No-one can deny that the fear of Islamic terror is a very real one in our society. But when Prevent - a key plank of the UK Government's counter-terrorism strategy, aiming to spot potential extremists and stop them in their tracks - is accused of "state sponsored Islamophobia" we might want to pause and think.
Significant voices in the Muslim community say it risks undermining its own objectives - that by putting a whole community under suspicion, rather than targeting criminal elements within it, and making many Muslims fear speaking out on the political issues of the day, we risk further radicalising potential extremists.
So far the actual content of the Prevent training for public sector workers has not been put in the public domain. Without transparency there is no clarity. Citizens need to know how Prevent will achieve its aims.
The lack of clarity leaves worrying questions in people's minds about what might be reported, and by whom. That in turn may chill Muslim society, stopping young Muslims speaking out in school debates for example, as we report today.
We don't have a timescale for Prevent's roll-out in Scotland, and questions also remain about the criteria for its evaluation. Now is the time for transparency. Explaining the policy will not damage national security. To continue without transparency on a policy which we are told risks greater radicalisation would be folly of the worst kind. Instead of creating divisions in our communities, now is the time to look for unity.
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