Shawcross Appointment Highlights a Deeper Problem with the government William Shawcross infamously once said “Europe and Islam is one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future.”An outspoken advocate for all of the government’s War on Terror policies for the last 20 years from the war in Iraq to Prevent, Shawcross has no credibility to lead a review on Prevent, the major criticism of which is its Islamophobic nature.His lack of legitimacy coupled with the government’s attitude toward an “Independent review of Prevent” that it had committed to nearly two years ago, has unified the biggest, broadest coalition of Muslims since the Iraq War in 2003. Over 550 organisations and individuals from the Muslim community, including 350 mosques, have announced they will boycott the review into Prevent, including those who have previously engaged with Prevent and Prevent reviews, which speaks volumes itself. Source: Muslims unite for UK’s biggest coalition […]

Leading British Muslim civil society organisations and mosques said on Wednesday they would boycott a review of the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism strategy over the appointment of William Shawcross. In a statement, the coalition of more than 450 organisations and 90 prominent community figures including scholars and academics said that Shawcross had a “track record of hostility to Islam and Muslims”. “No serious, objective, critical review can be undertaken by someone with such a track record – rather we should expect him to promote a hardening of policies towards Muslims. So, if Muslim organisations engage with this Review, it strengthens its legitimacy and its power to recommend policies more harmful to the community,” the statement said. Source: Muslim organisations boycott UK government’s Prevent review | Middle East Eye

More than 450 Muslim civil society organisations and 100 leading figures have pledged to boycott the government’s review of the Prevent counter-extremism policy which will be led by the controversial William Shawcross. The coalition represents a broad cross section of Muslim civic society across the UK, including over 30 national and 10 regional organisations, 100 leading religious scholars, academics, community organisers and allies. Signatories also include some organisations which are currently in receipt of Prevent funding. However, the Muslim Council of Britain, which says it is Britain’s largest Muslim umbrella organisation, did not sign the letter. Source: Historic Muslim coalition boycotts Prevent review – 5Pillars

A coalition of more than 450 Islamic organisations, including 350 mosques and imams, representing thousands of British Muslim voices, are to boycott the government’s review of the anti-radicalisation programme Prevent in protest against the appointment of William Shawcross as its chair, the Guardian can reveal.The appointment of Shawcross, who chaired the Charity Commission between 2012 and 2018, has been criticised as a result of previous remarks he has made about Islam.Individuals and organisations from across Britain, including the Association of Muslim Lawyers, Muslim Youth Network, Advancing Voices of Women Against Islamophobia and dozens of local and regional bodies have signed a statement announcing a boycott of the review. Source: Hundreds of Islamic groups boycott Prevent review over choice of chair | Prevent strategy | The Guardian