Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the UK’s coalition Government stressed the difference between Islam as a religion and Islamic extremism as a political ideology, and stated that Western countries need to confront extremism rather than practice “hands-off tolerance”.
The Prime Minister said that “the doctrine of state multiculturalism” had encouraged segregation and failed to supply “a vision of society” to which people want to belong.
He urged: “Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.”
Cameron added: “We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. I believe it’s time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past.”
The Prime Minister explained: “First, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we – as Governments and societies – have got to confront it in all of its forms. Second, instead of encouraging people to live apart, we need a clear sense of shared national identity, open to everyone.”
The Strategic Defence and Security Review
Although the Prime Minister’s remarks primarily focused on the terrorism issue, he first addressed one key point.
“Some have suggested that, by holding a Strategic Defence and Security Review, Britain is somehow retreating from an activist role in the world. That is the opposite of the truth.”
He added: “Yes, we are dealing with our budget deficit, but we are also making sure our defences are strong.”
According to Cameron: “Britain will continue to meet the NATO 2% target for defence spending. We will still have the fourth largest military defence budget in the world. At the same time, we are putting that money to better use, focusing on conflict prevention and building a much more flexible army. That is not retreat, rather it’s hard headed.”
Cameron said that every decision taken in this area has three aims in mind.
“First, to continue to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Second, to reinforce our actual military capability. As Chancellor Merkel’s Government is showing right here in Germany, what matters is not bureaucracy, which frankly Europe needs a lot less of, but the political will to build military capability that we need as nations and allies and that we can deliver in the field.”
Third, Cameron’s Government wants to make sure that Britain is protected from the new and various threats it confronts.
“That is why we are investing in a national cyber security programme, and why we are sharpening our readiness to act on counter-proliferation.”
Terrorism: the “biggest threat facing the UK”
For Cameron, the biggest threat facing the UK comes from terrorist attacks, some of which are carried out by our own citizens.
“It’s important to stress that terrorism is not linked exclusively to any one religion or ethnic group,” said the Prime Minister. “My country still faces threats from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. Anarchist attacks have occurred recently in Greece and in Italy and, of course, yourselves in Germany were long scarred by terrorism from the Red Army Faction.”
Cameron urged all the leaders present at the conference to acknowledge that this threat emanates in Europe overwhelmingly “from young men who follow a completely perverse, warped interpretation of Islam” and who are prepared to blow themselves up and kill their fellow citizens.
“Last week at Davos, I rang the alarm bell on the urgent need for Europe to recover its economic dynamism. Today, though the subject is complex, my message on security is equally stark.”
The Prime Minister explained: “We will not defeat terrorism simply by the action we take outside our borders. Europe needs to wake up to what is happening in our own countries. Of course, that means strengthening the security aspects of our response, on tracing plots, on stopping them, on counter-surveillance and on intelligence gathering.”
That said, Cameron feels this is just part of the answer. “We have got to get to the root of the problem, and we need to be absolutely clear on where the origins of these terrorist attacks lie. That is the existence of an ideology, Islamist extremism. We should be equally clear what we mean by this term, and we must distinguish it from Islam.”
Distinguishing Islam from Islamist extremism
“Islam is a religion observed peacefully and devoutly by over a billion people,” said the Prime Minister. “Islamist extremism is a political ideology supported by a minority. At the furthest end are those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm governed by an interpretation of Sharia.”
Move along the spectrum, said Cameron, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist worldview, including real hostility towards Western democracy and liberal values.
“It’s vital that we make this distinction between religion on the one hand, and political ideology on the other. Time and again, people equate the two. They think whether someone is an extremist is dependent on how much they observe their religion, so they talk about moderate Muslims as if all devout Muslims must be extremist. This is profoundly wrong. Someone can be a devout Muslim and not be an extremist. We need to be clear: Islamist extremism and Islam are not the same thing.”
For Cameron, this highlights a significant problem when discussing the terrorist threat that we face.
“There is so much muddled thinking about this whole issue. On the one hand, those on the hard right ignore this distinction between Islam and Islamist extremism, and just say that Islam and the West are irreconcilable: that there is a clash of civilisations.”
Following on from that, the Prime Minister said: “They feel we should cut ourselves off from this religion, whether that’s through forced repatriation, favoured by some fascists, or the banning of new mosques, as is suggested in some parts of Europe. These people fuel Islamophobia, and I completely reject their argument.”
