Cameron pushing policy of ‘muscular liberalism’ and other countries, like Ireland, may follow suit

RAPID developments and profound events across Europe could have an impact on Ireland.

In Britain, recent comments by the Prime Minister David Cameron, and government reports into terrorist threats and radicalisation of Muslim students at universities, have kicked off a tense debate. Cameron declared an end to the policy of multiculturalism and articulated a policy of “muscular liberalism”.

He said all communities will have to integrate into wider society and accept British values, including freedom of speech and religion, democracy and equal rights regardless or race, gender or sexuality.

“Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream,” Mr Cameron said. “We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.”

He said Muslim groups that failed to promote these values would no longer receive public funding and that ministers would no longer share a platform with them.

Following on from the ban on full-face veils in France in April, other EU states, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy are considering similar moves.

In the Netherlands, right-wing politician Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, was acquitted in June of hate speeches against Muslims. In one of his more incendiary statements, Wilders said: “The core of the problem is the fascist Islam, the sick ideology of Allah and Muhammad as laid down in the Islamic Mein Kampf: the Quran”. The court ruled that while his statements offended Muslims, they were within the bounds of legitimate political debate.

The man behind the twin attacks in Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, praised Geert Wilder. He described himself as a Christian nationalist, declaring war against “an ongoing Islamic invasion/colonisation”.

Police in Norway have spoken of a rise in right-wing extremists hostile to Islam and greater co-operation between such groups across Europe. Last month, Europol, the EU police agency, said there was a new professionalism in their propaganda and organisation and had the “will to enlarge and spread their ideology”.

In its report, Europol said the threat of Islamic terrorism was “high”, although varying considerably across member states.

It said Ireland was one of 13 member states that recorded arrests related to Islamist terrorism. This was a reference to the five Muslims arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack on Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who drew a derogatory cartoon of Muhammed.

The report said the internet and online jihadist forums are a major contributing factor in radicalising vulnerable individual Muslims.

Picture: MAN ON A MISSION: Geert Wilders. ‘The core of the problem is the fascist Islam, the sick ideology of Allah and Muhammad’. Picture: AP