The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain has a report on the Islamic Education and Research Authority aka iERA. It’s a group for Islamist missionaries, basically.
iERA are effectively a pro-active organisation that facilitates missionary activities, and also an aggregating organisation that co-ordinates evangelism and preaching by affiliates. Even though iERA does not have a central constitution, the ideas that its core group aggregates, and its affiliates assert, correspond tightly with the ideas propounded by Islamist organisations and hate groups like Hizb ut Tahrir. In addition, the ideas of iERA and its affiliates fit into a wider stream of Wahaabi / Salafi Islamism.
iERA can be classified as a hate group because of its persistent promotion of
Islamists who preach hate against non Muslims, women, gays, progressive
Muslims and ex-Muslims. It is also one of the main organisations behind the call for the imposition of Islamist norms in society, including gender segregation at UK universities and the assertion of preachers who promote Sharia courts.
So, it’s a group that, if it succeeds in its mission, will make life hell for most people.
The practical effect of their speeches is a cumulative one, in which hatred,
cruelty and dehumanisation are normalised and a climate of hostility and
supremacism are deemed to be righteous expressions of belief. Their Islamic
missionary activity is not only about spirituality, but a wider call to make society subordinate to theocratic norms.
Al Dente says
I remember iERA as the group who tried to have a segregated lecture at University College London about 18 months ago. That ignited the Universities UK “gender segregation is permissible for religious reasons” fiasco. I also remember that iERA claimed anyone objecting to their insistence on gender segregation was Islamophobic and denying them religious freedom.
I can’t help noticing that every time someone’s religious freedom is invoked, it’s almost always at the expense of someone else’s freedom!
Ophelia Benson says
I remember that too, and I remember not knowing much about what iERA was. This report is useful.
Decker says
I’ve known about these people and their agenda for years. They’re much like the KKK. You simply substitute ‘non-Muslim’ for ‘Black’ and their their character emerges. Until recently, people who drew attention to them were often shouted down as bigots. Despite their odious and even murderous ideas, I doubt very much if the authorities will do much to shut them down.