Embellishing this point, the Prime Minister went on to say: “If they want an example of how Western values and Islam can be entirely compatible, they should look at what’s happened in the past few weeks on the streets of Tunis and Cairo: hundreds of thousands of people demanding the universal right to free elections and democracy.”
The point for Cameron is this: “The ideology of extremism is the problem. Islam emphatically is not. Picking a fight with the latter will do nothing to help us confront the former.”
Totally ignoring the distinction
Moving on to others’ points of view, Cameron said: “On the other hand, there are those on the soft left who also ignore this distinction. They lump all Muslims together, compiling a list of grievances. They argue that if only Governments addressed these grievances, the terrorism would stop. They point to the poverty that so many Muslims live in and say: ‘Get rid of this injustice and the terrorism will end.'”
However, the Prime Minister outlined that this ignores the fact many of those found guilty of terrorist offences in the UK and elsewhere have been graduates and are often middle class by background.
“They point to grievances about Western foreign policy and say: ‘Stop riding roughshod over Muslim countries and the terrorism will end’ but there are many people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, who are angry about Western foreign policy but don’t resort to acts of terrorism.”
“They also point to the profusion of unelected leaders across the Middle East and say: ‘Stop propping these people up and you will stop creating the conditions for extremism to flourish’ but this raises the question: ‘If it’s the lack of democracy that’s the problem, why are there so many extremists in free and open societies?'”
The Prime Minister was at pains to point out that he’s not saying these issues of poverty and grievance about foreign policy are not important. “Yes, of course we must tackle them,” said Cameron. “Of course we must tackle poverty. Yes, we must resolve the sources of tension, not least in Palestine and, Yes, we should be on the side of openness and political reform in the Middle East.”
Even if all of the problems mentioned by the Prime Minister were sorted out, he insists there would still be this terrorism threat in our midst. “I believe the root lies in the existence of this extremist ideology,” suggested Cameron. “I would argue an important reason so many young Muslims are drawn to it comes down to a question of identity.”
Drawn from the British experience
What Cameron said next was drawn from the British experience, although he believes there are general lessons for everyone to learn.
“In the UK, some young men find it hard to identify with the traditional Islam practised at home by their parents, whose customs can seem staid when transplanted to modern Western countries.”
Cameron continued: “These young men also find it hard to identify with Britain, too, because we have allowed the weakening of our collective identity. Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream. We’ve failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.”
Cameron suggested we’ve even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values.
“So, when a white person holds objectionable views, racist views for instance, we rightly condemn them, but when equally unacceptable views or practices come from someone who isn’t white, we’ve frankly been too cautious – even fearful – to stand up to them.”
He added: “The failure, for instance, of some to confront the horrors of forced marriage, the practice where some young girls are bullied and sometimes taken abroad to marry someone when they don’t want to, is a case in point. This hands-off tolerance has only served to reinforce the sense that not enough is shared.”
Youngsters left feeling rootless
Cameron believes this state of affairs leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless. “The search for something to belong to and something to believe in can lead them to this extremist ideology. For sure, they don’t turn into terrorists overnight, but what we see – and what we see in so many European countries – is a process of radicalisation.”
The Prime Minister elaborated on this point. “Internet chat rooms are virtual meeting places where attitudes are shared, strengthened and validated. In some mosques, preachers of hate can sow misinformation about the plight of Muslims elsewhere. In our communities, groups and organisations led by young, dynamic leaders promote separatism by encouraging Muslims to define themselves solely in terms of their religion.”
The coaltion’s leader said that all of these interactions can engender a sense of community, a substitute for what the wider society has failed to supply.
“Now, you might say as long as they’re not hurting anyone, what’s the problem with all this? I’ll tell you. As evidence emerges about the backgrounds of those convicted of terrorist offences, it’s clear that many of them were initially influenced by what some have called ‘non-violent extremists’, and they then took those radical beliefs to the next level by embracing violence.”
Cameron spoke those words, he said, as an indictment of Britain’s approach to these issues in the past.
“If we are to defeat this threat, I believe it’s time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past.”
