The Muslim Population - Webs
1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2005 are just numbers until you put a meaning to them. These five numbers represent the world as we know it today. They also represent massive loss of life, sorrow, fear and hatred towards some individuals inhabiting in different places of the world. The world had seemingly bounced back after the first four numbers had revealed their real intent. However, once the fifth number struck, hell was unleashed once again. To some July 7, 2005 was just another day in their busy lives in which to make mistakes and create lasting memories. To others it was a day of extreme pain and fear. To a very small few, it was the day that was seen as changing terrorism the way we previously had thought about it. July 7, 2005 marks the day in which terrorists succeeded in attacking a western country with their own citizens. After this day, terrorists, particular those belonging to Islamic Extremist groups, could not be “identified” because the terrorists did not have to be from a land were their physical features might have looked out of place. The Islamic Extremist can now blend in with society; primarily because of the decentralization of al Qaeda, which allows for western society identities. Just as seen with 9/11, July 7, 2005 could have been avoided many years prior, but because it was not dealt with accordingly, the United Kingdom (specifically London) will have to endure a new face of Islamic Extremist attacks that the world has never seen before. In order to get a better understanding of the problems that face London in the future, we must look at a few dimensions of the current society, which will shed light on the future implications.
Facts of London
London is considered to be the metropolis of the UK, and for much of Europe. London is a historical city in current times. It boasts great diversity, which separates it from most cities in the UK. “At 1,584 sq km, Greater London is the smallest of the nine English regions and accounts for 1.2% of the total land area of England”[1]. “London has a population of 7.2m, making it the most populated city in Europe and home to one eighth of the UK population. Of that 7.2 million, 30% are from miniority ethinc groups”[2]. Since London is extremely diverse, more than 200 languages are spoken. Besides London being a huge metropolis city statistically, it also boasts prestigious attractions. London has the greatest concentration of major attractions in the UK. “It boasts four World Heritage Sites (Palace of Westminster, Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich and Kew Gardens)”[3]. “London contains 151 historic buildings and ancient monuments as well as 33 historic gardens, and there are more than 18,000 listed buildings”[4]. Most notably, London's economy is larger than those of Austria, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Portugal.
London is composed of 32 boroughs (12 make up the inner and 20 the outer), which are the most important unit of local government, and are responsible for running most local services in their area[5]. Graph 1 shows the size of all the boroughs around London (#1 is London: Central).
[pic]Boroughs of London[6]
The Muslim Population
When one thinks of the United Kingdom, especially London, there is automatically a preconceived thought of a Caucasian resembling race that have descendents from the early monarchies of the King and Queen over hundreds of years ago. It is fair to say that when the United Kingdom is mentioned, we might subconsciously think to ourselves about movies such as “Braveheart”, or people with bad teeth that are opaque white; concerning skin color. However, London has become a melting pot, which rivals the diversity that Southern California exudes. As stated before, London boasts over 200 different languages within its limits. With the diversification of multi languages also come multiple religious and ethnic identities that are not innate to London and the United Kingdom. The Muslim population has become increasingly potent to London. Obviously the Muslims in London were not direct inhabitants of the land, such as the Royal family would have been. The United Kingdom shows no particular reverence to Muslims because there was no need for Muslims to be in England where Christianity and the Royal family were the authority. The Islamic reign (or caliphate) never reached the United Kingdom, even during the days of the Crusades in which Richard the Lion-Hearted led waves of crusaders to retake the holy land[7]. Although most of the crusaders who fought in the crusades for England (UK) fought out of boredom with their daily lives, they nonetheless fought the Muslims in their “homeland”. This is really the only contact between the Christians of England and the Muslims of the Middle East until the time period of British colonization, in which British forces swept through much of Africa and the Middle East.
If this is the case, then why has there been such an influx in the number of Muslims migrating to the United Kingdom, and especially within the boundaries of London? London seems to offer nothing to true Muslims who value their holy places and shrines such as Mecca and Medina. It is a stated factual point that the United Kingdom offers nothing to true Muslims, except for the idea of new opportunities. During the early 20th century, Muslims began to poor into the United Kingdom from areas that were controlled by British forces. “Especially during the time period of WWII, a vast amount of Muslims from Pakistan, India, Africa, Lebanon, etc. began to migrate to the United Kingdom”[8]. It was not until the mid 1970’s that the Muslim population in London became a significant minority. Although Muslims are a minority within London, they are the largest of any minority in London. London has the largest population in Europe; even greater than that of Moscow, Russia.
