Summary
The prime minister has proposed a new 'muscular liberalism', aimed at better integrating Britain's Muslims. It aims to counter the alienation that has led to a few young British Muslim men being prepared to mount terrorist attacks. David Walker asks what the new policy will mean on the ground, and how easily it can be reconciled with government plans for more local diversity and faith schools.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.2 | Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. |
| 0:39.6 | For our terms and conditions of use, please go to BBC.co. UK slash podcasts. |
| 0:46.8 | On this week's analysis David Walker examines the Prime Minister's proposals for |
| 0:51.6 | new muscular liberalism. |
| 0:54.7 | For all our worries about money or exhilaration at events in North Africa and the |
| 1:00.1 | Middle East the risk of terrorist attack at home throbs in the background of our urban lives. |
| 1:06.7 | But across Europe anxiety about bombs merges with cultural affliction, concern about the |
| 1:12.2 | integrity of society, whether we are integrated enough. |
| 1:16.9 | That's usually called for Islam and Muslims. |
| 1:19.7 | Are their beliefs threatening? |
| 1:21.6 | Don't majorities have a right to require assent to mainstream views? |
| 1:26.7 | But governments, particularly this one, also extol diversity and the freedom of communities |
| 1:31.6 | and individuals to choose how they live. |
| 1:34.0 | David Cameron has lately taken a line that goes beyond security |
| 1:38.0 | to propose a new politics of permissible identity. |
| 1:42.0 | Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and a much more active muscular liberalism. |
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