The astonishing swift success of the Islamic State (or ISIL) – moving from an obscure gang on the run in Iraq to a fully functioning resourceful mini-state within two years- is only matched by our successive governments’ failure in slowing self-recruiting to the Jihadism cause among young British Muslims despite millions of taxpayer money wasted on a new industry: a laughably naive anti-radicalisation programmes.
The astonishing Islamic State terror caliphate advance is getting closer to home, with its latest story continue to receive wall to wall media coverage thanks to the unmasking of the world most wanted terrorist Jihadi john.
The black-hooded blooded-knife wielding IS executioner turned out to be, surprise, surprise, a British national graduated from university of Westminster – where a stream of hate preachers and Jihadism ideologues held seminars, preached and gave lectures unchallenged over the past decade and, almost certain, radicalised in our capital, known amngn world intelligence community as Londonistan.
Kuwaiti born Mohammed Emwazi, as he turned out to be, who at the age of six came to UK with his family, was known to security and intelligence agencies. He was stopped in Tanzania in 2009, on his way to Somalia to join al-Shabab terror group and was interviewed at length by an MI6 officer in Holland. In short he was on our security agencies’ records as a threat to national security with possible links to Alshabab in Somalia , alqaeda, ISIL and the like. Nevertheless he managed to leave the country undetected to join IS becoming head of their beheading squad.
Sounds familiar?
At least one of the 7/7 bombers ( Mohammad Sidique Khan) was also known to intelligence services ; so were Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale , the two murders of Lee Rigby to name but two examples.
What’s perhaps new this time is the remarkable speed of what looks like a successful advance by IS (the most serious threat to world stability and humanity since the advance of Nazi and fascist forces 75 years ago).
This blog, is among a tiny, almost negligible minority of British commentators who believe that the astonishing advance and success of this neo-fascist Islamist entity ( known as IS or the new Islamic Caliphate) is what attracts many young British Muslims. Such success contrasts our government ( and the western democracies in general) spectacular failure to contain this danger in foreign policy and domestically.
Like the previous Labour government, Prime Minister David Cameron led coalition illustrated its inability to design an effective strategy to contain IS. It is now on Libya’s shores from which a continuous tied of documentless migrants flood the Europe at its southern tip. Just imagine if IS was to smuggle two terrorists on each of scores of boats of refugees rescued, almost daily, by the Italian navy, how long before we have a whole sleeping-battalion of jihadists terrorists in Europe?
This is combined with our successive governments’ impotence to stop the successful recruitment by Islamists terror groups like Alshabab , IS and alQaeda of young British Muslims , the number of whom is not only on the increase as weeks go by, but they are getting younger and attracting females. According to the Met Police Assistant Commissioner for Terrorism, at least one British Muslim female leaves UK every week to join IS ( 60 British young-women joined IS in past 12 months). The latest was three East London 15 & 16 years old school girls who travelled to Turkey 17 February and crossed borders to Syria to join Islamic State possible as jihadists brides.
After years of turning a blind eye to Islamists jihadists activities , politicians, community leaders, educationalists, media pundits and government agencies were woken up by July 2005 London bombing. Since then they repeat the same old cracked record as they are wheeled out to news studios with every new atrocity “….. a minority of extremists who don’t represent the mainstream/majority of British Muslims….” . Or “.. this a twisted interpretation of Islam a religion of peace and tolerance….,” or ..”..Muslim leaders condemn the vile crimes committed as those people are not true Muslim….”… .Then few “experts” usually from a decade old taxpayer-funded industry known as ” anti radicalisation ” …who would blame everyone but the terrorists.
Moderate Muslims (whatever that means) are joined by Liberals and the left to take the BBC/ Guardian line of blaming “British Foreign policy”, the alienation of young Muslims by “racist attitudes” or “islamophobia” in the media as the cause for radicalisation .
