<div class="post-content"> <div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-1" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h2 data-fontsize="35" style="--fontSize: 35; line-height: 1.29;" data-lineheight="45.15px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>Contents:</strong></h2> <ul> <li><a href="#introduction"><strong>Introduction</strong></a></li> <li><a href="#cage-survey"><strong>CAGE’s Survey</strong></a></li> <li><a href="#ukraine-support-schools"><strong>Support for Ukraine in schools</strong></a></li> <li><a href="#ukrainian-far-right"><strong>Schools working with organisations connected to the Ukrainian far-right</strong></a></li> <li><a href="#disinformation"><strong>Government policy on ‘disinformation’ on Ukraine</strong></a></li> <li><a href="#conclusion"><strong>Conclusion</strong></a></li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="introduction"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><strong>Introduction</strong></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-2" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">On 24th February, the Russian government initiated what it termed a “special military operation” and invaded Ukraine, in a sharp escalation of ongoing conflict between the two nations.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The backlash from Britain and allied states of the EU and NATO were swift and forceful, with Western powers inflicting crushing measures to economically, politically and diplomatically weaken Russia.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">This was coupled with, and in turn fostered, a mass popular opposition to Russia in Britain with an outpouring of support and sympathy for Ukraine and Ukrainians.This was accompanied by occasionally bizarre spectacles – such as Foreign Secretary <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ukraine-russia-war-british-troops-fight-b2024286.html">Liz Truss declaring her support</a> for Britons going to fight Russia live on TV, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-60540341">infamous BBC</a> segments with Ukrainians preparing molotov cocktails.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">For anyone with passing familiarity of the two situations, the disparity between Ukraine and how Palestine and Palestinians were approached in the context of Israel’s 2021 war on Gaza could not be more stark: despite some <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-03-04/134406">concerns</a> voiced from <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/03/09/nations-warned-to-monitor-and-prevent-extremist-foreign-fighters-from-heading-to-ukraine/">sections</a> of the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ukrainian-refugees-terror-attack-suella-braverman-b2038899.html">government</a> and security apparatus, mainstream coverage of Ukrainian ‘resistance’ was almost entirely bereft of the overly cautious and highly securitised approach taken towards Palestinians defending themselves against Israel.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The lack of support for Palestine was reflected in government policy, both with the characteristic equivocation seen in British government statements on Palestine-Israel, and more active interventions to police and limit the boundaries of public support for Palestine and Palestinians.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>This was exemplified by a letter sent by a formal letter <a href="https://twitter.com/gavinwilliamson/status/1398374786871537664">sent by then-Education Minister</a> Gavin Williamson to school headteachers, recasting the terms of the discussion of Palestine solidarity into one of antisemitism, “reminding” schools of their duties of political impartiality and directing them to work with either counter-extremism funded and/or outright pro-Israel organisations such as <i>Solutions not Sides</i> and <i>Community Security Trust</i>.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">This letter effectively validated the widespread suppression and sanctioning of Palestine solidarity in schools across the country, which used the spectre of antisemitism and rules about political impartiality to crack down on any and all signs of support for Palestine among pupils – and in cases, staff.We collated cases on these for our briefing <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/repression-of-palestine-solidarity-in-schools-report"><i>Repression of Palestine Solidarity in Schools</i></a><i>, </i>while others such as MEND <a href="https://www.mend.org.uk/schools-excluding-students-and-calling-police-for-supporting-palestine-2/">issued similar</a> summaries of cases that they had received.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The disparity in treatment between the two wars was widely picked up on social media too, and anecdotally – with pupils and parents regularly remarking on how open their schools were towards supporting Ukraine in comparison to Palestine, and/or other ‘Muslim causes’.In order to gauge the scale and pattern of support for Ukraine in schools, and to try and map these disparities, CAGE issued a survey to the public to collect testimonies and examples of schools taking measures to support Ukraine and/or Ukrainians.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="cage-survey"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-2 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><strong>CAGE’s survey</strong></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-3" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">Two weeks after the war broke out, CAGE issued an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-60540341">online survey</a> to document if and how schools were engaging the topic of Ukraine.The survey centred on the following questions:<br> – <b>Did your school talk about the Ukraine situation?<br> </b>– <b>What did they say in relation to Ukraine?</b>It also provided the opportunity for respondents to attach documentation, for example newsletters issued by the school, as well as fields to identify the school and contact information.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">We received <b>532 </b>responses to the survey in total, with cases spanning England, Wales and Scotland and encompassing primary schools, secondary schools, sixth forms and, on two occasions, universities.The first response to the survey was received on 5th March 2022 and the latest on 30th May 2022, with the majority of responses logged within a fortnight of the survey being circulated.<br> 70 responses were discarded from the following analysis due to lack of clarity, detail or relevance, or for being duplicates leaving a total of <b>462 responses, </b>which forms the basis of this briefing.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Of the 462 accepted responses, all but 20 reported that the school <i>had </i>formally held activity relating to Ukraine – including holding non-uniform days, activities, donation appeals or acknowledgements in newsletters.<br> In other words,<b> 96% of accepted responses </b>confirmed proactive engagement of the issue by schools.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The type of action taken by the school was categorised, and is listed below (note that some schools did took two or more actions that were logged separately, up to a value of 2):</li> </ul> </div> <div class="table-1"> <table style="height: 235px;" width="568"> <thead> <tr> <th align="left">Category</th> <th align="left">Instances</th> <th align="left">Description</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td align="left">Fundraising</td> <td align="left"><strong>287</strong></td> <td align="left">Fundraising appeals and donation drives – either conducted by the school, or directing to local and 3rd party drives</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Activity</td> <td align="left"><strong>135</strong></td> <td align="left">Activities in school, involving children including bake sales, crafts and non-uniform days</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Assembly or lesson</td> <td align="left"><strong>95</strong></td> <td align="left">School holding assemblies or lessons focused on the Russia-Ukraine war, or covering it</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Newsletters or comms</td> <td align="left"><strong>45</strong></td> <td align="left">Acknowledgement of the war in newsletters to parents, often coupled with resources or appeals</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Other</td> <td align="left"><strong>24</strong></td> <td align="left">Other</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div class="fusion-text fusion-text-4" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">The nature of the survey, and the scale of the responses, means that it is not possible to verify all the responses or to draw major qualitative conclusions.The intention of this briefing therefore is to outline the trends that we saw from the data, assess this in relation to the government’s stated position on Ukraine in schools, and compare it to the experiences of pupils during last year’s war on Gaza, for which we were able to draw upon more detailed casework information.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-4 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-3 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="ukraine-support-schools"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-3 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><p><strong>Support for Ukraine in schools<br> </strong></p></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-5" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">The figures lie in stark comparison to the treatment of Palestine last year, where our cases – as well as those of other advocacy organisations and countless anecdotes – indicated that pupils (and staff) were treated punitively for attempting to express solidarity.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">This includes even mild forms of support such as wearing colours or representations of the Palestine flag.<br> Conversely, <b>80 </b>survey responses mention schools promoting motifs of the Ukraine flag (such as encouraging children to wear blue and yellow for non-uniform days, or hoisting the Ukraine flag on school grounds. This figure does not include the many schools which featured the Ukraine flag prominently on their newsletters).</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The most frequent single category of activities undertaken by schools according to our survey was fundraisers/donation drives, with <b>287</b> occurrences.A number of Palestine-related cases in 2021 centred on hostile or heavy handed approach to fundraising attempts. This included cases where schoolteachers and management demanded that any fundraisers were split between ‘both sides’ – Palestinians and Israelis.<br> No such demands appear to have emerged with regard to school fundraisers for Ukraine, nor were misguided notions of ‘impartiality’ invoked to justify inaction from the responses we were provided with.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Survey responses picked up on this disparity.</li> </ul> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Speaking on the case of a girls’ secondary school in Birmingham, one respondent mentioned how:</p> <blockquote> <p><i>‘They deflected questions and didn’t give students the answers they were looking for when asked why funds were being raised for Ukraine and they weren’t even allowed to wear badges for Palestine. The only time where they directly spoke about Palestine was in an email about a year ago and it was discouraging any efforts made to raise funds. The double standards are uncanny.’ </i><i><br> </i></p> </blockquote> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">The same respondent also included the following anecdote from a student at the school, which suggested that the deputy headteacher had themselves acknowledged the error of the school’s past approach (towards fundraising for Palestine), albeit without being entirely forthcoming about their shortcomings:</p> <blockquote> <p><i><br> </i><i>‘So when I emailed the teacher who organises charity events, the following morning the deputy head spoke to me and told me that the school has learnt from their past mistakes and that they will be taking action on such events quicker in future. After a long conversation, she admitted the school’s wrongdoing and said that the large amount of awareness and support shown on the current Ukraine-Russia situation had nothing to do with race and religion, rather it was about ‘people.’ But when I asked about why the school discouraged any sort of support for Palestine previously, she just went off topic so I didn’t get an answer.’</i><i><br> </i></p> </blockquote> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Another parent’s response regarding a school fundraising for Ukraine exemplified the stark over-policing of Palestine solidarity, giving the following anecdote from the school’s actions in 2021:</p> <blockquote> <p><i>‘My daughter was actually [reported] to Child safeguarding officer [last] year [as] she discussed how her dad was [raising] money for Palestine, her teacher thought she was afraid and scared by being exposed to the conflict in Palestine. I had a long discussion and an apology was given by the headteacher.’</i></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In the case of the Israeli war on Gaza schools and teachers used laws around political impartiality of school to censor any discussions around Palestine and Israel.