Hate preachersU.K. to ban hate preachers from mosques, universities, public speaking to tackle radicalization

Sermons by a few imams take advantage of piety to lead some of the faithful to extremism // Source: theconversation.com

Prime Minister Theresa May is developing plans to bar Islamist hate preachers from entering mosques and universities in order to prevent a repetition of the campaign conducted by Anjem Choudary to radicalize young Britons.

Choudary was convicted earlier this week for promoting terrorism and pledging allegiance to ISIS. The hate preacher was openly active in Islamist extremist causes for nearly twenty years, and in the last two years has directed his effort to recruiting young Britons for ISIS.

The Telegraph reports that the government is now exploring ways to impose blanket bans which would prevent extremists from addressing large groups in public. The government is also looking into ways to force social media sites to remove extremist messages and videos posted online.

May sees countering extremism as a central element of her tenure in government – she was home secretary before becoming prime minister – and the measures she has instructed government ministers to explore could form the centerpiece of a new Extremism Bill which May intends to place before Parliament, and which will be announced in this year’s Queen’s Speech.

Experts say that Choudary’s nearly 20-year campaign of hate, incitement, and radicalization had exposed the limits of current anti-terror laws. Choudary was found to be connected to fifteen terror plots since 2000 and to more than 500 British jihadists who traveled to Syria to fight in ISIS ranks. He had also been active spreading his extremist Islamist message on social media and on college campuses.

David Anderson, the government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, urged ministers to tighten the law to avoid repeats of the Choudari phenomenon. 

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, he said of current anti-terror measures: “These are useful offenses, they are being increasingly used, but I think one would have to admit that until now the law has barely touched Anjem Choudary.

“In the meantime a lot of people have been radicalized and yes, we do need to look at what might be done if there are impediments, technical reasons why it’s not as easy to get convictions under these laws as it should be.”

Government ministers and security officials have been frustrated by the fact that extremists could easily radicalize young Britons while not breaking the law. Experts say that one way to limit the effectiveness of hate preachers is to ban them from attending certain mosques, community groups, and universities. Another measure would bar radicals from speaking to groups of a certain size in public. 

A third measure would give security officials the authority to order Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to remove extremist material. This measure, however, would be limited because the bigger social media companies are based outside the United Kingdom.

Anderson, however, said he was concerned about the increasing number of restrictions the could be imposed on suspected extremists without court approval. 

He argued that bypassing juries to tackle extremism could be “very dangerous” and that there was a chance it would be “counter-productive.” 

Anderson also called on Internet companies to treat extremist videos and messages the same way child pornography s treated.