Tops the league of jihadists apologists a body called Cage ( which campaign on behalf of jailed, detained or convicted Islamists, claiming their humanrights were abused, and on their website still have sympathetic pages to characters like hate preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad, founder of the npow banned hezb-e-Tahrir and fled to his birthplace, Lebanon in 2005 after years of his taxpayer funded lawyers claiming ir was too dangerous for him to be deported to lebanon or Abu Hamza, who was deported to USA and found guilty for recruiting and sending British Muslim to commit acts of terror in Yemen ).
The organisation “ research director” blamed everyone but Emwazi whom he described as “ beautiful and peaceful youngman”.
Cage press release accused British intelligence and security agencies of intimidating Emwazi to the point of driving him into the arms of IS . The captains of taxpayer funded “anti-radicalisation” industry seldom explain what strategy and tactics they use to stop radicalisation of young Muslims?
Nor they name British Muslims whom they managed to win back from the bosoms of jihadists with the help of millions of taxpayer money dashed out by the home office and local authorities.
The failure of two successive governments to stop the flow of young British muslims into the ranks of IS is linked to lack of comprehensive strategy including foreign policy ( not as a cause for radicalisation as jihadists apologists and BBC would like us to believe). It is not a version of Islam that is twisted and needed to be corrected in the minds of psychopaths killers like Emwazi or Adebolajo, but it is what seems, sofar, a victorious ideology succeeding in achieving its declared aims.
There is hardly any examples of self-recurring by British young-men to extreme right-wing European groups because Nazism and fascism were defeated and had no shine examples of success for 70 years. Meanwhile ISIL blitzkrieg shines invitation to hotheaded young muslims. It went from an obscure gang on the run in Iraq to a fully functional self financing semi state ( imposing order, collecting taxes and having its own twisted welfare system ) that jumped borders within two years. The executioner of 21 Egyptians in Libya fortnight ago copied Emwazi’s Jihadi John ( who has become a role-model for young jihadists) pointing a blood-dripping finger northward to the Mediterranean saying ‘ Europe we are coming ..we will be in the Vatican inshallah…. The success and victory of implementing the slogans of ISIL (a 7th century style caliphate) on the 21st century shores of the Mediterranean, is what attracts British Muslims . A comers poll for BBC found that 27 percent ( that is over 670,000) of British Muslims sympathies with the jihadists murders of Charlie Hebdo journalists in Paris. ( just imagine a tiny minority, : half a percent of the 27 percent of jihadists sympathisers number around 3400 British muslims !) .
Only delivering a fatal blow to the Islamic State and uprooting this evil caliphate would take the shine off the story and just might mark the start to reverse the tide of recruitment. But do we have policy, or even thought of defeating IS for good ?
The world most powerful nations coalition engage in a limited air-campaign against IS targets in Iraq with hardly a noticeable military effect that can roll-back the terrorists gains.
With the exception of the Kurdish fighters Peshmerga ( and lately the Iraqi army starting, early monday 3 March, a counter-offensive on Tikrit in attempt to retake provinces occupied by IS for 10 months, but facing fierce resistance), there has been no meaningful military action that hurt IS.
Only the Jordanians and Egyptians air-force have scored direct hits against IS in Syria and Libya. The Egyptians continue to carry out covert operations against IS terror camps and centres in neighbouring Libya. They have been urging the western world to help, especially Europe that faces a direct threat from IS presence in Libya .
When Andrew Marr, (BBC1 Sunday 22 February) asked the Leader of The House William Hague – (one of the architects of the current anarchy in Libya on whose watch, as a Foreign Secretary, ISIL made its spectacular advance) what was our strategy to contain the Islamic State terror now across the water from Europe? Mr Hague talked about saving lives threatened by Colonel Gaddafi in 2011, Syria, Iraq and Somalia.. But no mention of what to do now in Libya.
When Mr Hague was given a chance to re-answer the same question in a Westminster journalists lunch last week, he said there were no plans British military involvement or moves and the Conservative led government works to try to find a political solution locally…
Translate? Mr Cameron government have no policy and possibly no clue.
© Copyright Adel Darwish 2015 – not to be reprinted, reproduced, copied, or quoted in full or in part without prior permission