Glorifying and encouraging terrorism: preserving the golden thread of civil liberties in Britain

Purpose - Al-Qaeda poses a major challenge to western democracies with its international networks and suicide attacks; it has been involved in some of the most horrific terrorist attacks across the world. As a result the UK, similar to many other countries, has enacted hard-line counter-terrorism legislation that has had an impact upon Muslim community relations with law enforcement agencies. This paper aims to examine the glorification offence under the Terrorism Act and its implications for free speech. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is designed to examine counter-terrorism legislation in Britain and in particular the offence of glorification and the impact it has had upon Muslim communities using empirical case studies and theoretical evidence. Findings - It is found that Muslim communities feel that their freedom of speech, thought and expression have been seriously curtailed as a result of the glorification offence and has led them to feel a sense of alienation and stigma which has manifested itself in the community by not trusting law enforcement agencies and counter-terrorism policies. Practical implications - In order to build trust with the Muslim community law enforcement agencies such as the police need to ensure that they do not disproportionately use their power of arrest under the guise of combating terrorism. Therefore, there is a need for law enforcement agencies to improve their internal and external structures through a process of engagement and understanding Muslim communities which would help rebuild trust and confidence. Originality/value - The paper examines counter-terrorism legislation and provides a theoretical framework for how policy should be shaped in the area of counter-terrorism. Currently the literature available concerning the new government reforms and the glorification offence under the Terrorism Act is limited and thus this paper provides a unique contribution towards understanding this offence in more detail and the impact it may have upon Muslim communities and civil liberties.