Written evidence submitted by Counter Extremism Project UK

Home Affairs Select Committee Counter Extremism Inquiry

1)      The Counter Extremism Project (CEP)

1. A not-for-profit, non-partisan, international policy organization formed by a renowned group of former Government Ministers and diplomats to address the threat from extremist ideology.
2. Pressures financial support networks, counters the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocates for smart and effective laws, policies and regulations. 
3. A global network of experts and policymakers working to protect the interests and values of a stable, modern international system.

2)      The Counter Narrative

1. It is clear that an extremist narrative is impacting some communities in Britain, with over 700 people now having travelled from the UK to join Islamic fighters in Syria.
2. ISIS are using all the tools at their disposal to radicalize and recruit UK residents to their cause - in response, members of the moderate Muslim community are reticent to publicly offer an alternative to ISIS’s messaging.
3. Individuals are susceptible to radicalisation for a variety of reasons, a sense of disengagements and marginalisation, a pursuit of exclusionary ideologies which can rectify perceived injustices, through coercion, manipulation or fear, or to feel part of a cause which is larger than themselves.
4. The Muslim community do not see this as just a ‘Muslim issue’ and are frustrated at the perception that they are part of the problem not the solution.
5. UK residents, including the Muslim community, enjoy and celebrate freedom of speech – young people are perfectly capable of critiquing and questioning propagandist messaging which they can be exposed to, but only if they are given the appropriate tools and information to do so.
6. The Government, in partnership with civil society and the private sector, must find a way of developing a resilient counter narrative to ISIS’s narrative of hate and violence.
7. ISIS are particularly skilled at tapping into individuals’ social and emotional vulnerabilities, any counter narrative must be research orientated in order to withstand inevitable attacks from Islamic extremism operators.
8. More work must be done to ensure that the counter-narrative is seen as coming from a variety of credible vehicles, not just Government.
9. Civil Society, the Muslim community, private sector and members of the media and social media all have a responsibility to ensure that individual’s at risk of radicalization are being given the right preventative tools and counter information.
10. We, as a society, cannot dictate how and what people should think but we can provide a strong alternative which challenges the extremist messaging and celebrates the freedoms we enjoy in the UK.
11. CEP has been focusing resources on building an extensive research database on extremist groups[1], their leaders and their networks of support. Other campaigns such as #truthaboutISIS[2] on Twitter are also extremely effective.
12. By training educators, teachers, social workers and local decision-makers, the objective should be to provide them with the necessary tools and arguments for recognising, engaging with and responding to individuals identified as from at-risk groups.
13. It is important that non-Muslim students are shown how to effectively oppose extremist ideology without resorting to a prejudicial or offensive counter-narrative.
14. It is critical that non-ideological, secular and practising representatives of Islamic communities are supported and empowered to engage in this process.

3)      Social Media

1. ISIS activists on Twitter can tweet up to 90,000 times per day – approximately 600 tweets in ten minutes.
2. The Counter Terrorism Internet Referrals Unit is doing excellent work identifying extremist content and working with companies to take down content through existing user conditions rather than legislation.
3. There needs to be much greater cooperation and collaboration between Government’s and social media companies to ensure the counter narrative is being disseminated appropriately.
4. CEP would strongly encourage a formal meeting between CEOs of Silicon Valley and the UK Government to facilitate progress in this area.
5. It is not just the role of Government to regulate extremist propaganda online - civil society, the private sector and even individuals can all work to challenge the extremism narrative on social media.
6. CEP’s Digital Disruption Campaign[3] exposes extremists who use social media to propagandise, recruit and incite others to violence and pressures social media companies to act accordingly.
7. This campaign has the potential to be up-scaled and supported by other organisations who want to actively combat online extremism.
8. Close monitoring of extremism on social media can be used to track and analyse the level of effectiveness that different messages hold.