<br> In contrast, responses to our survey suggest that teaching professionals felt far less inhibited in expressing distinctly politicised, and at times potentially incendiary statements on the Russia-Ukraine war.One London primary school issued a newsletter to parents and carers</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p><i>‘[making] it clear that our school stands with the international community in its condemnation of the aggression by Russia against the Ukraine[…]</i><i><br> </i><i>We who are fortunate enough to live in a country safe from such aggression have a responsibility to show our solidarity”</i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i></p> </blockquote> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Comparisons between Vladmir Putin and Adolf Hitler were alleged in some responses – with one claiming that <i>‘[Teachers] said that the [Russian] Prime Minister Putin is acting like Adolf Hitler because he is land grabbing</i>’ while another alleges being told ‘T<i>hat the PM of Russia is akin to Adolf Hitler [because] he rules through fear and that the PM of Ukraine is good as he is on the front line’</i>.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">A further response alleges that their school <i>‘Related [the] Ukraine situation to [the] Taliban and [bombing]’.</i></p> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The openness with which schools have expressed forceful solidarity with Ukraine belies the excuses that pupils and parents – largely Muslim – were subject to by schools last year to justify ignoring the war on Gaza. Indeed some respondents spoke to this disparity in explicit terms.One stated that</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p>‘<i>[The school] organised a collection for Ukraine but we were unable to do the same for Palestine as it was ‘political as it was due to religion’. We asked to do an assembly or put posters up and fundraise for Palestine and they said no but they are doing it all for Ukraine.</i></p> </blockquote> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">While another related that</p> <blockquote> <p>‘<i>My granddaughter actually emailed and approached the school last year requesting them to hold an assembly one minute silence for the children who had lost their lives during the bombardment by Israel. </i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>She was told that “politics should not be brought into the schools and schools should be neutral”. She also questioned why the Palestinian flags that were put up on the walls of the classrooms including in teachers offices were removed the next day? </i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>She was told that it is a sensitive situation whereby they do not want to hurt the feelings of certain members of staff who were Israelis</i>.’</p> </blockquote> <ul> <li>The theme of taking an ‘apolitical stance’ to justify inaction was a recurring theme in 2021. A respondent to the survey mentioned the following experience:</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p><i>‘When the protest went on for Palestine I tried to do an assembly based on it but got told it’s too political and they do not go into political stuff like that. I also wore the [keffiyeh] and got told to remove it as it was not school uniform however also shows your injustice [sic]. </i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>Now that the war in Ukraine has taken place my school has decided to speak up about it, wrote it in newsletters, do assemblies based on it, wear badges representing the country, making food banks to [support] them and holding a cake sale to provide Ukraine with money. </i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>They did all of this for Ukraine even though it was political but one gesture for Palestine like wearing the badge or [keffiyeh] you will be reported to the teachers.’</i></p> </blockquote> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">A further respondent describes how their child’s school</p> <blockquote> <p><i>‘[Raised] money for Ukraine. My son said that he carried about £300 from his classroom to the headteacher office […]</i><i><br> </i><i>Last year, children tried to raise money to help families that were attack[ed] and had their houses destroyed in Palestine, but the School prevented and [even] threaten[ed] the organiser to take disciplinary actions.</i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>Their excuses were that schools should never be involved in charities that help people in conflict/war zone even if the help is humanitarian help for civilian[s]. ‘</i><i></i></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li aria-level="1">As we stated in our 2021 report <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/repression-of-palestine-solidarity-in-schools-report"><i>Repression of Palestine Solidarity in Schools</i></a></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><i>‘[There] is something to be said about the unique way in which Palestine solidarity is not just treated differently, but actively securitised…The attack on Palestine solidarity under the guise of bureaucratic maneuvering is deeply cynical and invoking school policy or law to censor students has proven deeply confusing for students, parents and even teachers. More concerningly, it threatens to undermine the principles of civic education that should be at the heart of the education system’</i></p> <p>The open embrace of Ukraine and Ukrainians as an issue to support validates our conclusion made then – especially when compared with the fear, securitisation and outright Islamophobia that accompanied expressions of Palestine solidarity.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-5 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-4 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="ukrainian-far-right"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-4 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one fusion-border-below-title" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Schools working with organisations connected to the Ukrainian far-right</strong></span></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-6" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">For the vast majority of cases of schools fundraising or hosting donation drives, the activities undertaken are for entirely legitimate organisations – with donations going towards UNICEF, the Red Cross or the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine appeal.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">However certain schools promoted or encouraged donations towards drives organised by third party sources, such as local Ukrainian groups, friends of school teachers or parents.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In a small number of cases, centred on schools in Luton, these third party-organised donation drives included very troubling appeals for parents to donate military equipment, and/or to donate to organisations with direct ties and sympathies for the Ukrainian far-right.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-5 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first" style="width:48%; margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none" style="border:2px solid #f6f6f6;"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Example-1-Luton.jpg" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[34a2d2041a2fdb5c222]" data-title="Example 1 Luton" title="Example 1 Luton" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-6 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last" style="width:48%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-2 hover-type-none" style="border:2px solid #f6f6f6;"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Example-1a-Luton-300x244.jpg" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[a5dd246fe6c47c8423b]" data-title="Example 1a Luton" title="Example 1a Luton" data-caption=""></a></span><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-7" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Example 1:</b> Newsletter sent to parents by a primary school in Luton soliciting <i>‘Monetary donations to help purchase equipment for the resistance’</i> and linking to a donation drive collecting equipment for ‘Military Protection’, including Helmets and Tactical/bulletproof vests.</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-7 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:3px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-3 hover-type-none" style="border:2px solid #f6f6f6;"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Example-2-Luton.jpg" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[acf4b0b2e8148747f68]" data-title="Example 2 Luton" title="Example 2 Luton" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-8" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Example 2:</b> Same poster provided to parents at another Luton primary school, advertising the donation drive by the Luton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-8 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-9" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">Some of these 3rd party donation drives had been organised by the Luton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), a long-established Ukrainian organisation founded in 1946.Despite its stature – it is the largest representative group for Ukrainians in the country – the AUGB has direct and explicit links to the Ukrainian far-right stretching back to its inception.These include the ultranationalist fascist organisation the <b>Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) </b>and its paramilitary organisation the <b>Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)</b>, as well as regularly celebrating a notorious leader of the OUN, <b>Stepan Bandera.</b></li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-9 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-4 hover-type-none" style="border:2px solid #f6f6f6;"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Example-3-Luton-868x1024.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[491c42c9627d161caab]" data-title="Example 3 Luton" title="Example 3 Luton" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-10" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Example 3</b>: Another Luton primary school working with the Luton AUGB, without the appeal for military equipment donations.</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-10 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-11" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">Stepan Bandera was a leader of the more radically rightwing faction of the ultranationalist OUN, known as OUN-B, from its formation in 1940 until 1959.During his leadership the work of the OUN-B was characterised by <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/operation-anyface-how-us-army-shielded-ukrainian-nationalist-soviet-intelligence">collaboration</a> with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-ghost-of-world-war-ii-history-haunts-ukraines-standoff-with-russia/2014/03/25/18d4b1e0-a503-4f73-aaa7-5dd5d6a1c665_story.html">Nazis</a> and the establishment of the militia Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Both the OUN and UPA were involved in mass <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/clash-of-victimhood-1943-volhynian-massacre-in-polish-and-ukrainian-culture/">ethnic cleansings</a> and <a href="https://mronline.org/2022/06/11/how-pre-ww-ii-ukrainian-fascists-pioneered-brutal-terror-techniques/">pogroms</a> during World War 2 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/lens/poland-ukraine-volhynia-massacre.html">murdering upwards</a> of 100,000 Poles and Jews.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In the words of historian <a href="https://brill.com/view/book/9783657703043/BP000014.xml?language=en">Alexander Statiev</a>, the OUN at large <i>‘[Should] be unequivocally identified as a fascist party…This term applies to the OUN not as a propaganda cliché but as an accurate definition of its political affiliation. OUN members continued to think and act like fascists until the very end.</i>.’ while describing the OUN’s ethnonationalist program as<i> ’a blueprint for ethnic genocide copied from Nazi practice.’</i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i>Describing communication between Bandera and future head of the OUN-B, Yaroslav Stetsko, on the eve of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Stetsko is <a href="https://forward.com/news/462916/nazi-collaborator-monuments-in-ukraine/">reported to have written</a> that ‘“<i>I insist on the extermination of the Jews and the need to adapt German methods of exterminating Jews in Ukraine</i>.”’ and that ‘“<i>We will organize a Ukrainian militia that will help us to remove the Jews</i>.”</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Following the Nazi invasion OUN members participated in pogroms, and <a href="https://forward.com/news/462916/nazi-collaborator-monuments-in-ukraine/">by the end</a> of the war ‘<i>Ukrainian nationalist groups massacred tens of thousands of Jews, both in cooperation with Nazi death squads and on their own volition</i>.’</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-11 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first" style="width:48%; margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-5 hover-type-none" style="border:2px solid #f6f6f6;"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-1-AUGB.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[7004539cf72f51cb3b5]" data-title="Image 1 AUGB" title="Image 1 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-12" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 1: </b>Post from the AUGB Facebook page dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/posts/569258966492174">January 2014</a>, describing Stepan Bandera as<i> ‘one of the greatest political figures and freedom fighters of Ukraine’s 20th century history’</i></h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-12 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last" style="width:48%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; box-shadow: 0px 0px; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-6 hover-type-none"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-2-AUGB.