Reuters: Trump to focus anti-extremism program solely on Islam

A program designed to counter violent ideologies is being restructured and renamed by the Trump administration, according to a story from Reuters.

The program, Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), which was meant to identify and deter lone attackers from a variety of groups, will be revamped to focus solely on countering radical Islamic extremism, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. The new name will be Countering Islamic Extremism.

The CVE program works through community partnerships and educational programs to produce counter-messaging campaigns. Facebook and Google, among other companies, have been part of the messaging program.

The sources told Reuters that groups including white supremacists would no longer be a target of the CVE, and that all the resources would be focused on Islamic extremists.

Hoda Hawa, director of policy for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told Reuters that she was made aware of the impending change to aim the entire focus of the program at Islamist extremism. "That is concerning for us because they are targeting a faith group and casting it under a net of suspicion," she said.

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the White House have declined to comment on potential changes to the program.

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