Government urged to 'name and shame' Islamist motives behind Manchester attack

The Jewish Leadership Council said Islamism “is not Islam: it is a political ideology that twists religious belief into a mandate for violence".

The Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) has challenged the government for being “too timid” to name the Islamist threat behind the Yom Kippur terror attack in Manchester.

In a toughly-worded statement, the JLC said: “The attack on Jews at prayer in Manchester on Yom Kippur was driven by a movement that preaches hatred of Jews simply because of who we are. The police believe the suspect was motivated by Islamism, yet not a single government minister has been willing to say so”.

The statement continued: “We cannot hope to defeat a threat that we are too timid to name. Antisemitism exists across many forms of extremism, but Islamist extremism is unique in modern Britain in calling for violence against Jews and cloaking that hatred in the language of religion. Unless we face that reality, we will continue to treat symptoms rather than causes”.

Islamism, the JLC said, “is not Islam: it is a political ideology that twists religious belief into a mandate for violence. Understanding that distinction is essential if we are to meet this threat with the seriousness it demands”.

The community organisation called for “leadership from the very top of government. A clear focus on countering Islamist extremism should be driven from the Cabinet Office and embedded across departments. Protecting Britain’s Jewish community requires courage, truthfulness, and the resolve to confront the threat directly”.