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[7e08053997fedd73663]" data-title="Image 2 AUGB" title="Image 2 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-13" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 2: </b>Post from AUGB Facebook page dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/photos/a.315016168583123/391393237612082/">December 2012</a> on event hosted at AUGB headquarters by Vasyl Oleskiw/Oleskiv, described as<i> ‘one of the founders of AUGB, who worked alongside Stepan Bandera, and himself a former leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists</i>.’</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-13 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first" style="width:48%; margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-7 hover-type-none"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-3-AUGB.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[c0db9911aa6bfe5d214]" data-title="Image 3 AUGB" title="Image 3 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-14" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 3: </b>AUGB Facebook post dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/posts/465568700175008">February 2013</a>, celebrating Stepan Bandera as among <i>‘Ukraine’s leading fighters for freedom and independence</i>’</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-14 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last" style="width:48%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-8 hover-type-none"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-4-AUGB.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[8a0230ea9d1b0723326]" data-title="Image 4 AUGB" title="Image 4 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-15" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 4: </b>AUGB Facebook post dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/photos/a.315016168583123/645271002224303">June 2014</a> commemorating<i> ‘all those who laid down their lives for freedom and democracy in Ukraine’</i>, with a poster featuring Stepan Bandera (right).</h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-15 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-16" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">The AUGB has direct historical links to the OUN and UPA that it continues to promote in the modern day.According to the <i>Ukrainians in the United Kingdom Online encyclopaedia</i>, a project <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/00/about-e.htm">supported by the AUGB</a> itself, in 1949 a majority of the AUGB’s governing body was taken over by <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">members and supporters of the OUN-B</a>, while some of the earliest members of the Association included <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">former Ukrainian soldiers</a> of the Galician division of the Nazis’ Waffen-SS military force.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>According to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210303053236/https://www.augb.co.uk/news-page.php?id=1989">2021 statement</a> by its Board of Directors marking the AUGB’s 75th anniversary, founding members of the Association included ‘participants of the liberation struggle of the OUN-UPA’ – the aforementioned paramilitary wing involved in ethnic cleansings and massacres during World War 2.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-16 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-9 hover-type-none"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-5-AUGB.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[c0d7b38662f503881ea]" data-title="Image 5 AUGB" title="Image 5 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-17" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 5:</b> Statement by AUGB Board of Directors dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/posts/pfbid0VCBKcY4XkRGoKgpf6DYkczQgVuX9WVvscAejaEQqNLzm3bUP2CHd4BpFkk42ovxxl">January 2021</a> to mark its 75th anniversary.</h5> <h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated">Text reads: ‘<i>‘Today, 75 years on, we remember with respect the AUGB’s founding members, who at the end of the Second World War were dispersed far away from their homeland. These included:[…]Ukrainians who had been deported to Siberia during the Soviet occupation and annexation of Western Ukraine (1939), Northern Bukovina (1940) and Transcarpathian Ukraine (1945), who together with Poles, as Polish citizens, reached the Middle East where the Polish Army’s II Corps was created under the command of Lieutenant General Władysław Anders;</i><b><i> participants of the liberation struggle of the OUN-UPA</i></b><i>, who in the summer of 1944 were captured during German raids and transported to France, where heavy fighting was already taking place on the Western Front.’</i></h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-17 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-18" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li>A number of leaders of the AUGB historically have been members or very close associated of the OUN/OUN-B as well, including Chairs <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/ounb-e.htm;%20https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">Wolodymyr Wasylenko</a>, <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/ounb-e.htm;%20https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">Robert Lisowskyj</a>, <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/ounb-e.htm;%20https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">Illya Dmytriw</a> and <a href="https://augbbradford.com/news/">Zenko/Zenon Lastowiecki</a>, as well as Board member <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/ounb-e.htm;%20https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">Mykola Scuplak</a>.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Moreover one of the AUGB’s previous Board of Directors and Honorary Presidents, <a href="https://www.ukrainiansintheuk.info/eng/03/augb-e.htm">Wasyl Oleskiw/Oleskiv</a>, was by their own admission a ‘prominent member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists’ working alongside Stepan Bandera, later becoming head of the OUN-B.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-18 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="imageframe-align-center"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-10 hover-type-none"><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Image-6-AUGB-e1658412482555.png" class="fusion-lightbox" data-rel="iLightbox[aa0456e6bb657c4d0c6]" data-title="Image 6 AUGB" title="Image 6 AUGB" data-caption=""></a></span></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-19" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><b>Image 6: </b>AUGB Facebook post dated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AUGB.SUB/photos/a.315016168583123/1188549464563118/">December 2016</a>, commemorating former AUGB Board member and leader of the far-right OUN-B.<br> <em><b><br> </b></em>Caption reads:<i> ‘We were very saddened to hear of the death last night of one of the AUGB’s longest standing members, Wasyl Oleskiw.</i></h5> <h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><i>For many years he served on the Board of Directors of the AUGB, Ukrainian Information Service, Ukrainian Publishers and the Religious Society of Saint Sophia, and </i><b><i>was a prominent member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, becoming its leader (1987-1991) after the death of Yaroslav Stetsko</i></b><i>.’</i></h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-19 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-20" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">The AUGB’s open and explicit support for these groups, and their historical interconnection with them, makes their work with schools all the more unacceptable.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">There is little doubt that the schools concerned will have reached out to them with best intentions. Indeed, a <a href="https://www.st-vincents.rochdale.sch.uk/2022/03/15/non-uniform-day-ukraine/">number</a> of <a href="https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Update-04.03.22.pdf">other</a> <a href="https://featherstonewood.herts.sch.uk/files/files/4%20Mar.pdf">schools</a> and <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/community-grants-scheme-hits-ps500k-milestone">universities</a> <a href="https://peartreespringjm.herts.sch.uk/app/uploads/2022/03/Message-from-Hertfordshire-County-Council-Ukraine-Update-as-of-8th-March-2022.pdf">across</a> the <a href="https://www.ashlyns.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/e-Bulletin-March-11-2022.pdf">country</a> <a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/international/partner-institutions/ukraine">appear</a> to have <a href="https://www.cloreshalom.herts.sch.uk/headteacher-blog/">engaged</a> with or <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/ukraine/donations/">supported</a> the AUGB or their local branches, and AUGB branches across the country were active at the outbreak of the war in <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/helpukraine,">coordinating fundraisers</a> and <a href="https://www.manchesterworld.uk/news/how-you-can-help-ukraine-in-russia-conflict-and-where-donations-are-being-collected-in-greater-manchester-3591100">donation drives</a>.But for schools to be uncritically promoting appeals for military equipment to parents reflects, at best, overzealousness and a lack of due diligence – made all the more dangerous by AUGB’s connections.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Ultimately, however, the uncritical embrace of organisations purporting to support Ukraine reflects the belligerent and cavalier approach to the war by the government and media, where caution is cast aside for pure political motivations – or recast as simply ‘disinformation’.This has fostered a climate in which the public at large, being provided little objective information from the government or media, can find their good intentions manipulated by deeply questionable actors.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-6 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-20 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="disinformation"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-5 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one fusion-border-below-title" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><strong>Government policy on ‘disinformation’ on Ukraine</strong></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-21" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 data-fontsize="26" style="--fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>Disinformation and managing discourse</strong></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-22" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">Despite the major glaring disparities in the treatment of support for Ukraine vs Palestine in schools by the government, there was one telling point of convergence: the question of managing discourse around both.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In the context of Palestine this included Gavin Williamson’s promotion of the aforementioned organisations funded by counter-extremism and who strictly toed the government line on Palestine-Israel – while simultaneously demanding that schools ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/gavinwilliamson/status/1398374786871537664">should not work with or use materials from organisations that publicly reject Israel’s right to exist</a>‘ – effectively stage-managing discussion on Palestine-Israel.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In the context of Ukraine this was framed around the increasingly prominent concept of ‘countering disinformation/misinformation’, and encouraging reliance on government or government-approved sources.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Notwithstanding the existence of ‘disinformation’ as a social fact, the concept has increasingly emerged as an extension of security policies to allow the government to claim a monopoly on discourse and to assert control over the media and social media.<br> Tellingly, a number of organisations prominently involved in ‘counter-terrorism’ have shifted in recent years towards work on ‘tackling disinformation’ often working closely with governments and social media companies, as discussed below.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">At the onset of the war ‘disinformation’ was used to justify the immediate <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60584092">banning of Russian news outlet <i>RT</i></a> across the EU and US, with Ofcom later revoking their licence for the UK.<br> It also gave rise to pointed and politicised interventions from ministers, such as then-Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi’s pledge to “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/nadhim-zahawi-vladimir-putin-national-education-union-robert-halfon-edinburgh-university-b2035534.html">crack down hard</a>” on “pro-Putin propaganda’ in universities.<br> And furthermore the vast and censorious Online Safety Bill includes clauses to force online service providers to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-bill-supporting-documents/online-safety-bill-factsheet#how-the-new-laws-tackle-misinformation-and-disinformation">block ‘disinformation’ from foreign states</a> as well.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-23" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 data-fontsize="26" style="--fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>Tackling ‘disinformation’ in schools in the context of Ukraine</strong></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-24" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">Early on in the war, the Department for Education issued a <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/25/help-for-teachers-and-families-to-talk-to-pupils-about-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-and-how-to-help-them-avoid-misinformation/">post on its website</a> titled ‘<i>Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation.’