It is still not clear why there was this migration of Muslims to the United Kingdom in the 20th century to scholars. There were no conflicts that were driving Muslims from their countries in order to escape persecution, at least to a large degree, ones that could resemble genocide. Whatever the reason might be, the fact is that London has become one of the largest Muslim communities in Europe, and it is the largest Muslim community throughout all of the Western countries. Since this paper is aimed at Islamic extremism, we begin to see possibly why groups, such as al Qaeda, have been able to exist within London. Is the only reason why these groups exist in London because of the large population of Muslims, or are there other factors of the Muslim population in that reveal London as being a “breeding ground” and “safe-haven” for terrorist organizations? Can the Muslim population in London alone be the primary indicator for why extremist groups exist within London, or might there be other dimensions of the Muslim population that contribute further to meeting the needs of the terrorist organizations? The answer to this question is; yes, there are other dimensions of the Muslim population in London that contribute to Islamic Extremist groups.
Let us first look at the Muslim population distribution between the 32 boroughs of London. This will help to give a better idea of the heavily concentrated areas of London by Muslims. G2 shows the Muslim population in London for the 2001 Census[9].
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The Muslim population within London is increasing constantly. G2 figures have inflated by at least 2% if you look at the trend for the last 20 years. G3 shows the percentage of the population within the 32 boroughs that are Muslim[10].
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We now know that the Muslim community is a significant minority within London. By comparing and contrasting the statistics that have been taken in the United Kingdom of Muslims, other then their population distribution throughout the 32 boroughs, key information will be revealed that will show the significant presence and validity for Islamic Extremist groups existing within London. G4 shows the percentage of the religious population in London that feels that they are British in identity, and not any other[11].
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About 65% of the Muslims in London feel that they have a British identity. If this is the case then there should be no reason for why homegrown terrorists would attack London, or would there? G5 shows the percentage of Muslims in London that were actually born within the United Kingdom[12].
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“Just under half (46 per cent) of Muslims living in Great Britain had been born in the UK, while 39 per cent had been born in Asia – mainly Pakistan (18 per cent), Bangladesh (9 per cent) and India (3 per cent). A further one in ten Muslims (9 per cent) had been born in Africa, including Somalia (2 per cent) and Kenya (1 per cent). Four per cent of Muslims were from parts of Europe outside the UK, including Turkey (3 per cent) and the former Yugoslavian countries (1 per cent)”[13]. What we analyze thus far is that a majority of the Muslims in London were not born in the UK, but a majority call themselves British versus their original country of birth. When looking at this through a counter-terrorism paradigm, there should be little to no inclination towards the existence of terrorist groups, especially in terms of members being Muslims from London because most Muslims associate themselves with the British identity. Most terrorist organizations that use Islamic extremism as their source of power and autonomy want to attack the United Kingdom and London. Why then would Muslims who associate themselves with a British identity attack their homeland? We have to look at more social dimensions of the Muslim population in London to extract further findings.
When looking at possible recruits or members of extremist groups, generally a younger demographic person is more common than an older for many reasons. Terrorist groups love to recruit young individuals that are easily manipulated because of a lack of knowledge of general factions in their life and society. G6 shows the age gaps of the different religions within London[14].
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“Muslims have the youngest age profile of all the religious groups in Great Britain. About a third of Muslims (34 per cent) were under 16 years of age in 2001”[15]. This graph could alone point to why some Islamic extremist groups exist within London. The age factor is a huge indicator for breeding terrorists, especially if an organization plans on using “homegrown” terrorists for their attacks. Besides age, there are still other factors that will stimulate this argument further. G7 shows the percentage of those unemployed by their religious affiliation[16].
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In 2004, Muslims had the highest male unemployment rate in Great Britain, at 13 per cent. “This was about three times the rate for Christian men (4 per cent). Unemployment rates for men in the other religious groups were between 3 and 8 per cent. Muslims aged 16 to 24 years had the highest unemployment rates”[17]. What this also shows is the separation between Muslim women and men in society. This gap is almost identical to life in the Middle East under many forms of Islam. If the Muslims in London have the youngest people and of those unemployment weighs heavily upon them, then the individuals will be inclined to look for alteier ways of life. These different lifestyles could very easily come in the form of Islam; especially forms of radical Islam. There are some factors that might coincide with the unemployment rate. G8 shows people of working age with no qualifications by religion[18].
