<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"><img width="300" height="208" title="norbu-gyachung-Zjp6bW0gv2E-unsplash" src="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/norbu-gyachung-Zjp6bW0gv2E-unsplash-e1627054180403-300x208.jpg" class="img-responsive wp-image-28943"></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; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; padding: 0px; min-height: 0px;"><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"></h1><h3 data-fontsize="26" style="--fontSize: 26; line-height: 1.62;" data-lineheight="42.12px" class="fusion-responsive-typography-calculated"><strong>Sign up to never miss a new Perspectives essay:</strong></h3><div class="title-sep-container"><div class="title-sep sep-single sep-solid" style="border-color:#e0dede;"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-16 fusion_builder_column_1_5 1_5 fusion-one-fifth fusion-column-first" style="width:20%;width:calc(20% - ( ( 4% + 4% ) * 0.2 ) );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;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;"><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-17 fusion_builder_column_3_5 3_5 fusion-three-fifth" style="width:60%;width:calc(60% - ( ( 4% + 4% ) * 0.6 ) );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;"><!-- Begin Sendinblue Form --> <!-- START - We recommend to place the below code in head tag of your website html --> <style> @font-face { font-display: block; font-family: Roboto; src: url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/normal/normal/7529907e9eaf8ebb5220c5f9850e3811.woff2) format("woff2"), url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/normal/normal/25c678feafdc175a70922a116c9be3e7.woff) format("woff") } @font-face { font-display: fallback; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 600; src: url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/medium/normal/6e9caeeafb1f3491be3e32744bc30440.woff2) format("woff2"), url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/medium/normal/71501f0d8d5aa95960f6475d5487d4c2.woff) format("woff") } @font-face { font-display: fallback; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 700; src: url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/bold/normal/3ef7cf158f310cf752d5ad08cd0e7e60.woff2) format("woff2"), url(https://assets.sendinblue.com/font/Roboto/Latin/bold/normal/ece3a1d82f18b60bcce0211725c476aa.woff) format("woff") } #sib-container input:-ms-input-placeholder { text-align: left; font-family: "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; color: #c0ccda; } #sib-container input::placeholder { text-align: left; font-family: "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; color: #c0ccda; } #sib-container textarea::placeholder { text-align: left; font-family: "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; color: #c0ccda; } </style> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://sibforms.com/forms/end-form/build/sib-styles.css"> <!-- END - We recommend to place the above code in head tag of your website html --> <!-- START - We recommend to place the below code where you want the form in your website html --> <div class="sib-form" style="text-align: center; background-color: #f7f7f7; "> <div id="sib-form-container" class="sib-form-container"> <div id="error-message" class="sib-form-message-panel" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#661d1d;="" background-color:#ffeded;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#ff4949;max-width:540px;"=""> <div class="sib-form-message-panel__text sib-form-message-panel__text--center"> <svg viewBox="0 0 512 512" class="sib-icon sib-notification__icon"> <path d="M256 40c118.621 0 216 96.075 216 216 0 119.291-96.61 216-216 216-119.244 0-216-96.562-216-216 0-119.203 96.602-216 216-216m0-32C119.043 8 8 119.083 8 256c0 136.997 111.043 248 248 248s248-111.003 248-248C504 119.083 392.957 8 256 8zm-11.49 120h22.979c6.823 0 12.274 5.682 11.99 12.5l-7 168c-.268 6.428-5.556 11.5-11.99 11.5h-8.979c-6.433 0-11.722-5.073-11.99-11.5l-7-168c-.283-6.818 5.167-12.5 11.99-12.5zM256 340c-15.464 0-28 12.536-28 28s12.536 28 28 28 28-12.536 28-28-12.536-28-28-28z"></path> </svg> <span class="sib-form-message-panel__inner-text"> Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. </span> </div> </div> <div></div> <div id="success-message" class="sib-form-message-panel" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#085229;="" background-color:#e7faf0;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#13ce66;max-width:540px;"=""> <div class="sib-form-message-panel__text sib-form-message-panel__text--center"> <svg viewBox="0 0 512 512" class="sib-icon sib-notification__icon"> <path d="M256 