The UK’s counter-terrorism policy is “stuck in past debates” on Islamism and the far right – when young people today have a “DIY ideology” that poses a different radicalisation risk, experts said on Wednesday.
Young people are being targeted by extremists who borrow the misogynistic language of online influencers such as Andrew Tate, The National has been told.
Britain’s Prevent programme, which tries to stop radicalisation, has long sat on a political fault line between those who focus on Islamist extremism and others who emphasise far-right threats.
Zubeda Limbada, a director of anti-extremism charity Connect Futures, said the debate on Prevent was “getting lost in ideology”.
“We’re still stuck in past debates,” she told a panel on Prevent at a Counter Terror Expo in London.
“The reality is that the Prevent space is messy and referrals are messy. People’s engagement with ideologies is messy.”
Ghaffar Hussain, who works on community resilience in the London Borough of Newham, said people consuming information in short bursts such as TikTok videos were piecing together what he called “DIY ideologies”.
“The threat has become much more diffuse in recent years,” he said.
“We’re seeing a lot of people who don’t really have a specific extremist ideology but believe in lots of different facets of extremist ideology.”
Asked by The National what kind of ideologies were reaching young people, Mr Hussain said extremists were using misogyny more than before in a phenomenon he linked to Andrew Tate.
He warned this could lead to community problems such as pupils not respecting female teachers, even if it did not grow to become a terrorism or national security threat.
“There’s an influence of misogynistic narratives into extremist narratives now. You’re seeing both far-right and Islamist groups focusing a bit more on the role of women,” he said.
“We’re not seeing many cases of someone being radicalised to violence merely by listening to Andrew Tate or similar misogynistic online influencers. It’s more a case of those narratives and messages influencing existing extremists to put more emphasis on what they believe the role of women should be in society.”
Liam Duffy, an adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, said Islamist extremists should be perceived as “more than a terrorist threat”.
He said the UK should not fall into complacency despite no deaths from terrorism being recorded last year.
“There are long, long periods between terrorist attacks, between recruitment flows to overseas conflicts, where to our eyes nothing happens,” he said.
“But that’s not the case. There is a lot happening and we need to know what is happening.”
Richard Thompson, a Home Office security official, said countering extremist narratives online had become more difficult since the peak of mid-2010s Islamist extremism terrorism in Europe.
He said people might be radicalised online by content that is not in itself illegal and which governments could not therefore order social media sites to take down.
“We are now in a time when, as the director-general of MI5 would tell us, we have a more varied threat, more individual terrorists acting for a range of issues in a range of ways,” Mr Thompson said.
“Arguing that a dominant narrative is wrong is not as effective as it was in the past. I am convinced that where we can’t use the law to force removal, we need to be doing more.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
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If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gulf Under 19s
Pools
A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors
B – Dubai English Speaking College, Repton Royals, Jumeirah College, Gems World Academy
C – British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Yasmina Academy
D – Dubai Exiles, Jumeirah English Speaking School, English College, Bahrain Colts
Recent winners
2018 – Dubai College
2017 – British School Al Khubairat
2016 – Dubai English Speaking School
2015 – Al Ain Amblers
2014 – Dubai College
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
