Counter-terror police chief claims British Muslims should NOT be forced to “assimilate”

The UK’s highest-ranking Asian police officer Neil Basu, who is Assistant Commissioner of the Met, has said that British Muslims should not be forced to “assimilate” with other sections of the British population. These comments also came as part of a speech calling for greater understanding of other communities. Mr Basu who is one of Britain’s most senior anti-terror officers admitted that Prevent, which is the Government’s flagship counter-terrorism strategy, had been “badly handled” and warned it needed to be more community-led if it was to be successful. Some may accuse Neil Basu of an abdication of responsibility. Neil Basu’s stance of being against assimilation is only likely to further the perception by some in Britain that see Islam as an uncompromising ideology.

Mr Basu pulled no punches whilst rejecting the idea that British Muslims needed to assimilate. Mr Basu said: “Assimilation implies that I have to hide myself in order to get on. We should not be a society that accepts that. You should be able to practise your culture or religion openly and still be accepting of others, and others be accepting of you. That is a socially inclusive society.” Whilst many will agree that freedom of expression is, without doubt, a liberty that Britain’s should be afforded, many extremists could interpret these comments as an excuse not to abide by British laws and constitutions.

Neil Basu’s comments fit into the current topical debate around the best way to integrate Britain’s multicultural population. The new Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently stated that immigrants coming to Britain should learn to speak English if they were to enjoy the benefits Britain can offer. Mr Johnson stated “I want everybody who comes here and makes their lives here to be and to feel British, that is the most important thing. And to learn English. Too often there are parts of our country, parts of London still and other cities as well where English is not spoken by some people as their first language. And that needs to be changed.”

Some who disagree with Mr Basu’s comments will point to the fierce debate over the rights of Muslim women to wear the full-face veil in public. Mr Johnson ignited the fire when he compared women who wear burqas and niqabs to letterboxes. The burka is currently banned in France, Belgium and Holland amongst others. In addition to this the results of a poll conducted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were published on the 1st of August. They stated that 48% of people surveyed believe Islam is incompatible with UK values.

In an interview with The Guardian, Mr Basu stated that the majority of those who were seeking to carry out attacks were British born or raised and therefore more needed to be done to explore social problems they were experiencing. He said people who experienced poverty and deprivation whatever their backgrounds and culture, were more “malleable” to terrorist recruitment. Next Mr Basu will blame British foreign policy.

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Oliver Down

Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!

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