‘Society needs to condemn a little more and understand a little less.” The words of the former British prime minister Sir John Major have come to mind over the last few days. He was speaking, in 1993, about crime, but they seem to echo in some of the reactions we have heard in the aftermath of yet another terrorist attack on the UK.
“There is – to be frank – far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. Enough is enough,” said Britain’s current leader, Theresa May.
“The wells of tolerance are running empty,” added the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.
“We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people,” tweeted Donald Trump.
If this means that it is essential that all the tools to stop terrorist attacks and radicalisation are in place, few would disagree. New measures may well mean a reduction in civil liberties, more electronic eavesdropping and the like, for intelligence services must be given every means possible to tackle this protean scourge.
In an age when your friendly neighbour could turn out to have been radicalised online and decide to take his life and those of others using just his car as a weapon, the reach and the writ of the state has to run far indeed for it to have any chance of forestalling such attacks.
But there is a big difference between saying that security forces need more powers, and that is the problem, and blaming a community for tolerating extremism.
Let us not forget that both the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, and one of the London murderers, Khuram Butt, had been reported to the authorities by friends and associates worried that the men had been radicalised. It seems that neither, however, were deemed high enough priority for continuing surveillance. That is not to blame the security services; instead it points to a massive increase of resources being necessary if men like Abedi and Butt are to be caught in time in future.
What it does not do is suggest that tolerance of extremism is the reason that these attacks took place. The UK community secretary, Sajid Javid, himself a Muslim, says that British Muslims have a “unique burden” to call out extremism: “It is not enough to condemn. Muslims must challenge too ... We can no longer shy away from those difficult conversations.”
Yet it is clear from reporting on their backgrounds that both the men above were “challenged” and had “difficult conversations” at the heart of their communities, in their mosques. The communities did just what Mr Javid is asking them to do and more, since they reported the men. Yet still it is not enough.
There was a time when the hateful preaching of radical extremists like Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri was tolerated, both by their own misguided followers and by the state. (When I asked one Home Office mandarin why the two were not charged, he told me ruefully that they had looked into it and that the law would not allow for prosecution. That was tolerance of a kind that baffled many. Thankfully both are now locked up, Abu Hamza in the US and Bakri in Lebanon.)
But that is in the past. The vast majority of both Britain and its Muslim community have taken an increasingly robust stance against radicalisation and extremism. They may be able to do more, but there are limits to what can be done about lone wolves or marginalised, disaffected people who find meaning and purpose through acts of violence, not through religion. As has been noted before, many who have gone to fight for ISIL or commit atrocities in its name know little about their supposed faith.
If anything, Muslims in the UK have been frustrated by the unwillingness of the authorities to take a harder line on extremists. Khuram Butt, for instance, was hiding in open sight, even appearing in a documentary last year called The Jihadis Next Door. The head of one anti-extremist foundation in the UK, Mohammed Shafiq, says: “Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding actions against these extremists to no avail. I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities.”
There are indeed, and as home secretary with oversight of counter-terrorism for six years before she became prime minister, they should be directed at Theresa May. Enough is enough? Yes, let’s take that at face value. Enough underfunding of the security services so that men like Khuram Butt and Salman Abedi don’t slip through the net in the future. But no return to the scapegoating of an entire community that has condemned again and again, until they are weary of having to prove their loyalty, the tiny minority foolish or wicked enough to be seduced by extremism.
For that way lies the insidious condemnation of a whole religion; and the words of the politicians stray perilously close to that dangerous territory. Let them remember that if the “wells of tolerance are running empty”, they should do so for Islamophobia as much as for any form of extremism.
Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20profile
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AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
NEW%20UTILITY%20POLICY%3A%20WHAT%20DOES%20IT%20REGULATE%3F
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
RECORD%20BREAKER
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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