Stand Together Against Extremism: Victims Unite to Fight Back
Victims of Terror Speak Out
More than 50 victims and survivors of terror attacks are calling for Britain to stand together to beat extremism. In an open letter, they urge the Government to make the issue a “national priority”.
Voices of Experience
Last night Brendan Cox, widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox, said: “These people know what it’s like to be targeted by extremists. “Their bravery in speaking out deserves to be listened to by politicians.” The call for action has been signed by 57 notable figures. They include Magen Inon, a London-based Israeli whose parents were killed by Hamas on October 7, and Rebecca Rigby, whose husband Lee was killed by Islamist terrorists in 2013 outside his Army barracks in Woolwich, South East London.
Warning Signs
Others warning of the dangers of extremism are Manchester Arena bombing survivor Paul Price, whose partner Elaine McIver was one of 22 people lost in the 2017 attack, and Mike Haines, whose aid worker brother David was killed by IS in 2014. Further signatories include Charlotte Dixon-Sutcliffe, whose partner David was killed in the 2016 Brussels Metro bombing, and Claudia Vince, a survivor of the 2019 London Bridge attack.
The Fight Against Extremism
AS victims and survivors of terror attacks that were driven by Islamist extremism, we are only too aware of its threat. It has had a devastating impact on our own lives and killed people we loved. Fighting it and defeating it should be a national priority. To defeat this threat, the single most important thing we can do is to isolate the extremists and the terrorists from the vast majority of British Muslims who deplore such violence.
Divided We Fall, United We Stand
In recent weeks there have been too many cases where politicians and others have failed to do this, in some cases equating being Muslim with being an extremist, facilitating anti-Muslim hate or failing to challenge it. This is not only wrong in itself, it makes the job of the Islamist extremists easier and plays into the hands of terrorists.
Learning from the Past
We also know where anti-Muslim hate can lead. This month (15th of March) is the fifth anniversary of the horrific far-right terror attack in Christchurch New Zealand that killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques. While Islamist-inspired extremism is our country’s most pressing terror threat, it is not our only one – and responding to it by feeding far-right extremism, dividing our communities and exaggerating the risk will feed a cycle of extremism that will put more people at risk. It is the height of irresponsibility.