Prevent or Provoke?!

By Farah Ferrero

I recently watched a video where the BBC secretly filmed a ladies talk given by Ibtihal Bsis. They make out the female barrister to be in the wrong just because she airs her views about challenging their version of a cooperative Islamic community. I’m sorry, some of her views might be extreme but I actually side with her much rather than the disgusting “prevent” strategy that has come about. And I’ll tell you exactly why both my mother I and feel this way.

My brother is a vulnerable 18 year old with special needs, and he is the sweetest thing on this planet in our eyes. We know him inside and out, those that truly do know him know that he wouldn’t hurt a fly. His college, Brooksby Melton College, a college where ethnic children are of a minority, and when I say minority, I mean a hand few, is a college where he is supposed to find solace and learn skills and abilities at his own pace.

He is expected to be treated as an equal student and not penalised for his brain’s capacity/deficiency, as his mind just works in a different way than most of ours does. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a threat to anyone or on a path to terrorism.

I think it was sheer disgust that the college had the audacity to send the “prevent” team aka the police over to our house on my brother’s day off from college, knowing that he will be home alone. And if he was home alone, it would’ve been an even bigger issue. Luckily my other very able brother was on study leave from him college and he was able to communicate on behalf of my brother to the police. They left contact details for my mum to call them once she was back from work etc. The police officer told my mum himself that he thinks “the college pulled the plug too early and unnecessarily.”

Imagine the affect on that poor child who is being accused of an extremist act, just for watching a Naat/nasheed on the college computers?!

For watching something that is completely normal in our household.

Surely it is racist if the college called in the prevent team just because my brother was watching something of a language they didn’t understand so they just purely assumed that it’s extreme?!
DISGUSTING!!!

A boy who goes to college to do animal care and takes care of farm animals is a terrorist? I don’t think so!

So once we complained to the school about how hurt we are, we received a generic letter which stated what the prevent team does, TWICE!, and that’s about it. No apology, no sorry. Nothing to tell us that they were wrong for doing so etc. even after numerous questions asking them to show exact evident of what he was watching, our request was completely ignored.

I think it is absolutely disgusting. It may be a taboo subject to talk about, but I would like some light shed on it. I would like to know everyone’s views on this because I think it is downright unfair on those hundreds of British Muslim girls and boys who get penalised for no apparent reason, other than being Muslim.

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