Three-point plan for change
“First, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we – as Governments and as societies – have got to confront it in all of its forms. Second, instead of encouraging people to live apart, we need a clear sense of shared national identity that’s open to everyone.”
“Whether they are violent in their means or not, we must make it impossible for the extremists to succeed. For Governments, there are some obvious ways we can do this. We must ban preachers of hate from coming to our countries. We must also proscribe organisations that incite terrorism against people at home and abroad.”
“Governments must also be shrewder in dealing with those that, while not violent, are in some cases part of the problem. We need to think much harder about who it’s in the public interest to work with. Some organisations that seek to present themselves as a gateway to the Muslim community are showered with public money despite doing little to combat extremism.”
Cameron continued: “As others have observed, this is like turning to a right wing fascist party to fight a violent white supremacist movement. We should properly judge these organisations: do they believe in universal Human Rights, including for women and people of other faiths? Do they believe in equality of all before the law? Do they believe in democracy and the right of people to elect their own Government? Do they encourage integration or separation?”
According to Cameron, these are the sorts of questions we need to ask. “Fail these tests and the presumption should be not to engage with organisations – so, no public money and no sharing of platforms with ministers at home.”
At the same time, the Prime Minister feels we must stop these groups from reaching people in publicly-funded institutions like universities or even, in the British case, prisons.
“Some say this is not compatible with free speech and intellectual inquiry. Well, I say: ‘Would you take the same view if these were right wing extremists recruiting on our campuses? Would you advocate inaction if Christian fundamentalists who believed that Muslims are the enemy were leading prayer groups in our prisons? To those who say these non-violent extremists are actually helping to keep young, vulnerable men away from violence, I say: ‘Nonsense’.”
He added: “Would you allow the far right groups a share of public funds if they promise to help you lure young white men away from fascist terrorism? Of course not but, at root, challenging this ideology means exposing its ideas for what they are, and that’s completely unjustifiable.”
Terrorism: wrong in all circumstances
The Prime Minister said: “We need to argue that terrorism is wrong in all circumstances. We need to argue that prophecies of a global war of religion pitting Muslims against the rest of the world are nonsense.”
Governments cannot do this alone, however. “The extremism we face is a distortion of Islam, so at least in part these arguments must be made by those within Islam. Let us give voice to those followers of Islam in our own countries – the vast, often unheard majority – who despise the extremists and their worldview. Let us engage groups that share our aspirations.”
Cameron suggested we must build stronger societies and stronger identities at home. “Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and a much more active, muscular liberalism. A passively tolerant society says to its citizens: ‘As long as you obey the law we will just leave you alone’. It stands neutral between different values.”
The Prime Minister believes a genuinely liberal country does much more. It believes in certain values and actively promotes them. “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law, equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality. It says to its citizens: ‘This is what defines us as a society: to belong here is to believe in these things’.”
He urged: “Each of us in our own countries, I believe, must be unambiguous and hard-nosed about this defence of our liberty.”
“There are practical things that we can do as well. That includes making sure immigrants speak the language of their new home and ensuring that people are educated in the elements of a common culture and curriculum.”
National Citizen Service in the UK
Soon, the UK Government is introducing National Citizen Service: a two-month programme for 16-year-olds from different backgrounds to live and work together.
“I also believe,” said Cameron, “that we should encourage meaningful and active participation in society by shifting the balance of power away from the state and towards the people. That way, common purpose can be formed as people come together and work together in their neighbourhoods.”
The Prime Minister suggested that this will also “help build stronger pride in local identity so people feel free to say: ‘Yes, I am a Muslim, I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, but I am also a Londonder or a Berliner, too’.”
It’s that identity, that feeling of belonging in our countries that Cameron believes is the key to achieving true cohesion.
“Let me end by saying this. This terrorism is completely indiscriminate and has been thrust upon us. It cannot be ignored or contained: we have to confront it with confidence, and confront the ideology that drives it by defeating the ideas that warp so many young minds at their root, and confront the issues of identity that sustain it by standing for a much broader and generous vision of citizenship in our countries.”
“None of this will be easy. We will need stamina, patience and endurance, and it won’t happen at all if we act alone.”
“This ideology crosses not just our continent but all continents, and we are all in this together. At stake are not just lives, but our very way of life. That’s why this is a challenge we cannot avoid. It is one we must rise to and overcome.”
