National Listening Exercise

The aims of the National Listening Exercise are to:

• Provide a space for Muslims to share their views on terrorism and counter-terrorism
• Understand how Muslims interact with the “counter-terrorism” space, and whether this is a priority
• Probe the scale of impact that terrorism and counter-terrorism has had on Muslim communities
• Discuss practical elements of policies that would be deemed acceptable and proportionate

MCB Affiliates have long raised their concerns that Muslims in Britain have been feeling disengaged and marginalised by government policy around Prevent, therefore in 2015-16 we undertook a pilot phase of this listening exercise to research into the views of affiliate organisations and the wider Muslim communities.

Based on these, MCB Affiliates said they felt that:

1. The views of everyday British Muslims are not factored in the shaping of policy in this area
2. Muslims are experiencing increased levels of anxiety due to increased risk of Islamophobia, which has an impact on their future prospects and living standards
3. Greater partnerships are needed between stakeholders involved in the counter-terrorism debate (e.g. schools, mosques, pupils and parents)

Following this pilot phase, we identified a need to develop more detailed conversations within Muslim communities on what the challenges are, what the impact of counter-terrorism has been, and what practical elements of a counter-terrorism policy would be deemed acceptable and proportionate.

The key outcome of the project will be a report setting out actionable recommendations for Muslim communities, civil society and policymakers. Depending on the outputs, further work can be done in supporting Muslim communities in delivering on these actionable recommendations.

Our process includes:

• Listening Events will bring people around the table and draw out detailed thoughts.
• Sector Focus Groups will consult specific demographics that may be under-represented or have a vested interest or link to the topic, in order to identify recommendations.
• A Survey will measure wider understanding of the counter-terrorism sector and capture the views of Muslims unable to participate in listening events.
• Submissions invited from local and national organisations operating in this area will give us a wider picture of what initiatives Muslims are involved in or running in the sector.

For further information, to get involved, or to host a listening event, please contact [email protected].