Reducing Ethnic Profiling in the European Union - Open Society ...

A 2006 British study of efforts to build law enforcement relations with Muslimcommunities emphasized that initiatives must be locally-based, transparent, and rootedin an understanding of faith. If possible, outreach efforts should include diverse voicesfrom communities, and avoid direct or implicit labeling “good” versus “bad” Muslims,which can generate or aggravate divisions in the Muslim community.Some experts argue that the strategy of encouraging moderate Muslim voicesto create a bulwark against more radical forms of Islam fails to understand differentstreams of Islam, and is as likely to create divisions and problems as it is to advancesolutions. This critique notes that moderate Islamic voices have little relation with thecommunities or the individuals who are attracted to radical forms of Islam, that Salafistgroups are not monolithic, and that many conservative Muslims are highly critical ofviolent jihad.UNITED KINGDOMLondon Metropolitan Police Service’s Muslim Contact UnitEstablished in January 2002, the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) 248 works with Muslimcommunities in London as partners in confronting the al Qaeda terrorist threat.The MCU developed partnerships aiming to reach the youth being drawn towardsal-Qaeda. The MCU works with several London Muslim groups including Salafistand Islamist groups which, they argue, have the greatest knowledge and credibilityto counter al-Qaeda. Robert Lambert, one of the founders of the MCU, argues that“...young recruits to al Qaeda might easily be rehabilitated to nonviolent politics ifcredible figures in their communities were encouraged or facilitated to undertakenegotiations to that end. Such negotiations form the cornerstone of the police andMuslim community interventions in London.” 249The MCU draws on lessons from fighting the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland.A vital lesson was that anti-terror measures that viewed an entire community assuspect and treated them accordingly ultimately increased sympathy for and recruitsto terrorism. The MCU’s founders argue that it is vital to distinguish individual terroristsfrom the communities in which they seek support. The unit seeks to reassureMuslim communities that they are not suspects simply because al Qaeda terroristsclaim to be acting in the name of Islam.The project has been positively evaluated, but has also faced criticism for “appeasingextremists.” The MCUs approach challenges the mainstream view that conservativeMuslim groups such as Salafis are extremists and therefore part of the problem ratherthan part of the solution. The MCU treats Salafist and Islamist groups as effectivepartners whose confidence and trust is necessary to countering the terrorist threat.REDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 167