The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities

Muslim communities terrorism counter-productive impacts ‘suspect’ communities

The need to understand the impact of counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices on community cohesion, equality and human rights is critical. Concerns have been raised that counter-terrorism laws and policies are increasingly alienating Muslims, especially young people and students, and that counter-terrorism measures may themselves feed and sustain terrorism. This report was commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) to develop and deepen understanding of the impact of counter-terrorism legislation and policies in general, and on Muslim communities in particular. Building on existing studies, this report contributes to the research and wider public discussion through an examination of the experiences of counter-terrorism legislation and policies on Muslim communities in four local areas across Britain and interviews with practitioners and officials at a national and local level. This is, therefore, primarily a small-scale, in-depth, qualitative study.