Ep.78 - The British Conservative Government & Prevent with Dr. Layla Aitlhadj
The British Conservative government is currently going through crisis after crisis. For the past twelve years, we have witnessed the slow and sorry car crash of its failed policies. At the time of broadcast, its current embattled prime minister, Liz Truss, has had to u-turn on her economic plan and hangs on by a thread. Yet very few journalists and political commentators pay much attention to another series of disastrous policy initiatives focused on the Muslim community. And despite all the evidence, the government ploughs money into initiatives like Prevent, an insidious counter-terror strategy that has caused untold damage to community relations and alienated large numbers of Muslims.
Prevent, a statutory duty of all public officials, look to find what the government calls signs of radicalisation. Often, these indicators are conflated with Islamic practice or subject to the prejudices of teachers and other officials that have been whipped up in a McCarthyite-style frenzy.
My guest today Is an academic and activist who has been following the trail of mayhem caused by Prevent and has for years held the government to account. Dr Layla Aitlhadj is the Director of PreventWatch. Her most recent contribution as co-author of the People’s Review of Prevent drew support from over a dozen human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International and the UN rapporteur on protecting freedoms. I ask Dr Layla to help us understand Prevent, analyse the broader impacts of this policy and draw on her extensive casework to help us visualise why Prevent is toxic within our communities.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hassan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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To come soon.