'Researching Muslim Communities and Islam within the context of Counter-Terrorism: a critical reflection'

1. 'Researching Muslim Communities and Islam within the context of Counter-Terrorism: a critical reflection' Dr Basia Spalek University of Birmingham

2. Introduction • An Examination of Partnership Approaches to Challenging Religiously-Endorsed Violence involving Muslim Groups and Police • One year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), under the auspices of their Religion and Society Programme. http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/apply/research/sfi/ahrcsi/religion_society.asp

3. Introduction • The interdisciplinary study aims to explore the ways in which Muslim groups work through partnerships with the police to engage their communities in challenging religiously-endorsed violence. • The structures and processes of Muslim/police partnership. • The nature of partnership work - to examine the meanings that Muslim groups and police officers have of ‘community engagement’ and the ways in which these may conflict. • The use and role of religion.

4. Introduction • The Muslim Contact Unit • The Muslim Safety Forum

5. The Research Team • Dr. Basia Spalek,Principal Investigator. Basia’s research expertise includes Muslim communities and the criminal justice system; and partnership work between Muslim groups and criminal justice agencies. Basia has also written about identity, community and diversity within a criminal justice context. • Dr. Salwa El-Awa, Co-Investigator. Salwa’s experience includes researching de-radicalisation programmes in the Middle East and Muslim extremists’ activities in Egypt from the 1970s to the 1990s. This involved establishing strong connections with experts in and leaders of the Islamic movement in Egypt and the UK, as well as relations and co-operation with other interested agencies.

6. The Research Team • Dr. Laura Zahra McDonald, Research Fellow. Laura’s research interests include gender and Islam, women’s activism, community and identity. She is particularly keen to strengthen the link between academic research and community work at a grassroots level. • Mr. Robert Lambert, Consultant & Research Fellow, Politics Department, University of Exeter. In January 2002, together with a Special Branch colleague, Robert set up the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU), with the purpose of establishing partnerships with Muslim community leaders both equipped and located to help tackle the spread of Al-Qaida propaganda in London. This role enabled him to participate in some pioneering and successful counter-terrorism community engagement projects.

7. Critical Research • This research study is part of an emerging critical counter terrorism studies discourse, which criticises traditional terrorism studies for being analytically and methodologically weak, relying too heavily on secondary information and for failing to understand terrorism, and counter-terrorism, through the perspectives and experiences of those experiencing state repression (Breen Smyth, 2007; Jackson, 2007).

8. Emerging Themes when reflecting upon research methodology • Drawing upon individual narratives • Reflexivity • Terminology – ‘extremist’ ‘Islamist’ ‘radicalisation’ ? • Diversity/multiple identities/collective identity ? • The role and use of religion in partnership • Muslim communities as ‘suspect’