Reaction to the Proscription of al-Muhajiroun

This morning’s announcement that membership of al-Muhajiroun and its many subsidiary groups will now be a criminal offence is an encouraging move in the fight against extremism. It sends a strong signal to those that wish to undermine British values of freedom and democracy and will be warmly welcomed by the Jewish community.

When making representations to Government on the issue of extremism, the Board has repeatedly emphasised the importance of excluding groups which advocate violence, while supporting the moderate majority of British Muslims. Moving forward, the challenge for the government will be to remain vigilant in preventing the inevitable formation of duplicate organisations with different names and to confront more directly British proponents of Islamism and those that preach its theology of hatred from abroad.