Re: Prevent is a racist strategy
Thanks for shitting the party with the reference to IS and al-Qaeda. Like, seriously, why?
These guys only represent themselves. They "walk like a duck", but they don't "quack like a duck" (they claim Islam, but act in sheer contradiction with trivial Islamic rules with their crimes!)
Let me explain.
People are used to have a "public-facing" entity that vouches for a particular group and represents it. And they love stereotypes.
But this is not always the case. To put this into perspective, this is like saying that the opinions held by systemd's developers are necessarily representative of Linux as a whole.
Let me chime in with my perspective as a Muslim. I'm quoting Islamic primary sources to back my rebuttal here, and sorry for the long post.
I know that you don't believe in them, but this is a discussion about Islam, and Islamic primary sources are what conclusively determines the answer when any two Muslim factions disagree.
adopt a diversity and inclusion strategy
Islam embraces diversity. On the top of my head, there's this:
Prophet Muhammad said: "No white person superior to a black person, nor an Arab is superior to a non-Arab except by virtue of piety and personal integrity".
LGBT solidarity group
This doesn't happen for the same reason there isn't a pedophilia support group (one that permits/encourages offending) anywhere in the world.
But that's a separate and a long discussion.
an all-faiths ecumenical centre
Islam by default is ecumenical, and not just for sects of Islam, but for all religions under a (genuine) Islamic banner.
God has said in the Quran: "There's no coercion in religion", meaning that it's simply wrong to force somebody into Islam.
The Prophet has also said: "Whomever kills a pact-holder -a non-Muslim who lives under a Muslim banner, and is therefore protected- shall never smell the scent of heaven".
and a recruitment plan to rebalance its remarkably un-diverse leadership
Non-Muslims have always had administrative positions in Islamic government, whether it's Umayyad, Abbasid, or Ottoman variants.
I have sources but they're simply too long to quote here, but some are available here.
address the lack of management opportunities for women.
Women have for long assumed administrative positions as well.
There is the instance where a woman argued with the caliph Umar and proved him wrong, in public.
And there are cases in which women handled positions such as courts, ministries, etc.