</i>.The post was clearly circulated widely; a number of respondents to our survey mentioned or linked to the piece.It included tips on how to manage emotionally complex discussions with pupils around the war, as well as a section titled ‘<i>How to spot mis- and disinformation and how to help pupils do the same’.</i></li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">This latter section on spotting disinformation linked to the website <i>Educate Against Hate</i>, initially set up in January 2016 by the Education Minister as a resource to support anti-radicalisation and counter-extremism efforts in schools, and to complement the implementation of the Prevent duty.The links included for the website directed users towards two sets of resources aimed at teachers and/or parents and produced by 3rd-party organisations.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">One set of resources titled ‘<a href="https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/generation-global/">Generation Global</a>’ dealt with the matter of facilitating difficult dialogues – as well as a ‘Briefing note on religious extremism’.These were produced by the <i>Tony Blair Institute for Global Change </i>(TBI), set up and overseen by the former British Prime Minister.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The other resource set linked was an educational programme titled <a href="https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/be-internet-citizens/">‘Be Internet Citizens</a>’, developed as a collaboration between Youtube and the counter-extremism thinktank, <i>Institute for Strategic Dialogue </i>(ISD).</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Both TBI and ISD organisations have been heavily involved in counter-extremism work in Britain and worldwide. Representatives from both were featured on the <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/commission-of-countering-extremisms-new-expert-group-demonstrates-why-its-harmful-irrelevant-and-redundant">board of advisers</a> for the Commission for Countering Extremism under Sara Khan’s tenure, for example.</li> </ul> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">ISD has worked extensively with social media providers on countering extremist/terrorist content online, is well connected with governments internationally, and its staff list includes individuals drawn from many of the major counter-extremist organisations such as the now-defunct <i>Quilliam Foundation.</i><i><br> </i><br> TBI has issued a report accusing law-abiding Muslim organisations such as CAGE and the Islamic Human Rights Commission of sharing rhetorical frames and cues with the proscribed terror group Al Muhajiroun, in an attempt to whip up consent for the greater policing of Muslim civil society organisations.</p> <ul> <li aria-level="1">As we stated in our <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/cage-paper-deconstructs-tony-blair-institute-report-narratives-of-division">response to the TBI report</a>, its function was ‘<i>honing in on the importance of dealing with divisive messages in the social media space, calling for greater government funding for community-based counter-extremism efforts, and – never to miss out on a profit-making opportunity – </i><b><i>using the report as a sales pitch for the Institute’s toolkit for educators</i></b>’ (emphasis added).It now appears that the sales pitch was successful.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">It is worth noting that neither of the resources were created specifically for the Russia-Ukraine war.<br> The content of both ISD and TBI’s resources are generic and, by all measures, rather anodyne.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The objections, however, lie less with what these individual resources say, than the fact that the government is outsourcing work to two organisations so deeply embedded in the security apparatus, and promoting them to schools.The connections to countering extremism, made explicitly in the TBI resources, also reflect how efforts to counter so-called extremism have proliferated into society-wide mechanisms of managing discourse – something that has been picked up and accelerated by recent attempts to counter ‘disinformation’.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">The vexed and largely politicised notion of ‘disinformation’ was picked up in a few of our survey responses too.One response from a teacher in a secondary school in High Wycombe stated that</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p><i>‘We were not allowed to discuss Palestine at all last year. We were specifically told to shut down any conversation about that conflict immediately and to remain neutral. </i><i><br> </i><i><br> </i><i>The deputy head of humanities…said in front of staff that the BBC were being biased against Israel and that students are being misinformed via social media and BBC. But now the BBC is playing the Ukraine narrative it is now the go to for correct information.‘</i></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li aria-level="1">In sum, countering ‘disinformation’ is no more neutral or objective a task than countering ‘extremism’, and attempts to tackle disinformation cannot be separated from forceful attempts to silence and censor outlets that challenge the government’s lines – just as Gavin Williamson’s encouragement to engage organisations like <i>Solutions not Sides </i>were juxtaposed against demands to not engage with more critical organisations.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Though attempts to engage matters of the Russia-Ukraine war in schools are certainly preferable to the suppression of discussion around Palestine, the careful management of the terms of the discussion acts against truly critical thinking by pupils.And it affords predominance to the British government’s line in what is a complex world event.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-7 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-21 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-menu-anchor" id="conclusion"></div><style type="text/css"></style><div class="fusion-title title fusion-title-6 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;"><h1 class="title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="margin: 0px; --fontSize: 56; line-height: 1.79;" data-fontsize="56" data-lineheight="100.24px"><strong>Conclusion</strong></h1><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-25" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><ul> <li aria-level="1">The disparities between the treatment of Ukraine and Palestine has appeared to many to be self-evident, and the belief of different treatment&nbsp; in schools was widespread, if anecdotal.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">We wanted to analyse this in more detail.<br> Our survey proves beyond doubt that there are systematic differences in the ways that schools in Britain have been willing and able to engage the question of Ukraine and the Russia-Ukraine war, in comparison to Israel’s assault on Gaza.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">This covers the basic issues of schools deciding to organise activities in support of Ukraine, to the way in which schools have chosen to engage the matter as a topic of discussion with pupils and parents, and the support they have received in some cases from local councils in doing so.All of these stand in stark opposition to the attempts to airbrush Palestine out of discussion within schools, and schools’ resort to repressive tactics against pupils to do so.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">As we described in our 2021 report, this is a reflection on the particular space that Palestine occupies in public and political discourse, which has influenced the treatment of Palestine by teachers and school management.But ultimately, we identify the reason for the disparities as a product of British government policies to manage and constrain the ability and opportunities to engage topics such as these within schools. This is the case whether that be the selective application of laws, under the banner of countering ‘extremism’, tackling ‘disinformation’, or otherwise – all of which operate in differing ways.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">It is for this reason that we have avoided using the term ‘double standards’ in this report – instead, we see the differential treatment of Palestine and Ukraine as the expression of a single standard on the part of the British government, implemented in contradictory ways.That is to say, the silencing of discussion of Palestine and the selective, managed discussion of Russia and Ukraine are both governed by the demands of British foreign policy, even if they appear at face value to be conflicting approaches.Similarly, the upsurge of mainstream support for Ukraine compared to the more reserved and cautious approach to Palestine reflects, at least in part, a popular understanding of the Ukraine conflict shaped by geopolitical imperatives – presented in simple black and white frames of <em>freedom vs authoritarianism</em>.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">We continue to call for recovering the idea of civic education in Britain, and enabling pupils to understand and engage with world issues.Some examples we have received point to positive ways to engage serious topics, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, in schools which should rightfully be applied across the board to other topics.Nonetheless the politicisation of the war by the British government has also coloured the conduct taken by schools, and serious concerns must be raised about some of the forms that Ukraine solidarity has taken – including collaboration with organisations like the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, and the soft penetration of security thinktanks into schooling under the guise of tackling ‘disinformation’.</li> </ul> <ul> <li aria-level="1">We welcome the active intervention taken by some parents and pupils to challenge the disparities in treatment, and believe that it is through active interventions such as these – as well as the self-activity of pupils which we saw during the war on Gaza last year – that we can rebuild a space within the education system for a critical understanding of the world.</li> </ul> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div> <p style="font-size:11px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-top:100px">(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)</p> </div>

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right="" type="legacy"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h1>CAGE Briefing: Places of Worship Security Funding</h1> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h2><strong>Contents:</strong></h2> <ul> <li>Summary</li> <li>What is the Places of Worship (POW) Protective Security Funding scheme, and how does it work?</li> <li>Is it connected to Counter-Extremism policies like PREVENT?</li> <li>What are the risks involved in the scheme? <ul> <li>Soft power for counter-extremism organisations and programmes</li> <li>Use of data</li> <li>Paving the way for the Protect duty</li> </ul> </li> <li>What are CAGE advising?</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" content_align_medium="" content_align_small="" content_align="left" size="1" font_size="" animated_font_size="" fusion_font_family_title_font="" fusion_font_variant_title_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_shadow="no" text_shadow_vertical="" text_shadow_horizontal="" text_shadow_blur="0" text_shadow_color="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="default" sep_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <strong>Summary</strong> [/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>This Places of Worship (POW) Protective Security Funding scheme has been running since 2016. It is a Home Office fund to subsidise security equipment by Esotech Ltd to places of worship in order to protect them from hate crimes.</li> <li>The scheme was initially founded as part of efforts to counter extremism. Though these links do not appear as explicitly now, there is a risk that it will be used to expand the soft power of policing and private security companies within mosques.</li> <li>Despite concerns, CAGE does not oppose Mosques applying for this funding scheme to get security equipment. However we call for mosques and Muslim organisations to be assertive in demanding the complete decoupling of this funding from any strings, including any attempts to demand collaboration with counter-extremism policies in particular.</li> <li>We urge that any mosques applying to the scheme agree upon the terms of usage and strict privacy agreements before work commences with Esotech Ltd, to ensure that audiovisual information produced by their services are not disseminated to any other agency or company.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" content_align_medium="" content_align_small="" content_align="left" size="1" font_size="" animated_font_size="" fusion_font_family_title_font="" fusion_font_variant_title_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_shadow="no" text_shadow_vertical="" text_shadow_horizontal="" text_shadow_blur="0" text_shadow_color="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="default" sep_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]<strong>What is the Places of Worship (POW) Protective Security Funding scheme, and how does it work?</strong>[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>The POW scheme is a Home Office fund that mosques and other places of worship can apply to in order to subsidise the installation of safety/protective security measures, including CCTV, locks and security guards. It is designed to protect these institutions from hate crimes.</li> <li>Security measures provided through the scheme come from a private security company, Esotec Ltd, whose Independent Advisory Panel also has to approve funding. Esotec is owned by ADT Fire and Security PLC, a well-established name in the field.