BOOK LAUNCH VIDEO: ‘The Muslims Are Coming!: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror’ with Arun Kundnani

Does the concept of extremism help us to make sense of political violence? Or does it distract us from the causes of conflict and lead to the suppression of dissent? Is there now an “anti-extremism industry” that encourages mass surveillance of suspect communities? Is the anti-fascist movement in danger of being co-opted by government programs against extremism?

Questions of extremism have been prominent in the news recently, following the murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich, and the Quilliam Foundation’s recruitment of English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson. In this event, organised by the International State Crime Initiative and the Institute of Race Relations, the contours of the current discourse on extremism are traced and its underlying assumptions challenged.

Panellists:

• Liz Fekete, Executive Director of the Institute of Race Relations (http://www.irr.org.uk/)
• Arun Kundnani, Author of ‘The Muslims are Coming! Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror’ (http://www.versobooks.com/books/1512-the-muslims-are-coming/)
• Asim Qureshi, Research Director, Cage

Chair:
Penny Green, Director of the International State Crime Initiative (http://www.statecrime.org/)