“On the basis of the evidence presented by Newsnight, what we appear to be dealing with here is not flawed methodology, errors or inconsistencies, but wilful distortion and fabrication committed not against an individual, or an institution, but against an entire social group. The consequences go beyond the community in question to the wider society, given the report’s exploitation by the media and political class, and aggravation of the existing climate of tension, anxiety and suspicion…. Coming on the heel of another report on on extremism among British Muslim youth, the report is yet another attempt to erase distinctions between mainstream and extreme Islam. Targeting mosques is no coincidence.”

Soumaya Ghannoushi at BLINK, 13 December 2007