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“In 2004 a third (33 per cent) of Muslims of working age in Great Britain had no qualifications – the highest proportion for any religious group. They were also the least likely to have degrees or equivalent qualifications (12 per cent)”[19]. If Muslims, particularly in London, which is a financial center, have no qualifications, then they will immediately have to do something in order to take care of their needs. Islamic Extremist groups take very good care of their recruits all the way up until they commit an attack or join a fight. Even if some Muslims have qualifications, G9 shows us that they do not have very many degrees (education) compared to other religions[20].
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Looking at this graph in comparison to the rest of the United Kingdom, Muslims lack what the Sikh and Hindu do. However, when you look at these figures to the rest of the Muslims throughout the Middle East and Asia, they exceed them by almost 50%. Muslims who were born in the UK are more likely than those born elsewhere to have a degree or equivalent qualification, irrespective of age. “Among those under the age of 30, UK-born Muslims were almost twice as likely to have degrees in 2004 as those born elsewhere”[21]. Let us look for a moment at the four suicide bombers of the July 7, 2005 London Bombings. “Hasib Hussain attended Ingram Road Primary School in Holbeck and began his secondary education at South Leeds High School; finally holding a vocational degree in business studies”[22]. “Shehzad Tanweer studied sports science at Leeds Metropiltian University and Mohammad Sidique Khan studied child care at Dewsbury College”[23]. “Germaine Lindsay attended Rawthorpe High School and was enrolled in the local university”[24]. The four suicide bombers were exactly what terrorist groups are looking for. Islamic Extremist groups exist within the United Kingdom and London because the Muslims are more likely to be educated than in anywhere else throughout the world. “Of the seventy nine terrorists regarded in the 1993 WTC Bombing, 1998 Africa Embassy Bombing, 9/11 Attacks, 2002 Bali Nightclub Bombings, July 7, 2005 London bombings, all of those credited with masterminding the attacks had university degrees; some even from western universities (Over half of the participants had degrees as well)”[25]. Islamic Extremist groups constantly yearn for educated individuals, thus making London a prime “breeding ground” for such groups. The final statistic that seems relevant is the family size of the Muslim population in London. G10 shows the average household size[26].
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“Muslim households in Great Britain are larger than households headed by someone of another religion. Furthermore, households headed by a Muslim were largest, with an average size of 3.8 people”[27]. If the family size continues to grow, then so will the population of Muslims throughout the United Kingdom and London. All of these statistics show the relevance of the Muslim population in London to Islamic Extremist groups existing in the region. The conditions that Muslims face make these groups very accessible and formidable to Muslims, especially the younger ones under twenty-five years of age. No other religion has the problems that the Muslims face. The Islamic Extremist groups use London because they can easy manipulate them, while acquiring a “smarter terrorist” from a western state. The extreme conditions that Muslims face in the United Kingdom and London make it easy for Islamic Extremist groups to emerge themselves within this society, thus perpetuating them to an even bigger threat then what they previously enjoyed.
London Mosques
Along with the presence of a large population of Muslims comes a great number of Mosques. A Mosque is the holy place of worship for the followers of the Islamic Faith. A Mosque is technically known as a Masjid in Arabic[28]. Since the United Kingdom has almost 2 million Muslims currently, Mosques exist throughout the United Kingdom in vast amounts. There are over 1,000 Mosques throughout England alone. Inside the boroughs of London, there are currently 103 Mosques in which Muslims worship in[29]. To get a better understanding of the Mosques within London, G11 shows all of the Mosques that exist within each borough of London[30].