8C119.033 8 8 119.033 8 256s111.033 248 248 248 248-111.033 248-248S392.967 8 256 8zm0 464c-118.664 0-216-96.055-216-216 0-118.663 96.055-216 216-216 118.664 0 216 96.055 216 216 0 118.663-96.055 216-216 216zm141.63-274.961L217.15 376.071c-4.705 4.667-12.303 4.637-16.97-.068l-85.878-86.572c-4.667-4.705-4.637-12.303.068-16.97l8.52-8.451c4.705-4.667 12.303-4.637 16.97.068l68.976 69.533 163.441-162.13c4.705-4.667 12.303-4.637 16.97.068l8.451 8.52c4.668 4.705 4.637 12.303-.068 16.97z"></path> </svg> <span class="sib-form-message-panel__inner-text"> Your subscription has been successful. </span> </div> </div> <div></div> <div id="sib-container" class="sib-container--large sib-container--vertical" style="text-align:center; background-color:rgba(255,255,255,1); max-width:540px; border-radius:3px; border-width:1px; border-color:#f7f7f7; border-style:solid;"> <form id="sib-form" method="POST" action="https://64603522.sibforms.com/serve/MUIEAHMH246NT3p1CzCcZ4z4MWBibAYHYngW7woYtZxLpPkclfQ9E4GkdnAZTR5mnwoBhAsPYZ3XuI3B6soVrE6-QHe3H--vbPmIq60l4HPaOYlhmie1tdbDEXE2Gc7iwBzbwJLQU74ODxKF_uJy7MAfJoZiN0eAvB02gB22Xc__CSNCRcU82nwVsqZESZhqPBksnFU9e0Y50IkL" data-type="subscription" novalidate="true"> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-form-block" style="font-size:32px; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;="" background-color:transparent;"=""> <p>Sign up to CAGE Perspectives</p> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-form-block" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;="" background-color:transparent;"=""> <div class="sib-text-form-block"> <p>Perspectives is a space where we invite expert voices to inject much needed thoughtfulness in assessing how the global War on Terror manifests itself. Sign up here to receive the latest essays straight to your inbox.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-input sib-form-block"> <div class="form__entry entry_block"> <div class="form__label-row "> <label class="entry__label" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;"="" for="NAME" data-required="*"> First Name </label> <div class="entry__field"> <input class="input" maxlength="200" type="text" id="NAME" name="NAME" autocomplete="off" placeholder="NAME" data-required="true" required=""> </div> </div> <label class="entry__error entry__error--primary" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#661d1d;="" background-color:#ffeded;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#ff4949;"=""> </label> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-input sib-form-block"> <div class="form__entry entry_block"> <div class="form__label-row "> <label class="entry__label" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;"="" for="SURNAME" data-required="*"> Surname </label> <div class="entry__field"> <input class="input" maxlength="200" type="text" id="SURNAME" name="SURNAME" autocomplete="off" placeholder="SURNAME" data-required="true" required=""> </div> </div> <label class="entry__error entry__error--primary" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#661d1d;="" background-color:#ffeded;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#ff4949;"=""> </label> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-input sib-form-block"> <div class="form__entry entry_block"> <div class="form__label-row "> <label class="entry__label" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;"="" for="EMAIL" data-required="*"> Email address </label> <div class="entry__field"> <input class="input" type="text" id="EMAIL" name="EMAIL" autocomplete="off" placeholder="EMAIL" data-required="true" required=""> </div> </div> <label class="entry__error entry__error--primary" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#661d1d;="" background-color:#ffeded;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#ff4949;"=""> </label> <label class="entry__specification" style="font-size:12px; text-align:left; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#8390a4;"=""> Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g abc@xyz.com </label> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-optin sib-form-block"> <div class="form__entry entry_mcq"> <div class="form__label-row "> <div class="entry__choice"> <label> <input type="checkbox" class="input_replaced" value="1" id="OPT_IN" name="OPT_IN"> <span class="checkbox checkbox_tick_positive"></span><span style="font-size:14px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#3c4858;="" background-color:transparent;"=""><p>I agree to receive CAGE emails in accordance with our <a href="https://www.cage.ngo/privacy" target="_blank">privacy policy</a>.