Friday, February 27, 2015

27-Feb-15: CVE revisited

Who was not at the "Countering Violent Extremism" conference
is almost as interesting as who was [Image Source]
Some non-mainstream analysis here ["Islamists Featured at Countering Violent Extremism Summit", Ryan Mauro of Clarion Project, February 24, 2015] on how last week's Obama White House summit "featured Islamists known for preaching those same themes that the White House cited as the cause of terrorism".

Bearing in mind the media gave (and got) very little information about who participated (and who didn't), the article offers up some startling profiles, leading to this conclusion:
President Obama rightly stated that these threats emanate from destructive themes and worldviews, but the answer isn’t to deny that that there is an extremist interpretation of Islam that is the source of these destructive worldviews. And the answer isn’t to give a platform to gradualist Islamists whose final goal is the establishment of a global caliphate and forceful implementation of sharia law, just like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The answer is to exalt those who offer an alternative narrative altogether.
Let's hope the analyst, and others too, follows up with a look at the post-Summit messages these invited White House guests deliver to those in their spheres of influence.

In case you missed our take on the conference, written before it convened, check out "18-Feb-15: Countering Vacuous Euphemisms" and "20-Feb-15: US fears and our nightmares". For a more robust criticism than ours, see "10 Troubling Aspects of President Obama’s ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ Summit".

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