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The Mosques are very concentrated in London, which gives the Muslims within London a great array of choices when choosing Mosques. While this is great that a religion has so many places of worship for its followers, it is also a massive deterrent for the counter-terrorism agencies of London. The set-up of Mosques within London makes it very easy for Islamic Extremist groups to send in radical clerics to transform a Mosque into one that preaches “hate” and “anti-Semitic” views. This can be understood best by looking at the case of the 47 year old radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri. Abu Hamza is the firebrand al Qaeda supporting cleric of Finsbury Mosque (located at the tip of the boroughs Islington, Hackney, and Haringey, which will be explored in detail later). “He is thought to be Egyptian and has claimed to be a trained civil engineer. While preaching at Finsbury Mosque, Abu Hamza taught Richard Reid, Zacarias Mossaoui, Feroz Abbasi, and over 15 British detainees being held by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba”[31]. Although the MI5 has not classified Abu Hamza as an al Qaeda operative, he heads al Qaeda’s recruitment activities from Finsbury Mosque[32]. “The red brick mosque where Abu Hamza preached hatred against the West was a haven for international terrorists, including men linked to the 9/11 attacks and the alleged Los Angeles Millennium airport plot, police and defense analysts believe”[33]. Hamza is most notably known as the “handless cleric” because he lost both of his hands and one eye while fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan, in which he became a close friend with Osama bin Laden (he now has hooks instead of hands). “He first entered into London in 1979, and later gained his British citizenship in 1981”[34]. Abu Hamza was banned in February 2003 from preaching at Finsbury Mosque, and was not arrested until 2004. “On 7th February 2006 Hamza was found guilty of 11 of the 15 charges he faced. He was sentenced to seven years to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others in Belmarsh prison”[35]. Hamza is awaiting extradition charges to the United States after his sentence is finished in Britain. Obviously Abu Hamza is a dangerous man who was also in contact with all four of the July 7, 2005 London bombers before they made treks to other countries. Abu Hamza has influenced many young Muslims to take up arms and proclaim Jihad. Finsbury Mosque, where he previously taught at, was not radicalized until Hamza became the Imam. It has taken authorities extensive time to finally capture Abu Hamza under legitimate charges. The problem for the MI5 was that there were hundreds of Mosques, and a few of them preached hate. The geographic set-up of the Mosques within London have played a very productive role in allowing radical clerics, such as Abu Hamza, to take over and begin to indoctrinate young Muslims and new converts of Islam with little surveillance and scrutiny from the government..
Mosques that show similarities to the Finsbury Park Mosque can be traced to aiding many terrorists attacks, not just the July 7, 2005 London Bombings. In the West, one of the Mosque network’s main operations is recruiting. As noted prior, Zacarias Moussaoui, known as the 20th 9/11 bomber (actually should be the 28th because there were 7 bombers ahead of him that were denied entry to the U.S.), visited the Finsbury Mosque frequently under the leadership of Abu Hamza. “Asif Hanif, 21, and Omar Khan Sharif, 27, were the two suicide bombers that attacked a beachfront bar in Tel Aviv called Mike’s Place: three people were killed and fifty-five were injured”[36]. Hanif and Sharif were also both regulars at the Finsbury Park Mosque. “46-year-old Kamel Rabat Bouralha, who was one of the men responsible for the Beslan Scholl hostage crisis in Beslan, Russia, attended the Finsbury Park Mosque”[37]. “Even though Finsbury Park Mosque is only 16 years old (built in 1990), it has since produced many terrorists that have gone on and committed all scale attacks for groups like al Qaeda and the extremist group al-Muhajiroun”[38]. The United Kingdom has a very lax policy concerning hate speech. Islamic Extremist groups have recognized this flaw and used it for their advantage. By using Mosques, and sending radical clerics to take them over, these groups operate under a security umbrella of religion to advance their ideology(s) and to recruit. Furthermore, radical Mosques provide accommodations and support to their members and new recruits. “At Finsbury Park Mosque, people can buy false passports and ID cards, which entitle them to collect welfare . . . with fake ID papers it is possible to get income support of 50 Pounds a week in addition to rent, usually a room fully paid by the state”[39]. Many extra perks like this can eventually generate a lucrative business for individuals and the Mosque alike.
MI5 only knows of a few Mosques that have been radicalized, such as Finsbury Park Mosque, but that does not mean that there are not more. As more Mosques begin to be constructed in London, there will be an emerging presence of converging Mosques to acquire radical clerics, mainly propagated by Islamic Extremist groups. On the contrary, Mosques do not have to become radicalized to be of importance to such groups. For example, outside the Finsbury Park Mosque, “it was possible to buy videos of Islamist propaganda, and among them were films showing the last hours in the lives of suicide bombers”[40]. “An Islamic group (Tablighi Jamaat) is proposing to build Western Europe's biggest mosque, with room for 40,000 worshippers, in London in time for the 2012 Olympic Games”[41]. Tablighi Jamaat preaches a return back to fundamental Islam. “This is a movement founded in the late 1920s by Muhammad Ilyas in the Mewat province of India. Tabligh in Arabic means "to deliver (the message)" and Tablighi Jamaat claims to revive this duty which they consider as a primary duty of Muslims. They usually limit their activities within Muslims itself and their main aim being to bring spiritual awakening to the world's Muslims[42]”. Although Tablighi Jamaat has not been tied to any terrorist attacks yet, they are under heavy investigation from the MI5. As the Muslim population begins to increase at a fairly stagnate rate, more Mosques will continue to erect, thus putting enormous pressure on the British government of Prime Minister Tony Blair and London Mayor Ken Livingston to act accordingly, or else more Mosques will continue to become radicalized; ultimately imposing more threat to London and the international community.
