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  • 12 hours ago
The Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik says the government's partial approval of 35 of his 54 recommendations will not deter him from advocating for the remaining recommendations. A boost to education and awareness of Islamophobia in addition to increased mental health support for victims are among the recommendations already accepted by the government.

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00:01I'm looking for 54 recommendations to be implemented.
00:05They were never going to be easy, but until and up to the time of my tenure, I will be
00:10advocating for the remainder of those recommendations because ultimately Islamophobia really needs
00:16to be addressed at its roots, which requires institutional and structural issues to be
00:21addressed.
00:22The government also refused to reconsider the counter-terror framework, which you warned
00:27in your report, produced discriminatory outcomes.
00:31Is this a mistake?
00:32Counter-terrorism should not be seen as stigmatizing or targeting Muslims.
00:37In fact, we need all communities, including Muslims, to get behind counter-terrorism, to
00:41provide intelligence, to make sure that communications between local area commands and Muslim leaders
00:47and communities are efficient.
00:48And that's what I'm trying to do.
00:49I'm trying to strengthen counter-terrorism, not weaken it.
00:52Yeah, but you've warned that the current definition and the legislative definition
00:57of terrorism, which includes ideological, religious and political, has contributed to
01:05Islamophobia, essentially.
01:06Isn't that your position?
01:07The whole structure of counter-terrorism is creating an environment which breeds disillusionment,
01:12which creates a suspect community, which then becomes a fertile ground for extremist recruiters.
01:17The government rejected a commission of inquiry into anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab racism.
01:22Are you happy about that?
01:24I don't know if he's rejected them.
01:26I heard from the prime minister, who I was standing next to him, he said the remainder
01:30of the recommendations are up for review.
01:33It's really important that people understand this is not Afdahl Malik's wishlist.
01:37This was something that I labelled over, I consulted with globally, I spoke to experts, I spoke
01:43to scholars, I referenced the relevant evidence, and this is what I believe can address Islamophobia
01:52interpersonally, structurally, and as well as systemically.
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