“Domestic extremism” is the subversion of the new surveillance state, though without even the spurious definition the cold war term was given. The police intelligence apparatus insists it’s only interested in “extremists”, not the groups they’re part of. […] That is even more true of Britain’s Muslim community, where the line the authorities are busy blurring is between political protest and terrorism. […] In reality, both the mass surveillance and the government’s decision to widen its target from the violent to the elastic McCarthyite catch-all of “extreme” is spreading fear and mistrust, intimidating Muslims from taking part in mainstream politics and undermining the very people who can most effectively challenge those drawn towards indiscriminate violence. Full article.