Mosques are used as a recruiting ploy in London. It is important to know that Mosques are extremely selective when approaching potential recruits. London is the perfect scenario for requirement because the selection pool of young Muslims willing to commit to the international jihad is overwhelmingly substantial. Once the young men have become indoctrinated by a radical cleric, such as Abu Hamza, then they can proceed to the selection of jihad warriors. Only a few will really ever commit to this type of jihad that the Islamic Extremist group aims at, but the selection group is nevertheless still present. “The United Kingdom, with its large immigrant Muslim population, is one of the best recruiting grounds in the western world”[43]. The sole reason that London and the United Kingdom have become such effective “breeding grounds” is because of the Mosque Network that has emerged since the late 90’s. This Mosque Network allows for individual Mosques to be in connection with one another, ultimately allowing for terrorists and their groups to move about the network freely in order to get in touch with potential jihad warriors and recruit them. The Mosque Network is so powerful because “it gives those (Muslims in London and the UK) a cause worth living and fighting for it rarely succeeds in persuading them that it is a cause worth dying for”[44]. The Mosques are able to take care of the first step of the plan by indoctrinating individuals and introducing them to jihad, it is then the Islamic Extremist group that must send the individuals to be trained for jihad and martyrdom attacks. “Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad, the founder of al-Muhajiroun, an Islamic group based in London which recruits for the jihad, claimed that Mosques and university campuses in the United Kingdom recruit a yearly average of 18,000 British-born Muslims to take part in military services in countries where Islamist armed groups are fighting”[45]. The Mosque Network in London acts as a “filter” for future terrorists. London provides the best Muslims throughout the Western countries, and the considerable quantity of Mosques available allows for terrorist groups to use this theoretical advantage to their benefit of terror. London Mosques attract new recruits from areas throughout the United Kingdom, such as Leeds and Birmingham, which are considered both “hotbeds of Islamists” because their Mosques have supplied suicide bombers to al Qaeda and other Islamist groups[46]. The radical clerics at the Mosques outside of London are connected to the London Mosque Network. They then send their newly indoctrinated to London because London is the hub for recruiting in Europe. “Certain Mosques throughout London are now becoming hotbeds of potential terror fighters, who feed an explosive mixture of religion and political ideology, due in large part to their success from the past”[47]. The Mosque Network phenomenon in London is aiding and propelling Islamic Extremist groups to an all time high, resulting in the further embedding of such groups within the boroughs of London.
Financial London
It is very easy to label Islamic Extremist groups as organizations, because we then have something to compare them with. If this is true, then these groups need money to succeed, so we can contemplate about them in the sense of a business operating. Islamic Extremist groups need to provide for the transportation of their “physical attackers”. The transportation is often done in the form of using public transportation. Since most of the Islamic Extremist groups in London are transnational, or have links to, their members must use the mode of flying to get anywhere in the world. Let’s say for example that al-Muhajiroun wanted to send an individual to Afghanistan to be trained at their camps, like Hasib Hussain and Mohammad Sidique Khan, they would have to make a few stops along the way. When comparing prices on , it was estimated that it would be about $598 (1,052.48 Pounds) to fly to Cairo, Egypt[48]. Then from Cairo, Egypt to Lahore, Pakistan it would cost $1314 (2,312.64 Pounds)[49]. So far the total cost for the trip in airfare would be $1912 (3,365.12 Pounds). When we reference back to G7 and compare the unemployment rate and low wage for Muslims in London, there is no way that a young Muslim could afford to shell out almost 3,500 Pounds for a trip to a training camp. “The mean individual income for Greater London in 2001 was set at 27,100 Pounds”[50]. The standard of living in London is much higher than in the United States. A young Muslim could not pay for his (his because very few Islamic Extremist groups send women to training camps from outside countries) trip and survive daily. Therefore, there has to be a way that individual terrorists pay for their accommodations and transportation. The answer lies in London being the international hub for finances.