</li> <li>The scheme was first established in 2016, with two funding streams available: one for Jewish institutions, and one for all other religious institutions.With this current application cycle, mosques/Islamic institutions have been allotted a separate stream, and the criteria for eligibility have been slightly relaxed - an Islamophobic attack in the local area can justify an application, whereas before it was only if an attack had already happened on the applying institution.</li> <li>The current application cycle is due to close on 14th July 2022.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" content_align_medium="" content_align_small="" content_align="left" size="1" font_size="" animated_font_size="" fusion_font_family_title_font="" fusion_font_variant_title_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_shadow="no" text_shadow_vertical="" text_shadow_horizontal="" text_shadow_blur="0" text_shadow_color="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="default" sep_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]<strong>Is it connected to Counter-Extremism policies like PREVENT?</strong>[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>Upon its introduction the scheme was categorised under the Home Office’s programme for countering extremism, though not PREVENT per se.The Home Office’s annual report 2017-18 lists the scheme under a section titled ‘Countering Extremism’ while its 2019-20 annual reports lists it under the section ‘Reduce extremism and the harm that it causes’.This angle does not appear to be made explicitly in the current application cycle.</li> <li>This connection to extremism formed part of an attempt to define ‘hate crime’ as a form/expression of extremism, which CAGE have criticised elsewhere.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>There is a connected scheme where select groups provide security training to places of worship too.In the context of mosques these include groups embedded in counter-extremist work such as Faith Associates and Tell MAMA.Tell MAMA are a project of Faith Matters, which have received extensive funding under PREVENT and other counter-extremism funding streams Faith Associates have previously been listed as a Home Office-approved provider in a project guide on <em>Local Delivery Best Practice Catalogue - Prevent Strategy</em> produced by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism Home Office. The project they worked on was described as delivering <em>‘an improved governance structure and madrassah system and enabled the mosque leadership to become more resilient to the threat from extremists as well as being able to manage their services (for young people and women) more effectively’.</em></li> <li>While the scheme may not strictly serve PREVENT purposes, it should be understood as a means for building ‘soft power’ for counter-extremism among mosques and places of worship, as well as being a means to ingratiate police forces among mosques.What we mean by this is that the scheme is a mechanism for the police and other counter-extremism agencies to bolster their legitimacy with the local Muslim community, in order to expand and grow support for counter-extremism programmes like PREVENT.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" content_align_medium="" content_align_small="" content_align="left" size="1" font_size="" animated_font_size="" fusion_font_family_title_font="" fusion_font_variant_title_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_shadow="no" text_shadow_vertical="" text_shadow_horizontal="" text_shadow_blur="0" text_shadow_color="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="default" sep_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]<strong>What are the risks involved in the scheme?</strong>[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h3><strong>Soft power for counter-extremism organisations and programmes</strong></h3> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>As mentioned above, there is a risk that the scheme will help facilitate the growth of counter-extremism soft power among mosques and Muslim communities, as well as giving policing and private security a foot in the door of mosques and normalising their presence.It also risks further legitimising organisations like Faith Associates and Tell MAMA, which are advisors for the scheme.Mosques who apply should be vigilant as to who they are engaging with as part of the scheme, and how their participation may be used or portrayed by the Home Office.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h3><strong>Use of data</strong></h3> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>The private security company Esotech Ltd are the designated processor of data provided for the scheme, meaning that application data goes through them, and then on to the Home Office.Esotech also provide the security equipment subsidised by the scheme.</li> </ul> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Given the quality of digital security today, the involvement of a private security company raises important questions regarding confidentiality - it is not clear where CCTV images are stored or may end up, or whether they may be used to refine facial recognition software, for examples. Similarly, it is not clear where images and video produced by video intercom systems may be stored.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">For any mosques applying to the scheme, the terms of usage and strict privacy agreements should all be guaranteed before work commences with such companies.</p> <ul> <li>Personal data (i.e. contact details, name and address of the place of worship) provided through applications will also be shared with other agencies and 3rd party organisations, including:</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li>Police Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCO)</li> <li>Independent Advisory Panel</li> <li>Charity Commission Community Coordinators</li> <li>Welsh Government (where applicable)</li> <li>M&amp;C Saatchi</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">The Home Office have also stated that they<em> ‘may share your information with other organisations in the course of carrying out our functions, or to enable others to perform theirs.’</em></p> <ul> <li>While this data will be shared for purposes related to the application, we have concerns about the use of this information by 3rd party organisations.M&amp;C Saatchi, for example, are involved in processing applications for the scheme, but are also contracted regularly by the Home Office for advertising and outreach purposes.They are embedded in PREVENT, as described in our report, <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/we-are-completely-independent" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cage.ngo/we-are-completely-independent&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1657720663489000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3XsCyvRGYS1F8dgZXiwpp0">“We are Completely Independent”</a>, contracted as part of  partnerships to commmunicate government counter-narratives surrounding ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism’. Therefore there is a possibility that data from the scheme may be used towards refining such messages.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h3><strong>Paving the way for the Protect duty</strong></h3> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>The government is set to introduce a law for implementing a ‘Protect duty’, placing a legal obligation on publicly accessible venues to implement clear anti-terror security measures.The exact terms of implementation and enforcement of the duty have not yet been confirmed.</li> <li>There is therefore a risk of the POW scheme being used as something of a standard for the implementation of the Protect duty within places of worship in future - that is to say, demanding that mosques all follow the example of security measures used by mosques funded by the scheme.</li> <li>Similarly, mosques engaging with the scheme also undermine resistance to the Protect duty when it arrives, effectively allowing counter-terror police into our mosques by the back door.</li> </ul> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" content_align_medium="" content_align_small="" content_align="left" size="1" font_size="" animated_font_size="" fusion_font_family_title_font="" fusion_font_variant_title_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_shadow="no" text_shadow_vertical="" text_shadow_horizontal="" text_shadow_blur="0" text_shadow_color="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" margin_top_mobile="" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="default" sep_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]<strong>What are CAGE advising?</strong>[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <ul> <li>Despite our concerns, <strong>CAGE do not at this stage oppose Mosques applying for this funding scheme to get security equipment. </strong>However we call for mosques and Muslim organisations to be assertive in demanding the <strong>complete decoupling of this funding from any strings,</strong> including any attempts to demand collaboration with counter-extremism policies in particular.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>For any mosques applying to the scheme, the terms of usage and strict privacy agreements should all be guaranteed before work commences with Esotech Ltd, to ensure that audiovisual information produced by their services are not used by any other agency or company.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>We encourage mosques to <strong>not </strong>work with the organisations Tell MAMA or Faith Associates as part of mosque protection training due to their clear, long-term collaboration with counter-extremism.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>For Mosques and other institutions considering applying, we call for vigilance against any interactions with the police and advise against creating additional partnerships with them.Attempts to embed or get police forces to engage with mosque congregants through such partnerships should be understood as a means of expanding soft power, beyond the scope of this scheme.Police have an obligation to protect us from hate crimes, as that is their job, but such police investigations are not conditional upon cooperation in the securitisation of our places of worship.</li> <li>Furthermore, we do not want to facilitate the creep of the security state into Muslim spaces. As such, we want to find ways to protect our community without forfeiting our independence and safety over to forces of surveillance and securitisation.Indeed, according to the MEND and Muslim Census report, mosques have even reported it to be cheaper to use a company of their own choosing, even with government funding, due to the high costs of the government’s chosen contractor.</li> </ul> <em>CC image courtesy of <a href="https://flic.kr/p/t3X79X">stevekeiretsu</a> on Flikr </em> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Paris - Today, CAGE has launched <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/we-are-beginning-to-spread-terror-report">a landmark report in Paris</a> highlighting the unprecedented crackdown on Muslims in France under the sweeping ‘Systematic Obstruction’ powers. The report comes four years after the commencement of the anti-Muslim policies. The analysis demonstrates how the measures amounts to a Persecution of Muslims in France, as defined in international law. Authored by French legal jurist and CAGE researcher Rayan Freschi, with a foreword by Professor François Burgat, the report entitled “"We are beginning to spread Terror": The state-sponsored persecution of Muslims in France”, published in both English and French, covers in detail the unprecedented crackdown on Islam and Muslims in France under the Presidency of Emmanuel Macron. <strong>The report highlights:</strong> <ul> <li>The ‘Systematic Obstruction’ policy - largely unknown outside the country, and scarcely understood inside it - on its four year anniversary of being introduced. This policy amounts to a Persecution of Muslims in France, in line with the international law definition of the term.</li> <li>The nature of the persecution in French society.</li> <li>How state Islamophobia is institutionalised through an infrastructure of enforcement and mass surveillance.</li> <li>France's attempts to internationalise its model of repression through its leadership of the EU.</li> </ul> The report calls for the repeal of Islamophobic policies such as the Systematic obstruction policy, ‘Anti-Separatism Law’, the Imams Charter, as well as the 2004 Law on religious signs in schools and the 2010 Niqab ban. It goes further to call for the establishment of an independent body to investigate the Systematic Obstruction measures, and provide reparations for damages and losses incurred by establishments and individuals as a result of such measures. <h3>Commenting on its launch, author of the report Ryan Freschi said:</h3> “Four years ago, the French government initiated a secretive and draconian Islamophobic policy. This report documents how the French state has swiftly dismantled the foundations of the Muslim community’s autonomy through a calculated persecution, spreading terror among an entire religious community. 718 closures, 24 884 inspections and 46 million euros extorted by the State later, it is time to stop this witch hunt against Muslims.” “This report highlights how the appetite for anti-Muslim action in France seems endless: despite the ongoing Islamophobic persecution, the entire French political spectrum still regards Islam and Muslims as issues that have not been sufficiently dealt with. Moreover, through its current presidency of the EU Council, France is well placed to actively project its influence and promote its draconian Islamophobic policies to its neighbours. If left unaddressed, the persecution facing Muslims in France is likely to be exported to the rest of Europe.”

