Imran Awan

The impact of policing British Muslims: a qualitative exploration

Since the ‘war on terror’, issues of security and the role of law enforcement agencies have become increasingly important. In the UK, local communities have had to play a pivotal role in combating extremism and terrorism. With this heightened atmosphere, community-led policing models are being used for counter-terrorism-led initiatives. Indeed, a local police force in Birmingham further exacerbated the potential for perceived bias between British Muslims and the police as they installed a number of secret covert and overt cameras in predominately Muslim areas. This paper examines issues in relation to racial profiling, surveillance, trust, community policing and counter-terrorism-led policing. The article uses a short case study which adopted a qualitative research approach and focused on participants from the area of Birmingham where the cameras were installed, as the author sought to understand the opinion of the study participants and their views on the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Issues affecting this particular section of the community were critical in understanding how British Muslims had been affected by the use of such mass surveillance. The findings reported in this article suggest that surveillance initiatives based in Muslim areas of the West Midlands (in the UK) have failed.

Policing Cyber Hate, Cyber Threats and Cyber Terrorism

Contents: Introduction Cyberspace, cyber crime and cyber terrorism Cyber threats and cyber terrorism: the internet as a tool for extremism Psychological aspects of cyber hate and cyber terrorism Cults Hate in a cyber age Policing the global phenomenon of cyber terrorism and extremism Knowledge management and cyber terrorism Intelligence gathering and police systems National and international cyber security strategies Policing cyber hate, cyber threats and cyber terrorism Index.

Operation ‘Trojan Horse’: Islamophobia or Extremism?

Earlier this year, accusations of an Islamist plot to take over schools in Birmingham sparked debate about radicalisation in UK schools. Imran Awan has been studying the impact of the ‘Trojan Horse’ affair on the citys Muslim communities.

Muslim Prisoners, Radicalization and Rehabilitation in British Prisons

Abstract The former Chief Inspector of Prisons in Britain, Dame Anne Owers, raised a number of serious questions about the treatment and safety of Muslim prisoners. In light of these concerns, it is important to examine the role of the potential radicalization of Muslim prisoners in Britain. Indeed, British prisons have become integral institutions that must focus on rehabilitation as well as resettlement programs within Muslim communities in order to successfully change ideology and perception. However, there are problems with many de-radicalization programs in prison as they are viewed with suspicion and are deemed to be used to provide intelligence and unnecessary surveillance upon all Muslim prisoners regardless of the offense they may have committed. The paper examines the risk of radicalization in UK prisons and concludes that prison staff must work on building trust with Muslim prisoners and de-radicalization programs must focus on using religion as a means to tackling the problem of radicalization amongst prisoners.

Parents of foreign “terrorist” fighters in Syria – will they report their young?

ABSTRACT The mounting tide of foreign fighters leaving Britain for the Middle East to fight, sacrifice or find new lives has blighted European governments and led to the further tightening up of counter-terrorism measures. Since the first British arrest of a Syrian returnee (Choudhury) in 2014, the latest figures of foreign fighter returnees have surged to approximately 800. A number of strategies aimed at thwarting these trends have surfaced including a call upon Muslim parents to scrutinise their children’s attitudes and behaviour and to be watchful of their radicalization. Based on a study in the West Midlands (in the UK), the paper provides a snapshot of how Muslim parents have received calls upon them to report their actual or potentially radicalized children to the police. We argue that current practices are likely to be ineffective unless more democratic spaces are provided for free political expression.

Understanding the public perception and satisfaction of a UK police constabulary

Abstract This study explores the public perception of a community in Britain, towards a police constabulary in the UK. The study sought to explore how the levels of satisfaction between Black and Minority Ethnicities (BME) and non BME communities towards this police force in the UK. Using a mixed-methods approach, data was obtained by the use of self-completion questionnaires of 112 participants in an area in the UK and the use of a total of 31 semi-structured interviews. The findings show that participants questioned police competence, the duty of police officers, policing conduct in relation to investigations, experiences of prejudice and expectations communities have of the police. The results for this study showed that there is some support for the idea that the perception of the police during the first contact with a member of the public is likely to be the most powerful predictor of future opinions on the police. This comes from the idea that the public are concerned not only with what the police do in the community, but how they do their work. Finally, as the current study is concerned with policing the local communities, it is important to remember that members of the community will respond positively to being included in police procedure deliberations and audits. The findings suggest that there is still much work to be done by the police service in order to improve the relationship with the communities that they serve. We argue much more emphasis should be placed on community work and increased engagement with younger people in schools and the wider general public.

A lesson in how not to spy on your community

Abstract In Birmingham the impact of counter-terrorism legislation and its operation on the Muslim community has led to a community that does not trust the police force. The West Midlands Police force was so concerned with the terrorist threat that it decided to install secret covert and overt cameras. The thinking surely was that the police could use these cameras to spy upon a community and help prevent another 7/7.

Doing ‘dangerous’ autoethnography on Islamophobic victimization

This article draws on our different experiences of employing autoethnography when researching Islamophobia, using two independent research projects. In particular, we reflect upon our experiences of Islamophobic victimization as a result of being ‘visibly’ Muslim in public spaces in the UK. We discuss our motivation for employing autoethnography and the role of our insider/outsider status in adopting the role of the Muslim ‘other’ in public spaces. Additionally, we consider the nature, extent and impact of Islamophobic victimization upon ourselves, and the coping mechanisms we employed to deal with it. The article concludes by reflecting upon the advantages, ethical challenges and limitations of using autoethnography when researching Islamophobic victimization.

“You need to be sorted out with a knife”:the attempted online silencing of women and people of Muslim faith within academia

Academics are increasingly expected to use social media to disseminate their work and knowledge to public audiences. Although this has various advantages, particularly for alternative forms of dissemination, the web can also be an unsafe space for typically oppressed or subordinated groups. This article presents two auto-ethnographic accounts of the abuse and hate academics researching oppressed groups, namely, women and people of Muslim faith, experienced online. In doing so, this article falls into four parts. The first section provides an overview of existing literature, particularly focusing on work which explores the violence and abuse of women and people of Muslim faith online. The second section considers the auto-ethnographic methodological approach adopted in this article. The third section provides the auto-ethnographic accounts of the author’s experiences of hate and abuse online. The final section locates these experiences within broader theoretical concepts, such as silencing, and considers possible implications of such online hate in both an academic context and beyond.

Glorifying and encouraging terrorism: preserving the golden thread of civil liberties in Britain

Purpose – Al‐Qaeda poses a major challenge to western democracies with its international networks and suicide attacks; it has been involved in some of the most horrific terrorist attacks across the world. As a result the UK, similar to many other countries, has enacted hard‐line counter‐terrorism legislation that has had an impact upon Muslim community relations with law enforcement agencies. This paper aims to examine the glorification offence under the Terrorism Act and its implications for free speech.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is designed to examine counter‐terrorism legislation in Britain and in particular the offence of glorification and the impact it has had upon Muslim communities using empirical case studies and theoretical evidence.Findings – It is found that Muslim communities feel that their freedom of speech, thought and expression have been seriously curtailed as a result of the glorification offence and has led them to feel a sense of alienation and stigma which has manifested ...