our intelligence services on top of their game on pre-emptive measures. However what are our politicians doing to address the current and ineffective approach to counter the spread of extremism? both at home and abroad?
Theresa May wants to censure the world wide web! that is not the answer, it goes against our values and plays right into the hands of the extremists - we are an open society and we must look to our leaders to protect our values and culture whilst combating extremism.
Increased censorship, mass surveillance, internment camps cannot and are not the answer. Theresa May wants to hold the British Muslim community accountable, and I am all up for that, we are doing much of our own backs as individuals and as a community and sure there is more that we can do
but is my government doing enough? or are they making excuses to avoid having to address the elephant in the room?!
I will not go into the details of irrefutable proof as to which States support and sponsor extremism or how long this has been going on for (Adam Curtis in Bitter Lake has done an amazing job of bringing that out in the open). I will share my two pence worth though:
At a foreign policy level we need leadership with the will and courage to take on Saudi Arabia and it's cronies in the Middle East to put an end to their sponsorship of extremism. Through sanctions, freezing their assets, failing that direct military action should remain on the table - their proxies are killing our people, threatening our way of life, it's about time their rulers tasted their own medicine.
President Obama displayed that will and courage, by softly isolating Saudi Arabia but progress made to that end is being reversed under Trump and is being supported by Theresa May. If you disagree then question why is Theresa May suppressing a report into funding of jihadi groups?
Our lives, values and society are more valuable than the market price of oil or arms contracts or loans to finance them.
Beyond that we need to direct our development aid towards projects and programs that deliver immediate and lasting impact. DFiD is a great and effective arm of our foreign policy, however our development programs must engage with and empower the local indigenous population be it uneducated marginalised micro-entrepreneurs that may provide an extensive support infrastructure or disenfranchised graduates who are willing and able fodder for attacks on home soil and abroad. We can not and must not rely on corrupt foreign governments to use our taxes to further their own domestic goals and agendas as they are not congruent with our own.
We did not get peace in Northern Ireland because the terrorists wanted peace! we got peace because the indigenous population got sick of the cycle of violence which had no gain for either side in sight, the populous was convinced of the loose-loose outcome of the status quo.
People the world over want a life of prosperity, progress and peace not jihad and conflict.
Providing marginalised individuals and communities with tools and skills to take charge of their future, become financially independent has a direct relationship with their view of the world as their enemy, their view of licit and illicit vehicles for social transformation.
The results of a pilot project with 500+ marginalised individuals from eleven radicalised neighbourhoods in Karachi, Pakistan proves that the alternative approach works. You can read all about it here and if you agree with this alternative approach perhaps you can poke your MP or Congressman/woman to wake up to the fact that security of our towns and cities begins abroad.
By tackling foreign governments and their sponsorship of terrorism and by enabling and empowering their populations to build a better future for themselves - if we empowered the people of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain we may not need sanctions or boots on the ground! their own people may well bring about the change we all desire.
General Election 2017#VOTE
We go to the polls in less than 3 days time, my fellow countrymen and women please go out on Thursday and vote - we need a turnout larger than ever! so that ISIS/IS and their pay masters know that we are not deterred and never will be.
Please vote with your conscience - we need a party and a leader who is going to address the elephant in the room, going to tackle foreign governments who sponsor extremism that lands on our door steps, address domestic disenfranchisement and marginalisaton of our youth regardless of religion or ethnicity.
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The program referred to in the post above is run by Peace Through Prosperity a charity co-founded by the author to address extremism. You can learn more about the charity and its work here;
Peace Through Prosperity (PTP) is innovating social transformation design and delivery by using Agile principles and practices to create and deliver low cost, immediate and lasting impact social development programs in ‘at risk’ communities.
Lastly, If you got value from what I have shared please consider giving back by contributing towards Peace Through Prosperity, you can follow, broadcast or donate. Peace Through Prosperity (PTP) improves the local/domestic environment for peace by nurturing prosperity in conflict affected geographies.
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