Mayor of Tower Hamlets Raises Concerns over the government’s approach to Islamic extremism

Following David Cameron’s speech about tackling Islamist extremism, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs has raised concerns about the approach the Government is taking. He said:

‘When David Cameron speaks as he does, there is a risk people will be labelled in a way that is inappropriate and wrong. In Tower Hamlets we have a relatively peaceful borough – people know what is right and what is wrong.

Young people will always be vulnerable to wicked ideas, and I do believe ISIS is wicked and divisive. The spread of radical fundamentalism is a worldwide issue giving rise to an ideology which does not represent Islam but has hijacked it. This is not something we can tackle by looking at Tower Hamlets in isolation.’

He added: ‘It’s going to be a long term challenge. We will work alongside our schools, our youth organisations, our faith communities, our mosques, the police and the young people across our communities to help reduce the spread of extremism.

We know our Muslim community in Tower Hamlets is a law abiding and respectful community and is nothing like the image of Islam being currently promoted.’