SIDELINE THE EXTREMISTS SAYS HOME SECRETARY
(7 July 2004)

Religious and political extremists are a scourge of modern society who prey on the most vulnerable and insecure, Home Secretary David Blunkett said today in a major keynote speech on race. David Blunkett said the Government intended to introduce an offence of incitement to religious hatred to help tackle extremists who used religion to stir up hatred in our society. The Home Secretary said such extremists did not represent the communities they claimed to speak for and sidelining them was an essential part of fighting racism in modern Britain.

The Home Secretary's speech at the IPPR on race equality and community cohesion comes ahead of the Government's race strategy which will be published in the autumn. Mr Blunkett said: "We have to face down extremism and racism in all its forms if we are to promote a positive, inclusive sense of British identity and citizenship which newcomers feel welcome to commit to and which established communities feel proud of be part of.

"The Government has already introduced tougher penalties for racial and religious hate crime. We tried unsuccessfully to introduce an offence of incitement to religious hatred in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks but I hope we will now have the parliamentary backing to put this in law.

ISLAMOPHOBIA

Mr Blunkett stated, "I am very clear that some of the noisiest and most high profile political and religious extremists in this country have no mandate to speak for the communities they claim to represent and evoke a reaction which plays into the hands of racists. There is a responsibility on all of us to challenge the myths and stereotypes they use which turn fear and insecurity into resentment and prejudice.

CRE Chair, Trevor Phillips today welcomed the Home Secretary's support for legal protection for faith communities. Mr Phillips said " Naturally as the sponsor of the 1997 Runnymede Trust report that brought the word Islamophobia into common usage in the UK, I especially welcome the renewed commitment to making incitement to religious hatred illegal. No-one can underestimate the difficulty of this task, and even if the government does get the law through, we know from recent events that making it stick isn't a breeze. But it will send a powerful signal that our society will not tolerate this kind of treatment of any group, on any basis'

Mr Phillips also said that current Race Relations legislation provided inadequate protection to some religions from bigotry and hatred,"It used to be the case that anti-Muslim attacks or prejudice could have been remedied using race law, on the grounds that most Muslims were Asians. We believe that this is no longer adequate. One reason is sheer numbers. Today, half of Britain's Asians are not Muslims; and a third of Britain's Muslims are not Asian. Simply making the equation between Asians and Muslims is no longer tenable."

LAW WELCOMED BY THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN

The Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the plans to outlaw incitement to religious hatred in the UK. "This is a long overdue measure but nevertheless is a welcome first step. It will hopefully close a loophole in the law that has meant that whereas incitement to racial hatred has been prohibited, incitement to religious hatred has not. This anomaly has not gone unnoticed by Far Right groups in the UK who have been abusing this loophole by publicly adapting their old racist rhetoric of yesteryear into a virulently anti-Muslim invective designed to create divisions in our society," said Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK's representative Muslim umbrella body with over 400 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.

HINDUS URGE GOVERNMEMT TO "GET IT RIGHT"

Hindu leaders reacted cautiously to the proposals by the Home Secretary. Referring to the unsuccessful attempt to introduce an offence of incitement to religious hatred in the aftermath of the September 11 incidents, Ishwer Tailor MBE, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain said, "This time, the Home Office have hopefully considered the concerns of various faith communities through consultation and dialogue. The Strength in Diversity paper released in May is a crucial step in ensuring that this legislation is handled correctly."

"The consultation programme initiated by the Hindu Forum will provide the Home Office with genuine feedback from our community," added Ramesh Kallidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum. "We urge the government to introduce these reforms cautiously so that we get it right, first time."

The Hindu Forum of Britain is organising five workshops in July and August 2004 to consult 200 Hindu organisations in London, Leicester, Birmingham, Preston and Bolton on the Government's race and equality strategy - 'Strength in Diversity' - that was published on 19 May. The Hindu Forum of Britain is an umbrella body with a broad-based membership of Hindu organisations from different regions and cultural backgrounds in Britain. At the core of the Forum's activities is a strong belief in the richness and diversity of the Hindu culture, its value system that encompasses respect for all beings and faiths, and a cultural heritage that facilitates community cohesion and coexistence.

INTEGRATION IS NOT ABOUT ASSIMILATION

Mr Blunkett, in he speech, continue "we also need to be clear that in Britain integration is not about assimilation into a common culture so that original identities are lost. We can and should be proud of the sense of nationhood we feel to the nations within Britain as well as to Britain as a whole. In short, our approach is pragmatic, based on common sense, allowing people to express their identity within a common framework of rights and responsibilities.

"We want people from all backgrounds to be proud of their identity - and to have respect for the identity of others. Government can support this by encouraging a positive and active notion of British citizenship and by ensuring new migrants engage with the communities in which they live. This is an important part of tackling racism and putting in place foundations that support a strong and diverse Britain.

"I am also laying an order today to bring in new requirements for testing the English language of people applying for British citizenship and in the autumn we will bring in new English language courses which will use teaching materials based on citizenship."

"There is enormous strength in our diversity as a nation, and we must celebrate and value that as an integral part of our identity as a country. There is a tendency to exaggerate the scale and challenges of diversity and migration, and to underestimate the success with which minority communities are able to integrate.

"The facts are that the eight per cent of our population who describe themselves as being from black and minority ethnic communities have made a disproportionate contribution to enriching every aspect of life in Britain - from economic success to the arts, music, sport, education and science.

"At the same time, diversity does present real challenges - instability and change are a feature of modern life and they can lead to insecurity and fear. The Government has a key role to play in helping individuals and communities deal with the social effects of change.

"We also need to tackle the inequalities which still hold our society back, and work towards a situation where people's life chances are not restricted by their race, culture or religious belief, and where they feel free to participate equally in society regardless of their background.

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