Islamic World News
Terror hotline may increase finger of suspicion on whole community
Any initiative that aims to increase national security must be welcomed. But exactly how will the anti-terror hotline unveiled by the North West Counter-terrorism unit be perceived by Muslims.
Many will feel a little apprehensive with a specific hotline that encourages people to report on them.
To put it simply this hotline is about getting Muslims to report on other Muslims they feel might be a threat to national security. It is also there to make non-Muslims report on Muslims they think might are acting ‘suspiciously’.
It is not about encouraging Christians or Jews to report on each other. It wants the Muslim community to share information they might have with the police about their neighbours.
When that comes to drugs or anti-social behaviour that might not set alarm bells ringing. But when it comes to terrorism there will be many Muslims who might not welcome such intrusions.
The major issue many Muslims will have is what is done with that information once it is found to be false? Or what happens when they are being reported on by people for motives other than that of national security?
And what exactly is ‘acting suspiciously’? If you are acting more and more religious does that mean you should be reported to the Police? And what will the police do with that information?
You would think people are intelligent enough to judge such matters themselves. But if the authorities themselves have found it a struggle to do so how will the average man on the street find it?
Now, it is true if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to fear. But when it comes to terrorism related issues that is not always the case.
Past experience has shown that it has become all too easy to arrest people under anti-terrorism laws and later release them without so much as an apology.
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2:23 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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