A Government counter-terrorism scheme should be scrapped because it is alienating Muslims and increasing the risk of an attack, a report will warn this week.
The report by think tank Demos says that the £60 million-a-year Preventing Violent Extremism programme, which aims to “isolate and defeat” extremists in Muslim communities, has raised tensions and focused too much on law-abiding citizens.
MPs and leaders of Muslim organisations have previously claimed that the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy is counterproductive. Home Secretary Theresa May has announced a review of the programme, which has been used to fund community cohesion initiatives in London and elsewhere, to see whether it should be scaled back or altered.
The Demos report says that the scheme should be axed as it is “impossible to determine” whether it provides value for money.
Jamie Bartlett, the head of the think tank’s violence and extremism programme, said: “Building strong communities shouldn’t fall under the counter-terrorism brief. The Government must continue to show that Muslims are not a community under suspicion and deal with them as citizens, not suspects.”
The Preventing Violent Extremism scheme has supported efforts to strengthen the role of moderate imams and women in mosques. It has also funded health and education projects and forums at which residents can discuss extremism and Islamophobia.
The Demos report warns, however, that while many of these projects “are excellent in themselves, it is questionable how far they prevent terrorism” and they have “blurred the boundaries between social cohesion and counter-terrorism”.
Instead, the report says that prevention work should be “solely focused on people with the intent to act or who are being targeted by recruiters”.
On freedom of speech, it says that non-violent extremist views “should be heard” to allow them to be exposed as flawed, rather than suppressed through legislation.
The Commons communities and local government select committee this year warned that many Muslims believed that the “Prevent” programme was being used to spy on them.