The Government is set on introducing a Muslim blasphemy law via the back door through an official definition of “Islamophobia” — now repackaged as “anti-Muslim hostility”. Though non-statutory, this definition will be adopted zealously by police, schools, universities and other public bodies. It risks stifling legitimate debate and criticism of Islam and its practices. A new investigative briefing by the Free Speech Union’s Director of Policy and Research @DavidRoseUK exposes the links between the five members of the Working Group tasked with drafting the definition and Islamist organisations. Let’s take a look at them below 👇 1️⃣ Dominic Grieve, the group’s Chair and a former Conservative Attorney-General, apparently decided to support the controversial 2018 All-Party Parliamentary Group definition of Islamophobia as “a form of racism” after seeking advice from MCB and MEND leaders when he chaired a Citizen’s Commission on Muslims in 2017. 2️⃣Asha Affi was a council candidate for George Galloway’s RespectParty in 2010, when his policy demands included support for the Iranian and former Syrian regimes and wiping out the state of Israel. She stood in the same borough where Galloway had been an MP. 3️⃣Baroness Shaista Gohir has tweeted support for Hamas and wrote a report claiming it’s Islamophobic to suggest grooming gangs are disproportionately Muslim. 4️⃣ Akeela Ahmed has worked closely with the MCB in demanding restrictions on the reporting of Muslim affairs – and with Qari Asim, an imam sacked as an adviser by the last government because he was threatening free speech. Asim has also brought Pakistani imams who support the death penalty for blasphemy to speak in the UK. 5️⃣ Javed Khan was a keynote speaker at the UK launch last September of the Muslim Impact Forum, (MIF), which has close ties to President Erdoğan’s Islamist government in Turkey. The MIF’s website features an interview with Asim Qureshi, of the terrorist prisoners’ support group CAGE, who once called the Isis killer known as ‘Jihadi John’ “a beautiful young man”. In the interview, he says he hopes to lobby the MIF to support the annihilation of the “evil” state of Israel. Full briefing available in the comments 👇

'Supermax' is an Americanised distraction. What we need for a very small number of prisoners who have the capacity & capability for extreme violence & are ideologically driven is a facility that puts the safety & rights of staff & national security *first*. No more, no less.

🎉A surprise #CounterPod! 🎙️ In an end-of-year special, @NotThatBigIan and @EFittonBrown unpack four major security and extremism issues: ✔️Northern Ireland ✔️Muslim Brotherhood ✔️Maccabi Tel Aviv & UK football ✔️Gaza peace plan Listen below, redcircle.com/shows/5abd70e5…

SOUTHPORT INQUIRY 🧵 'But for the multiple errors, omissions & fatal misjudgments, the perpetrator would have been seen for who he really was & they really believe he could and should have been stopped. Stopped through a combination of competent diagnosis & risk assessment' 1/