MEND Statement: The right-wing Policy Exchange “Think Tank” takes a fresh swipe at MEND and other Human Rights Organisations

A new “report” (Blurred Lines) by Policy Exchange criticises the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) and other police staff networks for working with civil society organisations within their respective communities, amongst other farcical criticisms.

This latest Policy Exchange attack on civil rights groups questions NAMPs work with MEND because MEND has critiqued the Prevent Policy. Policy Exchange have forgotten that questioning government policy is a hallmark of a functioning democracy. Indeed MEND is not alone in criticism of the flawed prevent policy, 140 experts and academics have written an open letter questioning the underpinnings of the policy.

The “report” also queries NAMPs involvement with the nationwide Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) campaign. This is a campaign that cross-party politicians, academics and civil society organisations have supported in their thousands. The critique seems to be an absurd claim that the All Party Parliamentary Group definition of Islamophobia, supported by the IAM campaign, is an attack on free speech! This is a definition supported by all major political parties, with the sole exception of the Conservative party, although it is worth noting that the Scottish Conservatives have supported it.

Since its inception, the Policy Exchange has consistently voiced opinions against British Muslims and groups that represent them.  As such, they have placed a unique burden on Muslim communities to spot and report radicalisation. Moreover, in spite of growing Islamophobia, they have demonstrated their indifference by denying its scale and advised the Government against adopting the APPG definition of Islamophobia, while accusing Muslims of having a ‘victim mentality’. This is despite the Governments own figures stating clearly that Muslims are more likely to be the victims of religious hate crime than any other religious group.

The report is also critical of how staff networks in the police service operate stating,  “There should be full public transparency of how Staff Networks operate.”  Policy Exchange have no moral authority to preach to others about transparency given that it has been described as one of the most secretive think tanks by OpenDemocracy and others in respect of revealing who its funders are.

Moreover, the organisation continues to be a platform validating racist opinions, legitimising concerns for the white race in the context of immigration, and blaming multiculturalism for the rise in ‘anti-Western’ ideas.

MEND calls upon policymakers, academics, and civil society organisations to ignore this and earlier flawed “reports” by Policy Exchange due to their hypocrisy, flawed logic, and naked Islamophobic agendas.