Some errors of judgment should be easy to Prevent
One has to wonder what it would take for Mr Chisti to have been shown the door
Since its inception, the antiextremist Prevent programme has been targeted by a motley crew of Islamist groups, mainstream organisations who often do not realise they are being played, and others with their own agendas. Prevent is far from perfect but it is a useful tool — and the enemies lined up against it are an indication of its worth. But this week we reveal another depressingly familiar own goal, with the reappointment of Imam Irfan Chishti to his role as an adviser to Prevent through his company, Me and You Education. Mr Chisti, who was a member of the government’s Task Force on Tackling Extremism, was filmed calling Israel a “terrorist state”, praising “martyrs” who have “given their life for Palestine” and talking about “Jewish, Zionist politicians” outsmarting their enemies. When his words were exposed, he responded that he “could have chosen better and less equivocal words” to encourage “the expression of opinions… Some of my words reflect a clear error of judgment, in the heat of the moment and do not reflect my sentiments or the sentiments of the audience”. He offered his “most profound apologies” to the Jewish community.
The investigation into the imam ordered by Home Secretary Priti Patel has now reported and the end result is a written warning for him — and reinstatement to his well-paid role with Prevent. Nothing to see here; move on. One has to wonder what it would take for Mr Christi to have been shown the door. All too often, the fight against extremism is neutered by the decisions of those supposed to be leading that fight.