A month after the July 7 bombings in London, I was appointed deputy convener of the UK government’s working group on tackling extremism and radicalisation.
A decade on, the UK government is due to release a new extremism strategy, possibly before parliament’s summer recess at the end of the month. It is unclear if Britain as a society has learnt what it should have in the last 10 years, but some of the old issues remain.
In 2005, one lobby group or other represented, inaccurately, the diverse array of British Muslim communities. Britain no longer makes that mistake but Whitehall has yet to discover fruitful ways of engaging with Muslim communities in general. The dynamics of the state’s relationship with the Muslim community remain as bad as they have ever been and look set even to worsen.
In the media, there is a pronounced stereotyping of Muslims en masse and prime minister David Cameron’s recent declaration that some British Muslims were “quietly condoning ISIL” was an unwise further move in that direction. If Islam is mentioned in public discourse, it’s almost always in relation to radicalism or in the context of it being utilised in the fight against extremism.
The public rhetoric and mood are immensely unhealthy but only a healthy society can be resilient enough to fight the efforts of radicals to recruit the vulnerable.
In 2015, Britain is no closer even to a genuine debate around the notion of “British values”, though these are constantly cited in contra-distinction to extremism. Instead, the term “British values” is used to avoid genuine debate about what is genuinely British in the 21st century.
When it comes to “extremism” and “radicalisation”, everyone has become rather befuddled. Some prominent figures use “extremism” as a catch-all phrase, which incorporates not only radical ideology but simple conservatism within Muslim communities. This is a dangerous precedent. During the Cold War, Britain was in a potentially existential conflict with a state that believed in a particular form of communism. But still it continued to recognise that not all types of socialism were problematic. Today, Britain needs to be far more precise about what it means by “extremism”. It exists and it is not limited to those who actually carry out violent acts. But there is a need to be very deliberate and specific.
There are those who say that radicalisation is always about social or political factors. That is not helpful. Radicalisation often does occur via ideas and ideology as well, though it is also a fact that political and social grievances have a role to play. Denying the power of ideology flies in the face of the evidence offered by security professionals.
The very idea that there is a single radicalisation process is flawed. There are a multitude of processes and they rely on ideology and sociopolitical circumstances in different ways. But thus far, in some quarters, there’s been the overwhelming temptation to find easy answers and identity a single radicalisation process. There is no quick fix to the problem.
Finally, a decade on from 7/7, Britain clearly does realise that it needs to understand more about Islamism. On the one hand, there are a number of allies who argue that all Islamists are essentially the same as Al Qaeda or ISIL, with only superficial differences. On the other, there are those who insist that all Islamists are essentially pluralist democrats. Both models are woefully inadequate. Britain must realise that Islamism comes in many different shades and being naive about them in general, whether positively or negatively, doesn’t help as it moves into the decade after 7/7.
None of these issues are going away. Britain needs to start thinking in a more strategic fashion about all of them because they’re only likely to become more important as time goes on.
Dr HA Hellyer is an associate fellow in international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London, and the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC
On Twitter: @hahellyer
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
