Spinwatch exposes links between pro-Israeli groups and Islamophobic British think-tan

[alexa]

There is no doubt that attempts to whip up Islamophobia are on the rise and there certainly seems to be an atmosphere of intolerance and racism gaining traction here in the UK. While it is easy to point the finger of blame at racist far-right groups such as the BNP and “the Zionist false flag operation” the EDL (as the BNP call them) (p32) as a major source for stirring up such unnecessary hatred, a new report published by Spinwatch attempts to trace the source of some of this Islamophobia to its more subversive roots, particularly to groups and agencies which purport to be moderate British think-tanks but which instead serve Israeli interests and promote a clearly Islamophobic agenda.

The Spinwatch Report “The Cold War on British Muslims” focuses on two such groups; Britain’s influential Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) and the group Policy Exchange.

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The Spinwatch report draws parallels between how left wing groups, peace activists and trade-unionists were targeted by anti-subversion agencies in the 1960′s and 1970′s and their seeming nostalgia for such an era of political subversion policies to return by calling for the targeting of politically engaged Muslims, liberals and leftists today.

The Centre for Social Cohesion was established in 2007 as a project of Civitas and the group has a major preoccupation with the threat from “Islamic terrorism”. It is staffed by people like Douglas Murray (its Director) who have “established a reputation as a critic of Islam” bolstered by statements he has made like “conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board; Europe must look like a less attractive proposition.” To compound this ethos of an anti-Muslim agenda in April it was announced that: “the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) has combined together with the London-based think tank The Henry Jackson Society, who share the same philosophy as the CSC in addition to their broader mission statement.” This “philosophy” of which they speak includes a clear history of promoting the Israeli narrative in its choice of speakers, events and so on and that attempting to dismiss and slur the Palestinian perspective.

Islamophobia the tie that binds disparate right-wing groups | Jews for Justice for Palestinians

The 75 page report can be downloaded here

http://spinwatch.org.uk/images/The Cold War on British Muslims.pdf