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On Wednesday, prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak said he will crack down on Islamist terrorism which has become a &quot;significant terror threat&quot; for the UK. He added that he will also scrutinise publicly funded charities which could be promoting extremist ideology.</p>
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Sunak&#39;s roadmap to fight Islamist extremism includes separating extremists from the UK&#39;s regular prison population along with measures to widen the scope of extremism.<br />
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However, what kind of extremism does the UK face?</p>
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There is no more important duty for a prime minister than keeping our country and our people safe.<br />
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I will do whatever it takes to fulfil that duty.<a href="https://t.co/n6Dkh0SFRq">https://t.co/n6Dkh0SFRq</a><br />
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Sign up: <a href="https://t.co/3cXn1rnFNA">https://t.co/3cXn1rnFNA</a> <a href="https://t.co/JQTY1NeOL1">pic.twitter.com/JQTY1NeOL1</a></p>
&mdash; Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) <a href="https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1554761493723226112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Former Indian ambassador to the UN, Manjeev Puri told <em>India Narrative</em>: &quot;The UK has been a victim of terror with blasts taking place in London itself. But I feel Sunak could be referring to Islamic extremism not just in the UK but to the ideology that has seeped into the rest of the world also&quot;.<br />
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Puri feels that by highlighting the terror threat, Sunak is signalling that the UK has a role globally in tackling terror. &quot;The UK is a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and is a player on the international stage. The country has faced problems related to extremism and radicalization from time to time.&quot;<br />
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In June, Sunni demonstrators protested outside cinema halls over the screening of a film, <em>The Lady of Heaven</em>, about Prophet Muhammed&#39;s daughter Lady Fatima. Faced with intimidation, cinema chain Cineworld cancelled all screenings in the UK over the &quot;safety of staff and customers&quot;. Sunni mosques called the film blasphemous for depicting Prophet Mohammed.</p>
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However, Shia Muslim film-maker and cleric Yasser Al-Habib defended his film along with the other members of the crew. The British government stepped in swiftly to curtail the controversy and fired <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61771695">imam Qari Asim</a>, who had been hired as Islamophobia consultant to the government. The government told the cleric: &quot;Your recent support for a campaign to limit free expression – a campaign which has itself encouraged communal tensions – means it is no longer appropriate for you to continue your work with the government… to promote community harmony.&quot; The imam was fired for trying to limit free expression in the garb of cleverly-disguised negotiation with cinema halls.<br />
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In September 2021 the MI5 reported threats to the UK from Islamic extremism. Director general Ken McCallum <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58512901">told the media</a> that a total of &quot;31 late-stage terror plots&quot; were foiled in the UK in the past four years. He added that the events in Afghanistan would have emboldened many extremists across the world.</p>
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UK suffered more terror attack deaths than any other EU country in 2017, report finds <a href="https://t.co/z6iPFUybhp">https://t.co/z6iPFUybhp</a> <a href="https://t.co/JdMGrPQMCa">pic.twitter.com/JdMGrPQMCa</a></p>
&mdash; The Independent (@Independent) <a href="https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1009706063359303680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Soon after, in November 2021, the UK raised the level of terror threat after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a maternity hospital in Liverpool. This terror incident came around the same time as Conservative Member of Parliament, Sir David Amess was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/11/david-amess-verdict-terrorist-attack-ali-harbi-ali-guilty">stabbed to death</a> near a church by a Islamic State (IS) extremist Ali Harbi Ali, who had planned to attack more British MPs.</p>
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Though not quite extremism, a couple of weeks back the British society was debating a sensitive topic over race after an independent inquiry revealed that authorities allowed girls to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/12/over-1000-children-telford-sexually-exploited-inquiry-finds">raped and sexually</a> exploited for decades in Telford–a town located about 140 kms north-west of London. The inquiry said: &quot;… abuse was allowed to continue for years and children, rather than perpetrators, were often blamed… Issues were not investigated because of nervousness about race&quot;.</p>
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&#39;Grooming gangs are predominantly Pakistani Muslim men, why is that?&#39;<br />
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Former Detective Constable in Greater Manchester Police Maggie Oliver reacts as an inquiry finds more than 1,000 children were abused by sexual grooming gangs in Telford.<a href="https://twitter.com/ShelaghFogarty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShelaghFogarty</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/MaggieOliverUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaggieOliverUK</a> <a href="https://t.co/QV34sfD2rA">pic.twitter.com/QV34sfD2rA</a></p>
&mdash; LBC (@LBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1547214190418567170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
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While the police and government agencies went soft over naming Pakistani men as the perpetrators, vocal British people took up investigations and a dogged pursuit of sexual exploitation cases. Taking to the social media, individuals questioned their government and the media over shying away from describing the perpetrators as adult Pakistani Muslim men.</p>
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Increasingly, the British people are becoming more aware of the threat that radicalisation poses to the country, and their society. In 2019, a group, Hope not Hate, found that more than one-third of the British people said <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/17/third-of-britons-believe-islam-threatens-british-way-of-life-says-report">Islam was a threat</a> to the British way of life. People spoke about no-go areas, the Sharia law and various terror attacks. The report also highlighted anti-Muslim prejudice and a rise in right wing terrorism in the country.</p>
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Read More:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/rishi-sunak-adopts-tough-stand-on-china-to-woo-conservative-party-members-in-poll-battle-vs-liz-truss-186277.html">Rishi Sunak adopts tough stand on China to woo Conservative Party members in poll battle vs Liz Truss</a></p>
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