Why the roots of jihadi ideology run deep in Britain

[GBCW 397]

BY SHIRAZ MAHER PUBLISHED 4 SEPTEMBER, 2014

When Khaled al-Fawwaz came to London as Osama Bin Laden’s representative in the late 1980s he was just one of many Islamists pouring into the country. Others such as Abu Qatada, Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri Mohammed followed and, in the process, they established a sophisticated Islamist network across the UK.

In 1994 a major international conference promoting the caliphate was held in London, gathering radical clerics from around the world. Some early adherents of Islamism even went on to fight in Bosnia and Chechnya. Others pursued more esoteric aims in states such as Yemen.

It is telling to chart the evolution of British Islamist discourse through the 1990s. When the 1994 caliphate conference was convened, a large part of proceedings was dedicated to discussing what the caliphate is and whether it is obligated in Islam. By the end of the decade, the idea of the caliphate was entrenched and the debate moved on. What Muslims discussed then was precisely how – not whether – the caliphate should be revived. Seen in this way, it is clear that the roots of Islamist ideology run deep in some parts of British Muslim life.

The caliphate is a broad concept bound up with another set of ideas, too. At its core lies an alternative identity, the umma – a fraternity of the faithful, in which loyalty and allegiance are defined through confessional affiliation over civic ideals. It is the belief in the umma that has inspired as many as 500 British men (and a handful of women) to pack their bags and migrate to Syria.

British jihadists are not in Syria to melt into the background. They are full and fervent participants in the conflict. In the past 12 months British fighters have volunteered to be suicide bombers, executed prisoners of war, and tortured detainees in their care.

Fighters from groups as diverse as Jabhat al-Nusrah, Ahrar al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army have all told me of their concerns over the extremism of British jihadists. They are regarded as some of the most vicious and vociferous. The issue emerged in sharp relief this past week with the murder of the American journalist James Foley, seemingly by a British executioner with a London accent.

Pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister to address the flow of British fighters into groups such as Islamic State. The challenges are many, not least because there is a perception in some parts that the battle against Islamism has been won.

The main institutions promoting an Islamist agenda in this country – the Muslim Council of Britain, the Muslim Association of Britain and the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe, among others – have been beaten back. So, too, have the most prominent preachers of radical ideology. At the same time, hardline organisations such as al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir have fallen into obscurity.

To an extent, it can be said that there has been a decline in Islamist agitation in the public sphere. Yet this success does not represent the whole picture. Because Islamist ideas have flourished in parts of the UK for more than two decades they remain a potent and pervasive force. That explains how a generation of men not even born during the 1994 caliphate conference has come to embrace the Syrian jihad so eagerly.

In 2011 David Cameron issued one of the clearest statements by any politician of the need to inflect British values in the public sphere. In what popularly became known as the “Munich speech”, the Prime Minister spoke of the need to build a strong civic identity to which all members of our society could subscribe. A few months later, Lord Carlile published his review into the Prevent counterterrorism strategy, adumbrating a new vision for the initiative.

Both the Prime Minister and Lord Carlile identified the role of Islamist ideology as a primary driver of radicalisation. It was a marked departure from the cosseted approach adopted by their Labour predecessors in government, though much work remains to be done in this regard.

Dissuading young men not to join jihadist organisations in Syria and Iraq is proving to be an arduous task. Where it was once thought that the domestic terrorism threat was being managed down, the revival of jihadist fortunes in Syria has extended its lifespan by another generation or two.

http://www.newstatesman.com/2014/08/bin-laden-s-final-triumph

[lostinblue 1,989]

British jihadists are not in Syria to melt into the background. They are full and fervent participants in the conflict. In the past 12 months British fighters have volunteered to be suicide bombers, executed prisoners of war, and tortured detainees in their care.

Trained killers returning to their British homeland .... What could possibly go wrong....Use their British passport hop a plane and in a few hours be in NY. .. Not an eye brow raised.

[GBCW 397]

Could you please use paragraph breaks or quote tags or the indent feature to help separate your comments from the text of the original post?

[lostinblue 1,989]

Could you please use paragraph breaks or quote tags or the indent feature to help separate your comments from the text of the original post?

I have posted in red in the past but folks complain.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

British jihadists are not in Syria to melt into the background. They are full and fervent participants in the conflict. In the past 12 months British fighters have volunteered to be suicide bombers, executed prisoners of war, and tortured detainees in their care.

Trained killers returning to their British homeland .... What could possibly go wrong....Use their British passport hop a plane and in a few hours be in NY. .. Not an eye brow raised.

USA has a few as well btw...

[GBCW 397]

I have posted in red in the past but folks complain.

so you thought posting it as if it's all a single blob of text made more sense?

a newline is the enter key. you could start there. watch,like this.

and this.

and this.

see?

Edited September 11, 2014 by intheshadows

[Curmudgeon 227]

Idealism is a heady brew. Remember the US support of the IRA? Nice folks the IRA btw, just like Jihadists they used terror and execution to further their cause. Of course the UK should monitor anyone who seems to embrace violent support for any form of ideal and suprise suprise, it does.

[GBCW 397]

Idealism is a heady brew. Remember the US support of the IRA? Nice folks the IRA btw, just like Jihadists they used terror and execution to further their cause. Of course the UK should monitor anyone who seems to embrace violent support for any form of ideal and suprise suprise, it does.

The IRA never said they wanted to hoist their flag on the White House, though. The American public was a nice source of fundraising for them, if anything. I remember seeing quite a few old "England get out of Ireland" bumper stickers in the staff parking lot when I went to college in the 90s. So the parallels aren't exactly perfect.

[Curmudgeon 227]

The IRA never said they wanted to hoist their flag on the White House, though. The American public was a nice source of fundraising for them, if anything. I remember seeing quite a few old "England get out of Ireland" bumper stickers in the staff parking lot when I went to college in the 90s. So the parallels aren't exactly perfect.

Never said they were, just pointing out that one man's idealism is another man's just cause. That said, the UK does monitor anyone who threatens violence against the state, no matter what cause they espouse. I am sure there are more than just islamic caliphate supporters on their list right now.

[GBCW 397]

It's at times like this that one hopes the UK's outwardly liberal face is actually just a mask and that they've not forgotten how to run things like they once did, at the peak of their power.

[Curmudgeon 227]

The UK will not tolerate insurgency, it never has. This is a storm in a teacup, the UK intelligence service has had a lot of practice rooting out terrorism and terrorists, one thing they can thank the IRA for

[OriZ 3,157]

Idealism is a heady brew. Remember the US support of the IRA? Nice folks the IRA btw, just like Jihadists they used terror and execution to further their cause. Of course the UK should monitor anyone who seems to embrace violent support for any form of ideal and suprise suprise, it does.

Huge difference between the IRA and jihadists, huge difference.

[Novembro 1,763]

I have posted in red in the past but folks complain.

omg I love that ur a Twilight fan!