There was no ‘Terror List’
Maajid linked to this on Facebook, in response to the SPLC’S bullshit about a “terror list:”
In light of a number of recent accusations that have been levelled at Quilliam and our track record, we felt it was necessary to set the record straight with regards to our work. The below is a breakdown of common accusations that are directed at us with clear responses beneath.
Accusation – Quilliam produced a McCarthyite secret ‘Terror List’ that smeared ordinary Muslim groups and individuals as extremist and gave it to the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OCST).
Response – This accusation repeated here by the Guardian is simply false. There was no ‘Terror List’. We produced a briefing document entitled ‘Preventing Terrorism: where next for Britain?’, that we sent to all government departments and not just the OSCT. This document set out reforms we felt were necessary to the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. The Government’s strategy was eventually reformed almost exactly as we had advised. The document was sent in private so as to not play out the debate about reforming the Government’s counter-extremism strategy in the press. However, the copy we sent to the OSCT was eventually leaked by a civil servant.
The main body of the document reviewed Government departments involved in the counter-extremism agenda and made policy suggestions. The document also had an appendix entitled ‘The British Muslim Scene’, which detailed the affiliations and backgrounds of a number of prominent British Muslim organisations, including their external influences. In no way was it a ‘Terror List’, nor was any of the categorisation incorrect. Furthermore, Quilliam has never advocated a ban on these organisations (Quilliam has even defended the right to remain legal in the UK for more extreme groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, see here where Quilliam’s Chairman is quoted by the Prime Minister in Parliament as supportive evidence for why Hizb ut-Tahrir should not be banned), rather we advocated a policy of challenging these groups. We call this our doctrine of legal tolerance coupled with “civic intolerance”, as first argued in our testimony before the US here. Hence the list was the exact opposite of a McCarthyite list, arguing that these groups should remain legal but challenged in civic debate. The full and rather sensible report that generated this false accusation is available to view here.
There’s more, but that one spoke directly to the SPLC accusation.
