“This is a group that throws people off buildings, that burns them alive… This isn’t a pioneering movement, it is a vicious, brutal and fundamentally abhorrent existence,” said Prime Minister David Cameron.
In a speech given in Birmingham, England, Britain’s PM emphasized the need to “de-glamorise” extremist ideology and conspiracy theories used by groups such as IS.
First, any strategy to defeat extremism must confront, head on, the extreme ideology that underpins it. We must take its component parts to pieces—the cultish worldview, the conspiracy theories, and yes, the so-called glamorous parts of it as well.
In doing so, let’s not forget our strongest weapon: our own liberal values. We should expose their extremism for what it is—a belief system that glorifies violence and subjugates its people—not least Muslim people.
We should contrast their bigotry, aggression and theocracy with our values. We have, in our country, a very clear creed and we need to promote it much more confidently.
Read more about David Cameron’s five-year plan to defeat home-grown extremism here.