</p></span> </label> </div> </div> <label class="entry__error entry__error--primary" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#661d1d;="" background-color:#ffeded;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-color:#ff4949;"=""> </label> <label class="entry__specification" style="font-size:12px; text-align:left; font-family:" lucida="" grande",="" sans-serif;="" color:#8390a4;"=""> You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter. </label> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 8px 0;"> <div class="sib-form-block" style="text-align: left"> <button class="sib-form-block__button sib-form-block__button-with-loader" style="font-size:16px; text-align:left; font-weight:700; font-family:" helvetica",="" sans-serif;="" color:#ffffff;="" background-color:#3e4857;="" border-radius:3px;="" border-width:0px;"="" form="sib-form" type="submit"> <svg class="icon clickable__icon progress-indicator__icon sib-hide-loader-icon" viewBox="0 0 512 512"> <path d="M460.116 373.846l-20.823-12.022c-5.541-3.199-7.54-10.159-4.663-15.874 30.137-59.886 28.343-131.652-5.386-189.946-33.641-58.394-94.896-95.833-161.827-99.676C261.028 55.961 256 50.751 256 44.352V20.309c0-6.904 5.808-12.337 12.703-11.982 83.556 4.306 160.163 50.864 202.11 123.677 42.063 72.696 44.079 162.316 6.031 236.832-3.14 6.148-10.75 8.461-16.728 5.01z"></path> </svg> SUBSCRIBE </button> </div> </div> <input type="text" name="email_address_check" value="" class="input--hidden"> <input type="hidden" name="locale" value="en"> </form> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END - We recommend to place the below code where you want the form in your website html --> <!-- START - We recommend to place the below code in footer or bottom of your website html --> <script> window.REQUIRED_CODE_ERROR_MESSAGE = 'Please choose a country code'; window.EMAIL_INVALID_MESSAGE = window.SMS_INVALID_MESSAGE = "The information provided is invalid. Please review the field format and try again."; window.REQUIRED_ERROR_MESSAGE = "This field cannot be left blank. "; window.GENERIC_INVALID_MESSAGE = "The information provided is invalid. Please review the field format and try again."; window.translation = { common: { selectedList: '{quantity} list selected', selectedLists: '{quantity} lists selected' } }; var AUTOHIDE = Boolean(0); </script> <script src="https://sibforms.com/forms/end-form/build/main.js"></script> <!-- END - We recommend to place the above code in footer or bottom of your website html --> <!-- End Sendinblue Form --><div class="fusion-clearfix"></div></div></div><div class="fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-18 fusion_builder_column_1_5 1_5 fusion-one-fifth fusion-column-last" style="width:20%;width:calc(20% - ( ( 4% + 4% ) * 0.2 ) );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;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;"><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>

Between May 10th-21st 2021, the Gaza strip was bombarded, which attracted international condemnation and led to 256 people being killed, 2,000 wounded and Gaza’s fragile infrastructure razed to the ground. As hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Britain in protest against this assault, students expressed support for Palestine in schools. This included putting up ‘Free Palestine’ posters, wearing symbols of Palestine and the Palestine flag, or organising actions and protests at school. For many of these children, this was the first time they mobilised for Palestine. Yet the response from schools was often swift and unforgiving. Since May 2021 we have handled 47 cases of students - and occasionally, teachers - being censored for expressing or exercising support for Palestine. Cases featured in the report include: The school that banned students from wearing or displaying any colours of the Palestinian flag, as well as abayas or any clothing resembling ‘Middle Eastern clothes’. The student with behavioural issues who was referred to Prevent and social services after emailing videos of Islamic lectures and Islamic spiritual healing to his school to express his unhappiness at a school’s one sided presentation on Israel-Palestine.</li> The students who were suspended because it was deemed that wearing a Palestine badge to school was ‘inappropriately political’ and may ‘offend’ students. The student banned from using their online classroom platform due to them discussing Palestine with friends on it, and threatened with exclusion. The 20-page analysis which features over a dozen case examples, concludes with clear recommendations for schools to reject the securitisation of Palestinian activism and to create an environment that nurtures debate. For the government, CAGE has demanded it ceases its partisan interventions and its authoritarian management of the education sector.

