Woke activists are too eager to victim-blame West for Islamist extremism, says Sajid Javid

WOKE activists are too eager to victim-blame the West for Islamist extremism, says Sajid Javid.

They tip-toe around fanatics for fear of being called racist, the ex-Chancellor and Home Secretary said on the first anniversary of the Fishmongers’ Hall attack at London Bridge.

Some were quick to cry Islamophobia at all attempts to deal with the issue, said Mr Javid, who claimed extremism had flourished in lockdown as people spent more time online being bombarded with conspiracy theories.

He added: “Islamist extremism is a grotesque mutation of the Islam I grew up with, know and love.

“There are well- meaning officials who worry that Islamism, a term with credible and established meaning, could be seen as implicating the entire religion of Islam.

“Some believe we should use a sanitised phrase, such as ‘faith-based violence’.

“Among them are, unsurprisingly, Islamist groups themselves who seek to distract us from the practice of what they preach.

“There are well meaning officials who worry that Islamism, a term with credible and established meaning, could be seen as implicating the entire religion of Islam and all its diverse and peaceful adherents.

“I believe it is critical that we confront this ideology head-on.”

In the London Bridge attack, freed terrorist Usman Khan stabbed to death helpers Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, at a prisoner rehabilitation event.