London is the banking centre of the world and Europe’s main business centre. Is it merely ironic that Islamic Extremist groups would, choose London as a hub for “sleeper cells” and “safe-havens” in which to conduct business or have they done this for a purpose?. “The headquarters of more than 100 of Europe’s 500 largest companies are in London. A quarter of the of the world’s largest financial companies have their European headquarters in London too. The London foreign exchange market is the largest in the world, with an average daily turnover of $504 billion, more than the New York and Tokyo combined”[51]. “It can also be noted that there are more than 550 international banks and 170 global securities houses have set up offices in London. By contrast Frankfurt has around 280, Paris, 270 and New York 250”[52]. There is obviously a huge incentive for Islamic Extremist groups to have at least one sleeper cell within London. By these groups having a cell in London, they can transfer money around the world and be protected once again by a “security umbrella”. The banking world in London is one of the largest, made up of banks from all over the world, so when an individual terrorists uses a bank to make transactions, they will most likely proceed further unnoticed because of the extent to which transactions happen each day in London.
In the West, the second main operation of a Mosque Network is fundraising. There are many options that Mosques and Islamic Extremist groups can use in extracting funds. An Islamic Bank is not limited to countries where banking systems did not or no longer exist. A retired Russian banker said, “They are tapped into sophisticated monetary systems from which money can be directed to finance terror worldwide or to profit in the capitalist world”[53]. What we can come to understand is that these groups exist within London because they need a physical individual to sign off for transactions. London now opens itself up to not just the groups that reside within its city limits and boroughs, but also to international Islamic Extremist groups that make havens in other countries, such as the GIA (Armed Islamic Group in Algeria). To better understand this, we will examine the case of Khalid al-Fawaaz, a Saudi dissident residing in London. “He is suspected of being one of bin Laden’s men in the West”[54]. “The Barclays account of the Advice and Reformation Committee (one of the organizations believed to be a front for bin Laden), received funds from correspondent banks in Sudan, Dubai, and the United Arab Emirates. From Barclays the money was transferred to terror cells in Western cities (most importantly London). Fawaaz was the signatory of the account, from which he ordered transactions with several Islamic centers and charities all over the world”[55].
Mosques play a role in the financial aspect of an Islamic Extremist group existing within in London. London’s Mosque Network, which is inadvertently connected to other Mosque Networks around the world, provides financial support of the jihad. “In 2001, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in 1989 that is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religious organization) received 2 million Pounds in donations from British Muslims, and among the generous donors was Ahmed Nashir, from East London, who contributed up to 15 million Pounds a month”[56]. Not only do these groups foresee London as a great source of generating new recruits, but the possibility of using the current Muslims as a financial backbone for their attacks is astronomical. Many of the imams like Shafiqur Rehman (imam of Oldham who was deported for raising funds for the Lashkar) and Sheikh Abu Hamza have contributed heavily to generating these fundraisers for external, as well as domestic Islamic Extremist groups. London’s position in the world as a leader in the financial realm makes it easier for such groups and Mosque Networks to collect money and to make sure that those funds properly reaches the right destination of choice.
