As the White House prepares to host a three-day summit next week on countering violent extremism, many high-profile Muslim and religious groups argue that the administration’s efforts have unfairly singled out Muslims and the Islamic faith.
In the days leading up to the summit, Muslim Advocates said it has “serious concerns about the government’s track record of treating extremist violence as though it were an exclusively Muslim problem.”
The prominent civil rights and legal advocacy group said that “sends a dangerous signal to members of the public that their Muslim neighbors are a threat.” The Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, which has been in the works since last fall, will begin on Feb. 17.
The White House press release last month said the summit would focus on “domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence.”
The statement pointed to recent attacks by radicalized Muslims in Ottawa, Sydney and Paris. But leaders of the largest Muslim organizations in the U.S. have said they are disappointed they weren’t invited to attend.
Top officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America and the Islamic Circle of North America won’t be at the table next week.
Several attendees of a high-profile meeting the president held with Muslims last week — including Farhana Khera, president of Muslim Advocates, and Kameelah Rashad, Muslim chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania — have also not been invited.
“We recognize there are people of ill intent trying to recruit American Muslims into their cause. But I think the community needs to be the one that leads on that front,” said Corey Saylor, director of the Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia at CAIR.Here’s the full White House press release on their “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,” it doesn’t make a single reference to “Islam” or “Muslims.” Via WhiteHouse.gov:
On February 18, 2015, the White House will host a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism to highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence, efforts made even more imperative in light of recent, tragic attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, and Paris.
This summit will build on the strategy the White House released in August of 2011, Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States, the first national strategy to prevent violent extremism domestically. Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) efforts rely heavily on well-informed and resilient local communities.
Boston, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis-St. Paul have taken the lead in building pilot frameworks integrating a range of social service providers, including education administrators, mental health professionals, and religious leaders, with law enforcement agencies to address violent extremism as part of the broader mandate of community safety and crime prevention.
The summit will highlight best practices and emerging efforts from these communities. At the same time, our partners around the world are actively implementing programs to prevent violent extremism and foreign terrorist fighter recruitment.
The summit will include representatives from a number of partner nations, focusing on the themes of community engagement, religious leader engagement, and the role of the private sector and tech community.
Through presentations, panel discussions, and small group interactions, participants will build on local, state, and federal government; community; and international efforts to better understand, identify, and prevent the cycle of radicalization to violence at home in the United States and abroad. Additional information regarding participants and the agenda will be provided at a future date.