UK PM Vows To Take On ‘Islamist Extremists’

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British Prime Minister, David Cameron is expected to announce a five-year plan to defeat what he calls “Islamist extremism” in a key policy speech.  The address prepared for delivery on Monday in the city of Birmingham will say that the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group must be countered to create a more cohesive nation in which young Muslims feel they have a stake. Aljazeera has more:

“There is a danger in some of our communities that you can go your whole life and have little to do with people from other faiths and backgrounds,” Cameron will say, according to an excerpt of the speech released by Downing Street. “So when groups like ISIL seek to rally our young people to their poisonous cause, it can offer them a sense of belonging that they can lack here at home.”

The prime minister is expected to announce a study designed to find ways to increase opportunities for young people from ethnic minorities and increase their integration in society. Cameron will also take on the sensitive question of the role Britain’s Muslim community should play in fighting ISIL, saying extreme views such as believing in a “Jewish conspiracy” and opposition to “fundamental liberal values” are the gateway to violence.

“There are so many strong, positive Muslim voices being drowned out,” he is expected to say. “Ask yourself, how is it possible that when young teenagers leave their London homes to fight for ISIL, the debate focuses on whether the security services are to blame?