British Home Secretary to Islamic Extremists: "The Game is Up"

by Soeren Kern • April 2, 2015 at 5:00 am

"There is increasing evidence that a small but significant number of people living in Britain -- almost all of whom are British citizens -- reject our values. ... It's clear from these examples that extremism can take many forms. ... They utterly reject British and Western values, including democracy, the rule of law, and equality between citizens, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion or sexuality. They believe that it's impossible to be a good Muslim and a good British citizen. And they dismiss anybody who disagrees with them -- including other Muslims -- as 'kafirs,' or non-believers." — Theresa May, British Home Secretary.

"Intolerance, hatred and bigotry become normalized. Trust is replaced by fear, reciprocity by envy, and solidarity by division. ... [I]f anybody else discriminated against women, denounced people on the basis of their religious beliefs, rejected the democratic process, attacked people on the basis of their sexuality, or gave a nod and a wink in favor of violence and terrorism, we wouldn't hesitate to challenge them or -- if the law was broken -- call for their prosecution and punishment." — Theresa May, British Home Secretary.

Some Muslim groups say May's comments amounted to "Islamophobia."

Manzoor Moghal, the chairman of the Muslim Forum, a think tank, told the BBC that May's proposals would infringe on freedom of speech.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May, in a September 2014 speech, announced new "Extremism Disruption Orders" that will ban any person the government labels an "extremist" from appearing on radio or TV, protesting in public or even posting messages on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, without permission from the government.

British Home Secretary Theresa May has unveiled a series of new proposals aimed at combating Islamic extremism "in all its forms."

The plan is part of the Tory election manifesto, a declaration of policies and programs to be implemented if Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party stays in power after the general election on May 7.

The home secretary has pledged that a future Tory government would — among other measures — ban Islamic hate preachers, shut down extremist mosques and review whether Sharia courts in England and Wales are compatible with British values.

May has also promised to crack down on Islamic extremism in British prisons, to monitor how police are responding to so-called honor crimes, female genital mutilation and forced marriage, and to change the citizenship law to ensure that successful applicants respect British values.