4)      Engaging with British Muslims

1. Islam is not just a religion but a strong cultural identity with a rich heritage that should be recognised and celebrated - CEP recognises the significant contribution made by the Muslim community to western society. 
2. The ideology of Islamic extremists provides an alternative vision for living for young British Muslims in particular, projected as it is through the prism of religion, which is not necessarily based on the promotion and protection of individual rights and freedoms, democratic values or other widely accepted tenets of the Enlightenment.
3. This ideology is effectively the thin end of the radicalisation wedge: it focuses on promoting the concept of ‘otherness’, of ‘us versus them’ and, under the tutelage of radical preachers and groups, as well as online propagandists, encourages separation from mainstream British society.
4. This creates fertile ground that can lead to radicalisation and ultimately, recruitment to terrorist organisations.   
5. The UK media and its partners have a responsibility to ensure that commentary and reporting on world events and domestic extremism do not perpetuate the perception amongst British Muslims that they are unwelcome in the UK.
6. Civil society and the private sector should come together to support projects which emphasise the contribution that Islam has made in the UK.
7. The 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World exhibition, which raises awareness of the creative golden age of Muslim civilisation that stretched from Spain to China, is an excellent example.
8. The narrative of discovering the cultural history of science has proved to be successful in helping under-represented groups, especially Muslim communities, engage with the societies they live in.
9. When the exhibition came to London in 2010 it attracted over 400,000 visitors and over 150 million people across the world have visited the exhibition.
10. There is a significant network of moderate Muslims in the UK who are actively participating in UK society and making a contribution.
11. Government, civil society and the private sector should enable moderate Muslims and provide them with a platform on which they can provide a clear alternative to extremist propaganda.
12. There are a number of Muslim led organisations which have credibility amongst their communities but they lack the communications skills and experience needed to make an impact.
13. By empowering moderate Muslims we can directly counter the damaging interpretation of Islam which ISIS disseminates.
14. Political Islam is a key driving force behind the ideology that is arguably the source of radicalization and violent extremism that can lead to terrorism and/or recruitment to terrorist organisations.
15. Political Islam exists in many multi-faceted networks such as the media, educational establishments and charities – civil society and the private sector can learn from each other how best to deal with these elements of extremism.
16. The government has engaged in the past with Islamist groups because they are organised, structured and well integrated within civil society in the UK.
17. They are persuasive in representing themselves as credible interlocutors for the government as they claim to represent ‘the Islamic community’.
18. No single Islamic community exists in Britain or in any other country in Europe; numerous different and diverse ethnic, social and cultural groups make up the Muslim population in the UK and many religious and secular Muslims do not, in fact, feel part of ‘the Islamic community’ nor are they represented by any one organisation. 

5)      Best Practise and International Comparisons

1. Schools and education professionals in many European countries are overwhelmed by the scale and apparent complexity of radicalisation and Islamism.
2. The emergence of fundamentalist strains of Islam and an ideology which is in direct conflict with the values of liberal democracies, present a challenge which they are unable to overcome without external support.
3. The Counter Extremism Project network is doing excellent work in Germany, France and the US to engage with youth organisations and work with educationalists on this issue.
4. At the recent United Nations General Assembly, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) co-hosted with the U.S. State Department the first Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism[4]. 
5. The Summit highlighted the participation of seventy-five youth activists from forty countries, who are fighting extremism in their communities. 
6. At least forty of the youth activists presented specific proposals that will be eligible for $100,000 in grants from the U.S. State Department. 
7. CEP in the United States also announced it will commit $100,000 to advance promising youth generated ideas to counter extremism.
8. The attendance at this summit and energy and drive provided by its youth participants was unprecedented.
9. If we can utilise that momentum and take best practise from their existing projects across the world, then we can successfully engage with the young members of our society who are at risk of radicalisation.
10. Microsoft Corp. and Facebook both participated in the Summit, leading sessions focused on improving employment prospects for vulnerable youth and how technology can be used to support community-based efforts to counter radicalization.
11. The Summit also produced the Global Youth Action Agenda[5], which was presented to President Obama and other officials at the United Nations on Sept. 29. 
12. Platforms such as this which successfully engage youth participants from around the world and unite them behind the common aim of fighting extremism, are key to ensuring that the dangerous message of extremism does not continue to threaten our society.

6)      Concluding Points

1. The Counter Extremism Project is an expanding international organisation which focuses on working to expose channels of financial support to extremist groups, assembling an extensive research database on extremist groups and their networks of support and providing a resource to governments, media, NGOs and the public.
2. It is clear from many of the discussions with activists in this space that if we, as a society, can engage with young people on an emotional and social level we will be able to create positive initiatives which young people can safely engage with, providing a safe space for dialogue.
3. ISIS has a budget of over £2 billion - the proper resources must be allocated to combat their attack on our society.
4. Civil society organisations and the private sector must have clear information on how they can access support, both operationally and financially to combat extremism.
5. Clarity is needed from both the Government and public sector on how resources and capability training can be accessed by civil society and the private sector.
6. In many communities there is no need to implement new programmes as doing so may only serve to replicate and undermine existing projects.
7. Countering extremism is not purely the responsibility of the Government - other areas of UK society, specifically the private sector, must galvanise themselves to actively oppose this dangerous narrative.
8. The Counter Extremism Project would strongly recommend that the forthcoming Counter-Extremism Bill be applicable to all forms of extremism, not just radical Islam.
9. Not to be ignored in the debate on the risk factors for recruitment to terrorist movements is the proliferation of propaganda and proselytizing from violent, racist, extreme nationalist groups which have also grown significantly in recent years.
10. The rise of the extreme right across the UK and Europe will only further inflame the narrative offered by ISIS and other radical groups.

Submitted by the Rt Hon Mark Simmonds, COO of the Counter Extremism Project UK.