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David Haines and Alan Henning families urge fightback against extremism David Haines and Alan Henning families urge fightback against extremism
(about 3 hours later)
The families of British aid workers beheaded by Islamic State have called on the nation to reclaim the UK from the clutches of extremism. A coalition of religious and community groups and leaders has launched a new campaign to counter extremist views in the UK, a movement publicly backed by grieving relatives of two Britons murdered by Islamic State.
David Haines and Alan Henning were murdered on camera by Isis after being captured in 2013. Their deaths sent shock waves around the world when their final moments were posted on the internet. The grouping, called Fightback Starts Here, will primarily engage with Islamist extremism, but hopes to also counter other violent and fundamentalist viewpoints.
Related: Isis video shows murder of British hostage Alan Henning Before its formal launch in London on Tuesday, the group, led by the Leicester-based Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO), released statements by tDavid Haines’s brother, Mike, and Alan Henning’s widow, Barbara. Haines and Henning were aid workers seized in Syria who were beheaded by Isis last year, footage of their murders then put on the internet.
Their families have now given their support to the Fightback Starts Here campaign, joining more than 100 charities, interfaith organisations and community leaders pledging their collective backing to tackle all forms of extremism. The relatives are among those to sign an open letter calling for a united community effort to combat extremism, especially efforts to induct young people into radical views through social media.
Haines’s brother, Mike, and Henning’s widow, Barbara, are among those signing an open letter calling for a united effort to “reject the lies that extremists spread” and refuse to allow them “to groom our young people and destroy our families and communities”. Other supporters include groups and figures from the Christian, Jewish and Hindu communities, including the bishops of Bradford and Leicester.
Mike Haines said: “Radicalisation and extremism is the biggest challenge facing our communities in the UK. In a statement Mike Haines said the UK could not allow “terrorist gangs to polarise our communities”. He continued: “We must stand united, pool our resources and expertise in tackling radicalisation and extremism, and send a clear message to those who wish to cause us harm that they will not defeat us.”
“I have travelled across the country in recent months, as part of my journey following the murder of my brother, David, by Islamic State, and I have seen the sheer determination of communities to come together in the face of this serious threat. Suleman Nagdi from the FMO said the goal was more to share information and awareness than to try to replace any existing programmes: “What we’re saying is we’ll work with the organisations who have signed up and we’ll see what works in different parts of the country, see what could be a springboard for other cities to follow.”
“We cannot allow terrorist gangs to polarise our communities, we must stand united, pool our resources and expertise in tackling radicalisation and extremism, and send a clear message to those who wish to cause us harm that they will not defeat us. However, Nagdi said, other anti-extremism efforts such as the Home Office’s Prevent strategy had tended to be somewhat top-down, rather than grassroots-based. The new coalition was meant to supplement these: “Engagement with the community is just as crucial as any government policy. You can legislate as much as you want, but there must be a buy-in from the community. Hopefully, this will be that buy-in,” he said.
“I am proud to add my name to the Fightback Starts Here campaign and I will do whatever I can to support this incredible initiative.” The campaign should not be seen as a tacit agreement with David Cameron’s speech last month saying some British Muslims were “quietly condoning” Isis, Nagdi said, adding he “would have phrased it slightly differently”.
David Haines, from Perth in Scotland, was beheaded after being taken hostage in Syria in March 2013 while working for international relief agency Acted. Alan Henning, 47, of Salford, was captured by Isis militants while on an aid convoy in December 2013. Nagil continued: “The prime minister has the responsibility of the security of the nation and so comes from a different point of view,. Ours is more on a positive note – to say ‘we can have this debate’. Otherwise, before we know it we can become bogged down with polarised views.
Pledging her support to the campaign, which will use the hashtag #fightbackstartshere to maximise backing online, Barbara Henning added: “Like my family, communities across the UK are being affected by the serious threat of radicalisation and extremism by monsters like Isis. Their ability to use social media and the internet to spread hate must be stopped. “It’s never our intention to preach to the majority of the Muslim population, or for that matter to anybody else. We are simply sharing good practice with each other. The idea is not to lay blame at anybody’s door but to strengthen the existing people who are working on this, and to say, how can we work together?”
“Now is the time that as a country, we come together and do everything within our power as a united community, to stop these vicious and poisonous groups from stealing our loved ones away, which is why I fully support the #fightbackstartshere campaign.” The somewhat dramatic campaign title, he added, was deliberately chosen so as to resonate on social media and act as “a counter-narrative” to extremist views on such channels.
The open letter, published on Thursday, confirms a pledge from signatories to work together to defeat terrorism and states: “Enough is enough.” “The old way of calling meetings to speak are long gone. We need to move with the times – social media is the single biggest way young people get information. What happens hundreds or thousands of miles away can be on someone’s mobile phone within seconds. We have to encompass that into our campaign.”
It adds: “We invite everyone who loves life – whether non-government, government, voluntary or private sector – to join us in shaping these solutions, because we know we face a common and determined enemy. It demands a common and determined response.
“We can – we must – win this battle together. The fightback starts here.”
The letter spearheads the launch of the #fightbackstartshere campaign, which was being marked at a public event in London on Thursday morning, led by the Leicester-based Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO).
FMO spokesman Suleman Nagdi said: “The fightback has to start right here and right now – everyone has to step up to the challenge. Recent events continue to serve as a wakeup call to the serious threat of online and offline radicalisation.”