<h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">This forms part of CAGE’s report <em>Operation Luxor: Unraveling the myths behind Austria's largest ever peacetime police raids</em></h4> <h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">Download the report <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/product/operation-luxor-unravelling-the-myths-behind-austrias-largest-ever-peacetime-police-raids-report">here</a></h4> <h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">View the rest of the project at our report hub <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/operation-luxor-report">here</a></h4> <hr /> <h1><span style="font-weight: 400;">Executive Summary</span></h1> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the early hours of 9</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> November 2020, the Austrian government carried out its largest wave of peacetime police raids in post-war Austria, against Muslim citizens of the country: codenamed </span><i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Luxor.</span></i></i></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The raids, overseen by Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, were carried out simultaneously at 70 homes across four federal states, mobilising 930 people including police officers, special unit agents and constitutional protection officials.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">To date, no-one affected by the raids has been charged for any offence, despite having their lives turned upside down - and Austrian courts have declared the raids unlawful, while rejecting the ‘academic’ rationale which formed the basis of the raids.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet in the year since, legislative means to crack down on ‘Political Islam’ have continued apace in the country, including with the introduction of the draconian </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anti-Terror Bill.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Austrian government’s claims to be cracking down on so-called ‘Political Islam’ have served to create a very hostile environment for Muslims in the country, compounded by the work of the official </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Documentation Centre for Political Islam </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">run by figures with connections to the far-right globally. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">This report documents developments around Operation Luxor, as the state narrative on the raids came undone, as well as maneuvers by the Austrian state over the past year. For the first time, we document testimonies from individuals directly impacted by the raids of Operation Luxor.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">What this year-long campaign since November 2020 has obscured is deep failings on the part of the Austrian government to keep its citizens safe. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has emerged that foreign and national intelligence services, including the military, had warned the government beforehand of an expected attack on Austrian soil. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When attacks struck Vienna on 2nd November 2020, the government was reportedly too focused on preparing for Operation Luxor to deal with intelligence on this actual attack.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet rather than reflect on this as a failing within the existing political system of Austria, the government has sought to grant itself greater powers to surveil and manage Muslims in the country.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Institutions like the Documentation Centre for Political Islam, as well as its ‘Islam Map’ documenting the names and addresses of Muslim organisations in the country, are enabling Islamophobic attacks by the Austrian far-right with the tacit approval of the Austrian state.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alongside such institutions, Austrian media commentators have played a central role in legitimising the actions of the Austrian state, including with regards to Operation Luxor.</span></span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">The entanglement of the Austrian media and the government was exposed in a major corruption scandal unveiled by the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Office of the Public Prosecutor for Economic Affairs and Corruption, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">which culminated in the dramatic resignation of Sebastian Kurz as Austrian Chancellor in October 2021.</span></span></li> <li>In the context of counter-terrorism, Operation Luxor fits in with an international trend whereby the use of unilateral executive powers against those suspected of involvement in terrorism has increased, limiting judicial checks and eroding the rule of law and accountability.</li> <li>Despite facing a series of scandals and setbacks, the Austrian government seems determined to develop and export their draconian policies internationally.This report provides a window into the realities behind the rhetoric and bluster of the Austrian government, and issues an urgent call for those inside and outside of Austria to firmly resist and oppose the country’s troubling turn.</li> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"></li> </ul> </li> </ul> &nbsp; <h1><b>Recommendations</b></h1> &nbsp; <h2><b>For the Austrian government: </b></h2> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">All open investigations against victims of the Operation Luxor raids must be dropped and the victims have to be fully vindicated by due process, especially after the higher regional court declaring Operation Luxor as unlawful.</span></span></li> <li>As demanded by <i>Farid Hafez Support Committee</i>, which consists of almost 350 experts we urge the political leadership in Austria, especially the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Justice, to appoint an independent investigative commission to investigate Operation Luxor and issue its findings.</li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Documentation Centre for Political Islam</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which is financed and led by the government, should be closed. </span></li> <li>An official, formal public state commitment to investigate Operation Luxor, especially the human and children’s rights violations and the violations of the right to a fair trial.</li> <li>Independent non-government external authority must be established to hold police misconduct to account.</li> <li>To reject the draconian Anti-Terror Bill, and cease exporting its divisive campaign against ‘Political Islam’.</li> <li>The resignation of public prosecutor Mag. Winklhofer and the dismissal of Documentation Centre ‘experts’ Heiko Heinisch &amp; Nina Scholz, all of whom materially contributed to Operation Luxor.</li> <li>Stop harassing and terrorising its Muslim minorities and allow them to fully exercise their freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and freedom of speech as much as everybody else in the country.</li> <li>Support and fund psychosocial support for the children and adults impacted by Operation Luxor.</li> <li>Muslims are the only religious group in Austria where the intelligence service regularly meets with community leaders. We call for an end of the extraordinary means and state surveillance that the Austrian Muslim community is currently subject to.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <h2><b>For civil society and NGOs</b></h2> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Civil society and NGOs should extend immediate solidarity and support to those individuals and organisations impacted by Operation Luxor in their struggle for accountability and justice.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In doing so, they should avoid legitimising state-sponsored binaries between ‘good Muslims’ and ‘bad Islamists’.</span></span></li> <li>Oppose the Anti-Terror Bill as repressive and Islamophobic, and opening the door for a broader crackdown across Austrian society. If it passes into law, Austrian civil society should campaign for its repeal.</li> <li>Organisations like CAGE alongside UN Human Rights Rapporteurs have long documented the use of flawed ‘science’ in legitimising repressive ‘counter-extremism’ policies.</li> <li>Civil Society organisations in Austria should educate themselves, inform others and campaign forcefully against the counter-extremism policies now taking root in the country.</li> <li>Campaign for the closure of the <i>Documentation Centre of Political Islam </i>and its projects, including the Islam Map.</li> <li>Challenge Austrian media and hold them to journalistic standards and ethics to stem the worrying trend of media-disseminated false information, of the media whipping up Islamophobia or of the media uncritically promoting the government line.</li> </ul> &nbsp; <h2><b>For targeted communities in Austria</b></h2> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Extend solidarity and support to those individuals and organisations impacted by Operation Luxor - the ostracisation of those targeted by such campaigns and policies can often serve as a compound injustice.</span></span></li> <li>To ensure that community leaders do not continue to serve as ‘middlemen’ with intelligence services or contribute to the securitisation of Muslim communities.</li> <li>Mosque and community leaders should cease their practice of regular engagement with Austrian security services, which is not expected of other faith communities.</li> <li>Defend the right of Muslims in Austria to practice political freedoms, and challenge censorship of Islamic expression - rather than accepting ‘second class citizen’ status.</li> <li>Oppose the Anti-Terror Bill. If it passes into law, campaign for its repeal.</li> <li>Refuse the Austrian state’s agenda criminalising Muslim communities, and nourish those networks within the community.</li> </ul>

[fusion_builder_container type="flex" hundred_percent="no" hundred_percent_height="no" min_height="" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" align_content="stretch" flex_align_items="flex-start" flex_justify_content="flex-start" flex_column_spacing="" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" container_tag="div" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" link_color="" link_hover_color="" border_sizes="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_right="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing_medium="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" spacing_small="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_dimensions_medium="" padding_top_medium="" padding_right_medium="" padding_bottom_medium="" padding_left_medium="" padding_dimensions_small="" padding_top_small="" padding_right_small="" padding_bottom_small="" padding_left_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" z_index="" overflow="" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_blend_mode="none" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" absolute="off" absolute_devices="small,medium,large" sticky="off" sticky_devices="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_background_color="" sticky_height="" sticky_offset="" sticky_transition_offset="0" scroll_offset="0" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" align_self="auto" content_layout="column" align_content="flex-start" content_wrap="wrap" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" type_medium="" type_small="" order_medium="0" order_small="0" dimension_spacing_medium="" dimension_spacing_small="" dimension_spacing="" dimension_margin_medium="" dimension_margin_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_medium="" padding_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" hover_type="none" border_sizes="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_radius="" box_shadow="no" dimension_box_shadow="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" background_type="single" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="" background_image_id="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="true" border_position="all" first="true"][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">This forms part of CAGE’s report <em>Operation Luxor: Unravelling the myths behind Austria's largest ever peacetime police raids</em></h4> <h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">Download the report <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/product/operation-luxor-unravelling-the-myths-behind-austrias-largest-ever-peacetime-police-raids-report">here</a></h4> <h4 class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px">View the rest of the project at our report hub <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/operation-luxor-report">here</a></h4> <hr /> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container type="flex" hundred_percent="no" hundred_percent_height="no" min_height="" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" align_content="stretch" flex_align_items="flex-start" flex_justify_content="flex-start" flex_column_spacing="" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" container_tag="div" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" link_color="" link_hover_color="" border_sizes="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_right="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing_medium="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" spacing_small="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_dimensions_medium="" padding_top_medium="" padding_right_medium="" padding_bottom_medium="" padding_left_medium="" padding_dimensions_small="" padding_top_small="" padding_right_small="" padding_bottom_small="" padding_left_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" z_index="" overflow="" gradient_start_color="" 