Thread by @sundersays

Listening to British Muslims: Policing, extremism and Prevent. Nuanced study @CrestAdvisory starts to fill an important gap in our knowledge. It shows British Muslim opinion is far from monolithic, so may challenge some over-simplications from all flanks
crestadvisory.com/post/listening…

@CrestAdvisory Most British Muslims (55%) have not heard of the Prevent scheme and don't know what it is about. Muslims are more likely to have heard of the scheme than the general public, where 68% of people don't recognise Prevent or know what it is

@CrestAdvisory Nuanced picture of contingent support
- high concern about Islamist extremism & cooperation to report it
- support in principle for a scheme with Prevent's aims, inc in tackling Islamist extremism, with questions about how that is done in practice
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-516769…

@CrestAdvisory This attitudes evidence is welcomed by @AkeelaAhmed who says it can inform a highly polarised debate.

The research "underscores the urgent need to improve consultation with communities most affected by counter-terrorism and counter-extremism policies in general", she says

@CrestAdvisory @AkeelaAhmed And @MuslimCouncil say this provides "valuable insight" and showed most people supported the "concept that prevention is better than cure". They highlight that a third of Muslims who've heard of it are confident about supporting, saying this makes the case for a review & overhaul

@CrestAdvisory @AkeelaAhmed @MuslimCouncil Just to note that I provided some advice, alongside others, particularly on research methodologies of qualitative engagement, survey design, etc - but the content and recommendations are the responsibility of the @CrestAdvisory research team, rather than external advisory group

@CrestAdvisory @AkeelaAhmed @MuslimCouncil I also attended some initial pilot focus groups, before they went around country. Lots of interesting detail, about British Muslim perceptions of positive & negative experiences, + engagement with institutions, that go well beyond issues of policing. (This shouldn't be so rare!)

@CrestAdvisory @AkeelaAhmed @MuslimCouncil Thread from @CrestAdvisory on them mix and balance of these findings - lack of awareness, and support, and scepticism of Prevent among British Muslims (and among public as a whole). Vocal minorities are either entirely opposed/entirely on board.

https://twitter.com/CrestAdvisory/status/1234381632154558464

@CrestAdvisory @AkeelaAhmed @MuslimCouncil Commentary @AkeelaAhmed on the value of public voice, and ensuring all voices get heard. All minority communities are plural. Views will differ by politics, gender, geography, class & education: policymakers should engage more, rather than assume

https://twitter.com/timesredbox/status/1234388297843118080

Thread by @miqdaad draws on report's research, highlight how support for broad principle of govt preventing extremism is combined with questions about transparency and fairness of targeting. The middle ground is often constructive & engageable scepticism

https://twitter.com/miqdaad/status/1234386453339267077?s=19

As @CrestAdvisory specialists in issues of policing/justice, detailed discussion of those issues. Muslim attitudes to police reflect shared themes (want more bobbies on beat, & do they investigate burglaries anymore) + distinct concerns (re fairness/experiences of discrimination)

The broader findings on overall context are esp interesting.

Is Britain a good place to be a Muslim?
Muslim respondents (76% yes, 22% very) are more positive than general public, non-Muslim respondents (52% yes, 10% very).

Why? Freedom of religion and free expression are top.

What are the negatives?
Anti-Muslim prejudice (64%)
Media representation (39%)
are concerns held more broadly than
the far right (28%)
Job discrimination (30%)

British Muslims love the NHS. 84% think it tends to treat Muslims fairly. But 6/10 think many/most institutions tend to treat Muslims fairly (at least somewhat fairly), with one standout exception: 6/10 think the media is more unfair than fair.

Important finding: The media is doing *much* worse for trust from British Muslims in whether it treats them fairly than every other institution surveyed. Not just behind NHS, schools and universities & employers but heavily lagging behind government, courts and police

89% of Muslims think anti-Muslim prejudice is a problem. 8/10 of GB public recognise this (with less intensity)

7/10 of Muslims say it's getting worse in recent years. 10% that it's reducing.

The biggest concern, in survey showing + attitudes from most Muslims on most issues

Most British Muslims think their local area is a better place to live in as a Muslim than other parts of Britain, a shared pattern across regions and nations.

There is a lot of interesting qualitative detail in the report from discussions held around Britain, exemplifying that mix of views captured in the poll findings
crestadvisory.com/post/listening…

This @CrestAdvisory report starts to fill a gap. Most important recommendation is that the Independent Review of Prevent should proceed, & that high quality public engagement at scale should be part of it (and indeed become a norm, national & local)

https://twitter.com/CrestAdvisory/status/1234381638789931009?s=19

@CrestAdvisory Govt has a statutory obligation (Feb 2019) to conduct an independent review of Prevent , to be completed by August 2020.

Lord Carlile was appointed in Aug 2019, then stood him down just before Christmas. An update promised 'in due course'
gov.uk/government/col…

@CrestAdvisory I wonder if govt may intend to just amend legislation, remove commitment to independent statutory review (with some kind of internal refresh?)

Today's report suggests it would be a missed opportunity. Scrutiny with public engagement could increase public legitimacy + efficacy