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posted by CoolHand on Tuesday May 26 2015, @06:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the erosion-of-rights dept.

The Guardian reports that Britain's most senior Muslim policeman, Mak Chisty, has warned "Islamist propaganda is so potent it is influencing children as young as five and should be countered with intensified monitoring to detect the earliest signs of anti-western sentiment". He gives several examples of indoctrination being forced upon children as young as five (Christmas being "haram" [an act forbidden by Islam]) and teenagers being groomed to join ISIS.

Chishty said friends and family of youngsters should be intervening much earlier, watching out for subtle, unexplained changes, which could also include sudden negative attitudes towards alcohol, social occasions and western clothing. They should challenge and understand what caused such changes in behaviour, the police commander said, and seek help, if needs be from the police, if they are worried.

[...] Chishty said communities in Britain had to act much earlier. He said: "We need to now be less precious about the private space. This is not about us invading private thoughts, but acknowledging that it is in these private spaces where this [extremism] first germinates. The purpose of private-space intervention is to engage, explore, explain, educate or eradicate. Hate and extremism is not acceptable in our society, and if people cannot be educated, then hate and harmful extremism must be eradicated through all lawful means." [...] Asked to define "private space", Chishty said: "It's anything from walking down the road, looking at a mobile, to someone in a bedroom surfing the net, to someone in a shisha cafe talking about things."

[...] He said friends and family were best placed to intervene. Questions should be asked, he said, if someone stops shopping at Marks & Spencer [a shop perceived to be Jewish owned] or starts voicing criticism. He said it could be they were just fed up with the store, but alternatively they could have "hatred for that store". He said the community should "look out for each other", that ISIS was "un-Islamic", as proven by its barbarity.

turgid notes:

As an atheist who enthusiastically celebrates Christmas, eats chocolate eggs at Easter and carves turnips or pumpkins at Halloween, I find it very strange that people of many religions often artificially exclude themselves from harmless and enjoyable local traditional customs. I find it very sad that we have young people brought up in a strictly-controlled environment cut off from the ideas and views of the rest of the world. I also find it abhorrent that the Establishment now finds itself publicly calling for the complete abandonment one of the core values of individual liberty.

Maybe the rest of us shouldn't worry because we're not Muslim? Where have I heard this before?

Meanwhile, our government is attempting to tear up the Human Rights Act. It's easier to control when the proles have no rights.


[Editor's Comment: Original Submission. Significant edits to this submission have been made - acknowledgement of the submitter has been changed to reflect this. janrinok]

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by janrinok on Tuesday May 26 2015, @11:50AM

    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 26 2015, @11:50AM (#187971) Journal

    Actually, quite the opposite - but you have to read TFA in its entirety to understand what is being said. The police are, in this instance, suggesting that the people best able to combat radicalism are friends and family. The police are not looking for additional powers, are not suggesting that new crimes should be created, and they acknowledge the lack of success that they are having.

    On average, in the UK, 1 schoolchild per day is detected attempting to leave the UK to join ISIS. When police actually stop such things from happening the parents and friends of the subject appear to be genuinely surprised and claim that they didn't see any warning signs of radicalisation in the period leading up to the police becoming involved. Chishty is suggesting that the friends and family need to be aware that the signs will not necessarily be obvious - such as vocally proclaiming support or preaching violent action - but are more likely to be detected in subtle changes in the behaviour of the individual concerned. Additionally, friends and family should be taking action much sooner than they are at present. The police are not able to detect such things, nor are they seeking any additional powers to make such a thing possible, but Chishty is suggesting, that for 5 year olds to express extreme and incorrect views, or people in their early teens decide to leave everything and everyone they love behind and seek to join ISIS, only those who are close to the subject will be able to see the minor changes that might be the only clues as to what they are being told, and subsequently their true views and intentions.

    Chishty also stresses that it is not a particular group or section of the Muslim community that are vulnerable. He has genuine concerns regarding the risks posed to his own children and he warns that it could happen to anyone in the community.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @01:19PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @01:19PM (#187999)

    Kids are easy to recruit because many of them are seeking adventure, lack the life experience necessary to recognize bullshit and have teen angst which makes them feel disaffected from society. That last one seems to be a common denominator for almost all radicalisation - a disconnect from the social support system of community leaves them vulnerable to other communities that promise them inclusion.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Archon V2.0 on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:14PM

    by The Archon V2.0 (3887) on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:14PM (#188051)

    > Actually, quite the opposite - but you have to read TFA in its entirety to understand what is being said.

    I did. I saw a police officer saying "If I feel the need to be extra vigilant, then I think you need to feel the need to be extra vigilant." and "We need to now be less precious about the private space." and - while not in quotes, "... the police commander said, and seek help, if needs be from the police, if they are worried." What are the police supposed to do if the kid's only known crime is espousing radical beliefs?

    > On average, in the UK, 1 schoolchild per day is detected attempting to leave the UK to join ISIS.

    I admit I hadn't heard this, and Google is just bringing up a dozen flavors of article on the three girls who were stopped from going. Do you have a link to an article discussing this further? I'd like to read up on it.

    • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:36PM

      by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:36PM (#188070) Journal
      There is a link in TFA which is titled: "Muslims, some 700 so far, being lured from their bedrooms to Syria by Islamic State (Isis) propaganda." It was accessible when we prepared the story for release but now seems to be asking for a log-in. I'll try to find an alternative way of accessing it. Googling for it reveals what you found, either the same story of the 3 schoolgirls, or estimates of between 500 - 2500 britons of all ages who have travelled to Syria, although a proportion of them have returned to the UK. There was a report looking specifically at school age children but I haven't located it yet. I'll keep trying.