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filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="2_5" layout="2_5" align_self="auto" content_layout="column" align_content="flex-start" content_wrap="wrap" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" background_image_id="" type_medium="" type_small="" order_medium="0" order_small="0" spacing_left_medium="" spacing_right_medium="" spacing_left_small="" spacing_right_small="" spacing_left="" spacing_right="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top_medium="" padding_right_medium="" padding_bottom_medium="" padding_left_medium="" padding_top_small="" padding_right_small="" padding_bottom_small="" padding_left_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" hover_type="none" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_right="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_radius_top_left="" border_radius_top_right="" border_radius_bottom_right="" border_radius_bottom_left="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" background_type="single" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="false" border_position="all" first="true"][fusion_imageframe image_id="27891|medium" max_width="" sticky_max_width="" style_type="" blur="" stylecolor="" hover_type="none" bordersize="" bordercolor="" borderradius="" align_medium="none" align_small="none" align="center" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" lightbox="no" gallery_id="" lightbox_image="" lightbox_image_id="" alt="" link="" linktarget="_self" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"]https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MGgHSN-F_400x400-300x300.jpg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_section_separator divider_type="waves" divider_height_medium="" divider_height_small="" divider_height="" divider_repeat_medium="1" divider_repeat_small="1" divider_repeat="1" divider_position="left" divider_candy="top" icon="" icon_color="" bordersize="" bordercolor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" backgroundcolor="" /][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <span style="font-weight: 400;">Far too often, anxieties over rising ‘authoritarianism’ or ‘illiberalism’ across Europe have focused on the unvarnished oppression found in Viktor Orban’s Hungary, or Andrzej Duda's Poland. Yet what we have increasingly seen is how the European ‘mainstream’ is coming together to drive a deeply repressive security agenda, animated by Islamophobia and the basest xenophobia.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The governments of recently-deposed Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz - one-time saviour of Austria’s Parliamentary rightwing - has spent the last few years making life for the country’s Muslim population ever more intolerable, through a series of policies and incendiary proclamations. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It has used the Vienna attacks of November 2020 to accelerate this project of Islamophobia and securitisation, first through its ‘Operation Luxor’ and then with a spate of policies and interventions since.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This report is a comprehensive document on both Operation Luxor, and the architecture of oppression that the Austrian state has been developing in the name of combating ‘Political Islam’, such as its </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Documentation Centre on Political Islam.</span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For those that have been challenging counter-terror policies in places like Britain over recent decades, much of the framework and strategy deployed by the Kurz government will seem intimately familiar. But other developments foreshadow a darker turn in Austrian politics - validating the instincts of the country’s far-right and other forces of reaction in Europe.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With Austria now attempting to mainstream and export its policy framework across Europe, is it vital that academics and activists across the continent redouble their opposition to this disturbing agenda and extend solidarity to Austria’s Muslim population.</span> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Luxor: Unravelling the myths behind Austria's largest ever peacetime police raids </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is a vital and timely intervention on the deeply concerning developments taking place in Austria over the past year, ever since the Austrian state subjected the Muslim community to the largest post-war raids in the country’s history.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I am glad that CAGE and ACT-P are able to shed a light on the situation in Austria as it unfolds before us, and that this report gives the opportunity, for the first time, for survivors of Operation Luxor to describe their experiences one fateful night in November 2020.</span> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Asim Qureshi</strong></h2> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>Research Director - </em><em>CAGE </em></h2> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_5" layout="1_5" align_self="auto" content_layout="column" align_content="flex-start" content_wrap="wrap" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" background_image_id="" type_medium="" type_small="" order_medium="0" order_small="0" spacing_left_medium="" spacing_right_medium="" spacing_left_small="" spacing_right_small="" spacing_left="" spacing_right="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top_medium="" padding_right_medium="" padding_bottom_medium="" padding_left_medium="" padding_top_small="" padding_right_small="" padding_bottom_small="" padding_left_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" hover_type="none" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_right="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_radius_top_left="" border_radius_top_right="" border_radius_bottom_right="" border_radius_bottom_left="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" background_type="single" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="false" border_position="all" first="false"][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="2_5" layout="2_5" align_self="auto" content_layout="column" align_content="flex-start" content_wrap="wrap" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" background_image_id="" type_medium="" type_small="" order_medium="0" order_small="0" spacing_left_medium="" spacing_right_medium="" spacing_left_small="" spacing_right_small="" spacing_left="" spacing_right="" margin_top_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top_medium="" padding_right_medium="" padding_bottom_medium="" padding_left_medium="" padding_top_small="" padding_right_small="" padding_bottom_small="" padding_left_small="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" hover_type="none" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_right="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_radius_top_left="" border_radius_top_right="" border_radius_bottom_right="" border_radius_bottom_left="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" background_type="single" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="true" border_position="all" first="false"][fusion_imageframe image_id="29409|medium" max_width="" sticky_max_width="" style_type="" blur="" stylecolor="" hover_type="none" bordersize="" bordercolor="" borderradius="" align_medium="none" align_small="none" align="center" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" lightbox="no" gallery_id="" lightbox_image="" lightbox_image_id="" alt="" link="" linktarget="_self" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"]https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Farid-Hafez-300x270.jpeg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_section_separator divider_type="waves" divider_height_medium="" divider_height_small="" divider_height="" divider_repeat_medium="1" divider_repeat_small="1" divider_repeat="1" divider_position="right" divider_candy="top" icon="" icon_color="" bordersize="" bordercolor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" backgroundcolor="" /][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <span style="font-weight: 400;">One year following the brutal raids of Operation Luxor that marked a peak of the anti-Muslim policies perpetrated by the Austrian government, it is of utmost importance to take time to look back and revisit what has happened. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I welcome this initiative of CAGE and ACT-P to present a critical review of Operation Luxor, which has itself been been declared unlawful -  while the investigations against many of the affected Muslim people and institutions rendered suspects of ‘terrorism’ are still ongoing.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">It is indeed telling that this initiative is coming not only from within Austria, but from outside, which reveals how dire the silencing of critique against anti-Muslim legislation and politics has become in Austria. Indeed, as an academic who has been monitoring and criticising these policies for the past decade, I have always been aware that the present and future of these policies do not forecast the brightest future for Muslims, nor for the whole population in Austria. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But I had never thought that Muslim civil society actors as well as an academic like me would have to fear special forces breaking doors down and intimidating not only elder people, but also their children, on literally </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">no grounds</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Luxor left the Muslim community in Austria in a state of fear and impuissance, amidst a pandemic and lockdown. Following the militant attack in Vienna a week earlier, there was little space left to challenge such an operation.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The suspects were denied access to the investigative files (which was later again judged to be illegal) and thus had little to defend themselves. The suspects were left with frozen bank accounts, but  had the chance to see who really stood by their side, and who hid away in silence. And apart from the personal journeys of self-knowledge and knowledge about one’s community, it revealed the extent to which repressive means could be implemented by state authorities.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This should be a wake-up call, amidst larger corruption scandals that are currently unravelling within the Austrian government -  where the Austrian justice system has proven to be the only check on those exercising power. It seems to me that it will still have to take some time, until larger audiences can understand that the raids that happened on November 9, 2020, are just another part of a larger puzzle in a changing political landscape, where politicians have seemingly manipulated the media and want to take hold of the justice system.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For the Austrian public, the first-year anniversary of the still-ongoing Operation Luxor could be a welcome opportunity to critically reflect upon the state of the rule of law, human rights and the role of the politics vis-à-vis Muslims in the country, especially by the current corruption-tossed political circles.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This is especially important given how much they have been influenced by media discourse that had initially reproduced state propaganda, before largely turning to critically covering this investigation after truths came to light.  </span><i></i> [/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" font_size="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""] <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Farid Hafez</strong></h2> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><i>Researcher - </i><i>The Bridge Initiative, </i><i>Georgetown University and Editor - </i><i>European Islamophobia Report</i></h2> [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

