Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Well, That Didn't Take Long: The RCMP Repudiates the Anti-Radicalization Handbook

It seems I got it wrong in the post below. The handbook in question wasn't created by the RCMP with input from Muslim groups. It was created by Muslims with little or no input from the RCMP, but with the RCMP logo stuck on front to make it appear as though the Mounties had a hand in its creation. Now, however, the red coats are trying to distance themselves from the thing:
RCMP headquarters in Ottawa directed Mounties in Manitoba not to attend a press conference this week unveiling a counter-radicalization handbook put together by a group of national Islamic associations because of the “adversarial” tone of the book, officials said Tuesday. 
“After a final review of the handbook, the RCMP could not support the adversarial tone set by elements of the booklet and therefore directed RCMP Manitoba not to proceed with this initiative,” spokesman Sgt. Greg Cox said in a statement. 
The statement did not specify which parts of the handbook the RCMP took issue with. But the 38-page booklet, titled United Against Terrorism and unveiled at a Winnipeg mosque on Monday, included a section that recommended Canada’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies avoid using terminology such as “Islamist terrorism,” “Islamic extremism” and “jihad,” and discontinue “inappropriate information gathering techniques,” such as “showing up at workplaces” and “intimidating newcomers.” 
While the handbook encouraged more interaction between the Muslim community and law enforcement “socially and recreationally,” another section of the handbook stated that co-operation with Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP in investigations was “voluntary” and that there was “no obligation” to answer their questions or to provide them personal information about family and friends. 
Neither representatives of the Islamic Social Services Association nor the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the two groups behind the handbook, could immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday...

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