Hege Storhaug, HRS
Denne ferske lekkasjen fra Wikileaks er knyttet til meningsmåling utført av Centre for Social Cohesion i desember 2008 og fikk alarmklokkene til å gå blant amerikanske myndigheter. I målingen fremkom det blant annet at at en av tre muslimske britiske studenter støtter drap i islams navn, over halvparten ønsker å bli representert av et islamsk parti, og 40 prosent vil leve under sharia heller enn britisk lov. Det kom også frem at muslimske studenter rapporterer om omfattende funksjonshemninger: 24 prosent av mennene og 21 prosent av kvinnene sier de lider av en funksjonshemning. Ingen andre grupper har tilsvarende høy rate, og funksjonshemningene antas å få negative konsekvenser for arbeidsførhet.
Da dette ble kjent, ble kontakt md britiske muslimske mijø en topprioritet for USA.
Reaching out to UK Muslim community was ‘top priority’ for U.S.
Around a third of young British Muslims favour killing in the name of Islam, according to a survey revealed by the WikiLeaks’ publication of U.S. diplomatic cables.
A survey of 600 Muslim students at 30 universities throughout Britain found that 32 per cent of Muslim respondents believed killing in the name of religion is justified.
A U.S. diplomatic cable from January 2009 quoted a poll by the Centre for Social Cohesion as saying 54 per cent wanted a Muslim party to represent their world view in Parliament and 40 per cent want Muslims in the UK to be under Sharia law.
The survey results, revealed by WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables, suggests increasing radicalisation among Britain’s young Muslims.
A further U.S. cable, dated February 5 2009, said reaching out to Britain’s Muslim community there was a ‘top priority’ for U.S. embassy staff.
It stated: ‘Although people of Muslim faith make up only 3 to 4 per cent of the UK’s population, outreach to this key audience is vital to U.S. foreign policy interests in the UK and beyond… This is a top mission priority.’
The February cable outlined a plan encompassing ‘engagement and community capacity-building’ to counter the possible growth of ‘violent extremism’ in the UK.
The outreach plan for British Muslims was published a month after a cable that revealed that while the community had grown to more than 2 million, unemployment rates were higher among Muslim men and women than in any other religion.
Muslims were also found to have the highest disability rates – with 24 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women claiming a disability – while the cable also cited statistics claiming Muslims were also the most likely group to be unavailable for work or not actively seeking employment due to illness, their studies or family commitments.
Også i 2006 uttrykte USA bekymring for Storbritannias håndtering av ekstremisme.
It was revealed last week that a U.S. cable from 2006 had suggested the British Government had made ‘little progress’ in engaging Muslims and combating homegrown extremism.
And the latest cable revelations of U.S. ambassadorial plan to empower Muslim communities to ‘mobilize against extremism’ and ‘build community resilience’ confirms the White House’s lack of faith in the British Government’s ability to engage with the UK’s Islamic population.