<div class="post-content"> <div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-1" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><div class="fusion-text"> <h4 class="entry-title fusion-post-title fusion-responsive-typography-calculated" data-fontsize="18" data-lineheight="23.94px" style="--fontSize: 18; line-height: 1.33; --minFontSize: 18;"><em style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Rayan Freschi describes how the French state, emboldened by its dissolution of critical Muslim-led and Islamic organisations in the country, is now more openly promoting its deeply Islamophobic and totalitarian ‘Systematic Obstruction’ policies.<br> </strong></em></h4> </div> <h5 data-fontsize="16" style="--fontSize: 16; line-height: 1.13; --minFontSize: 16;" data-lineheight="18.08px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><em>This article is published as part of CAGE’s new series of expert essays ‘<a href="http://cage.ngo/perspectives">Perspectives on the War On Terror</a>‘.</em></h5> <h4 data-fontsize="18" style="--fontSize: 18; line-height: 1.33; --minFontSize: 18;" data-lineheight="23.94px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"></h4> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-2" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>The month of September has presented serious challenges to the French Muslim community. Each week has been punctuated with events which, in one way or another, have influenced the daily lives of the entire Muslim community.</p> <p>First the “Trial of the Century” into the 2015 Bataclan attacks, which began on the 8th of September, was used by some to nurture the idea that Muslims were inherently violent.</p> <p>Then the government announced the <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/french-government-ramps-up-its-policy-of-dissolving-muslim-organisations-by-decree">dissolution of an Islamic publishing house,</a> NAWA editions, while the Council of State – the highest French administrative court – validated the 2020 dissolutions of one of the largest Muslim charities and the leading Muslim human rights group in France.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-3" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>If these events were not enough, the month ended on an even more bitter note. The French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin gave an <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/gerald-darmanin-et-marlene-schiappa-nous-n-avons-jamais-autant-fait-contre-l-islamisme-politique-20210928">appalling interview</a> to Le Figaro on September 28 which requires a closer look.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-3 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-4" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>The unveiling of a State-led persecution</strong></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-5" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>Back in July 2021, CAGE highlighted the infamous<a href="https://www.cage.ngo/fact-sheet-frances-systematic-obstruction-policy-on-muslims"> ‘Systematic Obstruction’ policy</a>, whose staggering numbers demonstrated the existence of a State-led persecution. As of June 2021, the policy led to the closure of 615 mosques, schools, organizations or businesses run by Muslims, 23,158 controls and €44 million seized by the State. We also stated that the State was willingly covering up its sins, by refusing to actively promote the policy to the public since its beginning in February 2018.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-4 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-first" style="width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-width: 0.5px 0.5px 1px 1px; border-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-style: solid; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><span class=" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none"></span><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-6" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h5 class="entry-title fusion-post-title" style="text-align: center;" data-fontsize="30" data-lineheight="33.9px"><span style="color: #ff6600;">See: </span><a href="https://www.cage.ngo/fact-sheet-frances-systematic-obstruction-policy-on-muslims"><span style="color: #ff9900;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Fact Sheet: France’s Systematic Obstruction policy on Muslims</span></span></a></h5> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-5 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-last" style="width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-7" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>Darmanin’s interview with Le Figaro should be considered as a turning point in the government’s public relations strategy: for the first time, the Minister of the Interior publicly promoted to a mainstream media the results of the draconian “Systematic Obstruction” policy and announced the future closure of a further ten Muslim organisations.</p> <p>At first, this move could be regarded as a very risky one. However, a better assessment of the current political framework helps us in understanding why the State feels comfortable enough to unveil its blatant anti-Muslim persecution</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-6 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-8" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>After having silenced the most vocal anti-Islamophobia organisations, the French government faces an almost empty domestic field where it can share the results of its anti-Muslim policy without having to fear the accusation of persecuting an entire minority.</p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-9" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>The almost deafening silence which followed the announcements proved the existence of a deep cultural framework of Islamophobia which feeds the State’s policies – and is nurtured in return by them. We should then bear in mind the current presidential race in which Macron’s party will try to seduce part of the right and far-right electorate by demonstrating how he rules Muslims with an iron fist.</p> <p>This can bolster the President’s chances of being reelected, especially if he faces Eric Zemmour – a French Islamophobic polemist who famously stated that Nazism was not as intolerant as Islâm and who wants to prohibit the use of ‘Muhammad’ as a first name – in the second round of the election.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-4 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-7 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-10" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>The Republican psychological warfare</strong></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-11" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>However, another element needs to be highlighted here. In the interview, Darmanin explained very explicitly the overarching spirit of the State policies regarding Muslims:</p> <blockquote> <p><i>“We are beginning to spread terror among those who wanted to impose it on us.”</i></p> </blockquote> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-12" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>This quote echoes the words Macron pronounced after the infamous Samuel Paty murder in October 2020:</p> <blockquote> <p><i>“Fear must change sides. I want Islamists to feel in danger at any time of the day or night.”</i></p> </blockquote> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-8 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-first" style="width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-13" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>From October onwards, the Systematic Obstruction intensified leading to the dissolutions of the larger Muslim human rights group, one of the largest Muslim charities and 27 daily checks on mosques, Muslim led businesses or schools.</p> <p>This language proves that the stringent pressure exercised by the State on the Muslim community has a specific goal: to instil anxiety and fear in the hearts of Muslims, so to force their assimilation and complete submission to the State’s de facto ideology and religion, laîcité.</p> <p>It perfectly fits the now-official French approach towards Muslims, war through administrative and legal measures going along with psychological warfare.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-9 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-last" style="width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-14" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><em><span style="color: #999999;">“After having silenced the most vocal anti-Islamophobia organisations, the French government faces an almost empty domestic field where it can share its policies without having to fear the accusation of persecuting an entire minority”</span> </em></h3> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-10 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-15" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>Moreover, it also proves how Muslims are perceived by the French state: blind aggressors in the making whose inherent violence is due to a religion “<i>in crisis</i>” – in the words of Macron. The State’s solution is to raise the voice against the perceived threat and secularise, subdue and politically silence the belief system of the imaginary menace.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-5 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-11 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-16" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>A totalitarian Republic reinvigorated by propaganda and persecution</strong></h3> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-17" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>The implementation of the ‘Systematic Obstruction’ policy is supervised by an official organ,&nbsp; the <i>Inter-ministerial committee against Delinquency and Radicalisation</i>. With the advent of the Systematic Obstruction, the committee went through major changes.</p> <p>A new section was created, the “Republican Counter-Discourse Unit”,&nbsp; whose task according to the Darmanin interview is to “<i>monitor social networks, flush out the influencers of the “jihadosphere” and prevent their lies and threats from spreading</i>”.</p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-18" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>However, when one scrutinises the Twitter account of the organ you will be surprised to discover that the committee functions as a propaganda unit whose function is to whitewash the French State’s Islamophobic persecution framing any form of Muslim critical dissent as a dangerous form of “<i>islamist separatism</i>” which needs to be silenced – and any accusation of State sponsored Islamophobia as “<i>fake news</i>”.</p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-12 fusion_builder_column_1_3 1_3 fusion-one-third fusion-column-first" style="width:33.333333333333%;width:calc(33.333333333333% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.33333333333333 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-19" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><span style="color: #999999;">Minister of the Interior Darmanin explained very explicitly the overarching spirit of the State policies regarding Muslims:&nbsp;</span></h3> <h3 style="text-align: center; --fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-fontsize="26" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><span style="color: #999999;"><i>“We are beginning to spread terror among those who wanted to impose it on us.”</i></span></h3> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-13 fusion_builder_column_2_3 2_3 fusion-two-third fusion-column-last" style="width:66.666666666667%;width:calc(66.666666666667% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.66666666666667 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-20" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p>For example, it tweeted that the official Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency or the now dissolved CCIF were spreading “<i>fake news”</i> against France because of their denunciation of French systemic Islamophobia.</p> <p>As it was evidenced by numerous scholars – including Aissam Ait Yahya from the now dissolved NAWA Publishing House – French Enlightenment, which is the philosophical backbone of the French State, is a strong fertile ground for totalitarianism and terror.</p> <p>To quote Robespierre:</p> <p>“<i>There are no other citizens in a Republic than Republicans. Royalists… conspirators are nothing but aliens, or rather enemies.”</i></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-14 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-21" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These words, this totalitarian approach which cannot accept </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">any</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> opposition to the Republic, has withstood the test of time. Still, those who are not perceived as sufficiently submitted to the State are deemed aliens and enemies. During the “</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Terror era</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">”, dissenters were massacred by Robespierre. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Closer to our era during the second World War, Vichy France identified the “four confederate States” – an expression coined by far-right French writer Charles Maurras – composed of protestants, jews, free-masons and immigrants as being members of the “Anti-France” front which deserved to be persecuted. Nowadays, a new systematic purge based on Islamophobia, persecution and propaganda gives new life to a State that rediscovers and fully embraces its totalitarian roots. The French cycle of hate, deeply anchored in French history and culture, is nearing a new climax.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>Nowadays, a new systematic purge based on Islamophobia, persecution and propaganda gives new life to a State that rediscovers and fully embraces its totalitarian roots.</p> <p>A new terror is spreading again, targeting French Muslims. It is time to unveil it at the international level to avoid the terrible and costly mistakes of the past.</p> </div><div class="fusion-text fusion-text-22" style="transform:translate3d(0,0,0);"><p><em>Images used courtesy of Flickr/<a class="owner-name truncate" title="Go to Jacques Paquier's photostream" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/125671268@N02/47688347902/in/photolist-2fE4foS-rdYxcp-qyqXDY-rvjn3x-rdRYSN-qyD2NK-rvjp1a-rc7bnT-rdRXkQ-r56af3-r5697S-rGLnB6-rJw5cA-s26ixX-rJuU3C-rJuUfS-rJCVGK-r568Jh-r569DJ-rJw6Tb-s26jAi-s22v4B-rzMXST-s26iq2-rJCUca-rzMXkv-rvqrek" data-track="attributionNameClick">Jacques Paquier</a></em></p> </div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-6 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling" style="background-color: #ffffff;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;"><div class="fusion-builder-row fusion-row"><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-15 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><div class="fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy" style="background-position: left top; 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