It’s time to tackle the extremists

Saqid Khan, Labour’s candidate for London Mayor, writes for The Sun.

Woman is rescued from Bataclan concert hall in Paris

IT could have been us. That is what everyone in Britain has been thinking since the horrific attacks in Paris and they are right. 

Call for action ... Sadiq Khan

Earlier this year, my wife and I took our two teenage daughters for a short break in Paris. We ate in restaurants just like those that were hit and even went to a gig, enjoying a night out just as those at the Bataclan had planned.

This was not just an attack on Paris, it was an attack on our shared way of life. They were horrendous crimes committed by evil people. And when you see the polling in The Sun today, it is clear Britain needs to take its head out of the sand and tackle extremism.

This is a challenge for everyone, but I believe British Muslims have a special role to play. Why? Because we are best placed to ensure the extremists’ messages of hate are not believed by other Muslims.

British Muslims must challenge these extremist views wherever they come across them. They must insist that British values and Muslim values are one and the same, and give the next generation the confidence to say this loudly and clearly.


As The Sun’s poll shows, most British Muslims have come across someone with radical views  and I am no different. It has affected my personal life, friendships and my career. I worry about the safety of my daughters. Could they, or their friends, be groomed by extremists on the internet or tricked into running off to join IS?

People I knew as a boy have gone on to hold radical views and, as a lawyer, I occasionally had the unpleasant job of representing people with these ideas. Every time I have stood for Parliament, I have been subjected to a campaign of hate from the extremists. They gave out leaflets in my community saying I am destined to go to hell.

They said voting is banned in Islam and that Muslims should not be helping put together man-made laws.
All this has been incredibly hard for my young family. It is time we got serious about tackling the social segregation in Britain, which creates the underlying conditions that allow radicalisation to thrive.

For decades, governments have allowed the UK to become an increasingly segregated society. Too many Muslims grow up here without knowing anyone from a different background. Likewise too many other Brits have never befriended a Muslim.

As a result, lots form a single identity based around their religion or ethnicity, rather than a shared British identity. That means there is less understanding of others’ lives and beliefs. Ending segregation will take a concerted effort by us all.

If I win the London mayoral election next May, I will work with the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board to set up community sports leagues bringing together kids from different faiths and backgrounds.

This would help build on the example of Muslim role models like Mo Farah and Amir Khan. I also fear that proposed cuts to policing will make it much harder to get vital intelligence we need to halt extremism.

Stopping terrorism increasingly relies on community information, and cutting down on neighbourhood cops puts intelligence gathering work at risk. It is a price we simply cannot afford to pay.

The vast majority of Muslims in the UK are among the proudest, most patriotic and hardworking members of our society.

They want us to tackle the extremists more than anyone else  and that is why I am asking them to do the same. We cannot go on thinking that this problem will solve itself.

We must act to challenge the fanatics and make Britain a properly integrated society once and for all.