This briefing paper traces the emerging shape of security and surveillance in Britain under the Coronavirus pandemic, and warns about organisations exploiting it to build on existing counter terrorism infrastructure, to further infiltrate public health and more aspects of private life. The paper emphasises that new Coronavirus laws risk normalising ‘exceptional’ powers, and could reshape surveillance and policing for the long term, and deeply tie them to the public sector. &nbsp; <strong> “Exploiting a Pandemic: The Security Industry’s Race to Infiltrate Public Health” , outlines the following key concerns:</strong> &nbsp; <ul> <li>Aspects of a proposed centralised contact tracing system will be outsourced to known rights abusers, such as <i>Serco</i> and <i>G4S</i>, and third party firms like <i>Palantir, </i>which has been solicited in US police raids on migrant communities;</li> <li>Right-wing groups such as <i>Policy Exchange</i> and the <i>Henry Jackson Society</i> are trying to weave their toxic securitised approaches into the realm of public health for material and political profit;</li> <li>PREVENT purveyors are trying to remain relevant through attempts to embed the policy into the home, while hinting at online surveillance to close down digital spaces of organising;</li> <li>The CCE’s latest trick to criminalise "conspiracy theories" as a new kind of "extremism" underlines its true purpose to control discourse and thought, as well as silence criticism of the government.</li> </ul> &nbsp; [fusion_button link="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CAGE-Exploiting-a-Pandemic-The-Security-Industrys-Race-to-Infiltrate-Public-Health-2020.pdf" text_transform="" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment="center" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" border_width="" size="large" stretch="yes" shape="pill" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]Download paper here[/fusion_button]

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This briefing paper outlines how the government’s proposed CV Bill will give the state far-reaching powers to dismantle the fundamental rights of individuals and communities.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">While decisive action is essential to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, such an approach means that the Bill also poses a long term threat to the social fabric of the UK.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Extra powers must be subject to strict and effective oversight and must end within a reasonable time around the end of the pandemic.</span> <strong>CAGE raises the following concerns about the Bill: </strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It allows the state to detain, isolate, assess and force disclosures about infections from individuals – as well as making non-compliance an offence;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It consists of vague terms around the banning of events, gatherings and meetings, which can be easily extended to outlaw protests, shut down political activism, and undermine freedom of association;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983 allow for easier detention and medication-without-consent of individuals, an alarming development in the context of the high rate of deaths in mental health detention.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most alarmingly, the Bill includes clauses that allows it to be extended, modified and effectively made permanent in the future.</span></li> </ul> &nbsp; [fusion_button link="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/032020_CAGE_CoronavirusBill_Briefing_FINAL.pdf" title="" target="_blank" link_attributes="" alignment="center" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" border_width="" size="large" stretch="no" shape="" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]Download the paper here[/fusion_button] &nbsp; <h3>View online:</h3> <p style="text-align: center;">[pdf-embedder url="https://www.cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/032020_CAGE_CoronavirusBill_Briefing_FINAL.pdf"]</p>

Following the widespread condemnation of the PREVENT policy and the subsequent launch of an ‘independent review’, widely recognised as being a ‘whitewash’, CAGE is offering a tangible, and practical way forward beyond PREVENT. The Beyond PREVENT report outlines clear actions that provide a framework that will help Britain foster healthy and safe societies, without antagonising communities. The key principle for peaceful co-existence core to the paper is the need to move away from securitised approaches and policy, both locally and internationally. - This report is a challenge and carefully thought-out response to former Security Minister Ben Wallace’s statement: “Whenever I hear people criticise Prevent and I ask, “Okay, what would you do?”, they just describe Prevent, and they come back to the bit about the Prevent brand being tainted”; - 95% of PREVENT referrals are false positives on the programme’s own terms, requiring no further intervention – proof that the policy is ineffective and toxic, and does not need a mere ‘review’ or ‘improvement’. - The notion of improving PREVENT only lends itself to a dead-end discussion that ends with PREVENT or PREVENT-like policy solutions. In contrast, the Beyond PREVENT paper: - Offers solutions based on structural and policy changes, to the root causes of violence; - Overwhelming calls for building healthy, safe societies without securitisation around beliefs and behaviour; - Provides an excellent opportunity to break the impasse on PREVENT with new innovative thinking

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.

This is some text inside of a div block.