Tomorrow the Prime Minister is to make a key note speech on extremism and ISIS and is set to outline how the group uses men and women, boys and girls, to promote it’s nihilism through death and destruction. Yet the Prime Minister’s speech will also be notable for one other element which the Government has said it wants to tackle; this includes the environment of conspiracy theories, fear and sometimes purposeful disinformation that some groups promote in order to ensure disengagement by some sections of Muslim communities from civic structures.
In tackling this, the Prime Minister is linking an environment which creates fear, apprehension and disengagement to the extremism agenda. In effect, the Government are saying that they see the people promoting this disengagement as being part of the problem and not the solution and tomorrow’s speech will open up a new front against these groups and the comments are telling. The Prime Minister and his Government will tackle such groups, as well as those espousing extremist or violent extremist groups.
There are other elements that the Prime Minister will raise which will be a subject of much debate. Yet, the Prime Minister will be outlining his red lines, some of which may take in groups which previously have not been tackled and who have openly stated that they are against violent action.