The appointment of Sara Khan as head of the newly created Commission for Countering Extremism has been greeted with a great deal of disdain in some quarters. Yet, unsurprisingly it was applauded by others.

Those mostly by organisations such who have as much credibility within the Muslim community as the government itself at the moment.

Plans to set up the commission were announced by Prime Minister Theresa May after the Manchester bombing in May last year - one of five terror attacks to hit Britain in 2017.

The body will be tasked with identifying and challenging all forms of extremism, advising ministers on new policies and promoting "pluralistic British values".

Now, a Home Office wanting to ‘sell’ their message to the masses will have to do a whole lot better than this.

Some might think that the appointment of Sara Khan has failed before it has begun. But it hasn’t.

It seems to me this was not about reaching out to Muslims at all but telling us in no uncertain terms that the new Commission is not for turning. And does it honestly matter what we as Muslims think anyway?

When it comes to counter-extremism we have been burying our heads in the sand for many years.

We have had a defined separation of ideas when it comes to Government policy towards Muslims for some time now. We have groups who are happy to take the funding and back almost any policy or proposal thrown at Muslims.

Even when it is clear these policies will undermine trust within the community.

And then we have other groups who are purporting to represent Muslims because they are clearly deemed to be ‘more Muslim’ than everyone else.

This separation of ideas is not healthy as it suffocates real debate. And we are all guilty of having taken sides.

We have organisations and individuals who are more concerned with telling us which broadsheet they were quoted in or which TV news channel they were last on.

The aim it seems is to boast of one’s ‘credibility’ and this is manifest on the number of interviews one has conducted.

Take for instance the appointment of Sara Khan. She has been vilified by a whole number of groups but truthfully the alternative is just as poor.

We have groups and individuals who have little or no desire to make changes or to tackle ‘extremism’ and would be happy for us stand by as Islamic curriculum's argue for anti-British sentiments to be indoctrinated into young minds.

It is not Islamophobic to say this and deep down we all know this to be clearly the case. But for many of us this is just part and parcel of life and religion.

We are also unlikely to challenge fundamental questions of why religion and British values are unable to co-exist for some.

You only have to scroll through social media and find thousands liking and commenting on posts by British speakers and so-called religious ‘scholars’ who want Muslims to live separately.

The reason no-one wishes to tackle these ideas is because these ideas are based on fundamental beliefs in particular schools of thought. And to challenge them makes you culpable of having ‘gone against the teachings of Islam’.

The government has struggled to tackle extremism for two major reasons. Number one, it cannot define ‘extremism’ and frankly it does not want to. To do so would put it on a collision course with a whole load of Islamic countries with which we are keen trade.

And number two it has relied heavily on organisations and individuals to become the mouthpiece of its policies.

Much like the 1980’s community leaders who would dance to the tune of their paymasters for the odd pat on the back in the council chamber or a couple of quid on ‘racial equality’ projects.

In the end as long as someone got a job out of it we were all made to feel we achieved something.

Already, Prevent funded organisations are spending thousands by employing PR agencies to share their message.

The alternative though as I mentioned is likely to be just as much of a failure because it will consist of one where counter viewpoints are buried or simply not debated.

Unless we all learn to listen more proactively, then little or nothing will change and we will continue in this battle of egos and wills.

Maybe the status quo is exactly what suits all sides?