Islamic Extremist Groups and Individual Members
So far London has been shown as being able to be a “safe-have” for Islamic Extremist groups worldwide. “London-based security analyst Bob Ayers, a former U.S intelligence officer, said that until the July 7 suicide attack on London's transit network, government officials tolerated Islamist groups operating in London in the belief they would not "foul their own nest”[57]. While London possesses the ability to handle Islamic Extremist groups, the defining difference between them and other major western cities is the actual presence of such groups. “The United Kingdom is clearly being used by al Qaeda as a European HQ and its global communications system looked to be coordinated from Europe also, with the finger pointing at London as the main nexus”[58]. It is said that al Qaeda has possibly had a presence within the United Kingdom and London as early as 1992. In theory though, al Qaeda probably has had informants and sleeper cells within London since its inception by Osama bin Laden in 1989 because of financial reasons. The reason that the MI5 and MI6 cannot attribute al Qaeda as being the main source of terrorism in the United Kingdom is because “al Qaeda” has withered away. By this, I mean they have dissolved into other groups in which they control. By al Qaeda giving up its prime autonomy in the United Kingdom, it essentially lessens the scrutiny from the international community upon itself, thus allowing al Qaeda to operate more freely because no more is al Qaeda the one that is committing the attacks. Al Qaeda wants the citizens of the United Kingdom to ultimately forget that they exist, and then when the timing is right, they will strike hard. This can be seen clearly in the July 7, 2005 London Bombings. Although initially al Qaeda was ruled out of the picture as being held responsible, further investigations revealed that the four suicide bombers had been trained and were taught by al Qaeda operatives inside of the United Kingdom and London. If al Qaeda has not withdrawn itself from the United Kingdom, then where have they gone? After all, London Mayor Ken Livingston said that those who threatened London were “fairly disorganized and consisted of small groups of disaffected people” and that the “terrorist groups are not a great organized international conspiracy with orders flowing down the chain”[59]. The answer lies in the many groups and individuals that operate within London under false aliases.
Al Muhajiroun is the Islamic Extremist organization that is known best to the MI5. “Al Muhajiroun, or just AM, was started by Omar Bakri Mohammed (also known as Tottenham Ayatollah) in the United Kingdom on February 16, 1996”[60]. “The main purpose, as is with most groups at this time, was to revive the Islamic Ummah from the severe decline that it had reached, and to liberate it from the thoughts, systems and laws of kufr and the kufr states”[61]. Obviously Omar Bakri chose this stance in light of the al Qaeda ideology that he was so involved with. If you recall, at this time radical clerics, such as Abu Hamza, were slowly beginning to take over Mosques in London. It is important to note that 1996 was also the time when bin Laden’s al Qaeda was starting to surface as an international threat (even though few noticed). Dr. Neil Doyle has summed up the exact development of the al Muhajiroun movement in 10 stages. These ten stages are[62]:
1. Al-Muhajiroun started as an Islamic thought which sparked in the mind of the founder.
2. The founder digested the Islamic thought and became a live cell with it.
3. The motion of the cell started to develop and deliver multiple cells, i.e. followers.
4. The cells (followers) formulated the first study circle (Halaqah) around the thought.
5. The study circle (Halaqah) became a unit (Kutlah).
6. The unit became a group (Jama’ah) or collective body.
7. The group transferred into a party (Hizb) with a particular task and duties in society.
8. The party continued and within three years it became a mass movement (Harakah).
9. The movement will (Insha’ Allah) formulate a fifth column (Tabour Khaamiss) in society.
10. The fifth column will be in a position to get support from the people of power, Muslim forces or to lead the Islamic revolution (Al-Thaworah Al-Islamiyyah) in order to establish the task, The Islamic State to dominate the world of Islam.
Dr. Neil Doyle was able to retrieve this “blueprint” from informants over time. AM is in the position to take over the government of the United Kingdom, at least it aims at doing so. AM plans on following groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Hizb Ut-Tahrir. This group is no different from groups of larger size, like al Qaeda. They call for the murder of Jews and Crusaders and the only difference is that they live amongst the so-called “Crusaders”, so they cannot be as outspoken about killing Crusaders, especially because they live within them. At some point the AM movement will turn on Crusaders within London, but that date is further than closer. AM has showed support for al Qaeda over the years. “Omar Bakri was born in 1958 in Aleppo Syria, studied at Cairo’s al-Azhar University, and then lived in Saudi Arabia until his expulsion in 1986 when he came to Britain”[63]. Bakri, while living in Saudi Arabia was involved with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir. Bakri first became known when he and Farid Kasam started the United Kingdom branch of the Hizb ut-Tahrir (HUT)[64]. HUT was more influential amongst universities in London and the UK then in anywhere else. They took advantage of the young demographics of Muslims at the time. “In 1996 Bakri split from HUT to start AM, and proclaimed himself its spiritual leader. In addition he established himself as a judge of the self-styled British Court of Shariah, which advocates the dominance of Islamic law”[65]. “Bakri is also the founder of the publishing house al-Khilafah Publications. This publication company is responsible for printing al jihad propaganda within the United Kingdom”[66]. What makes this split so important is that although al Qaeda recognizes HUT as a legitimate organization that it cooperates with, but al Qaeda pledged its support to AM under Bakri because Bakri was the only one who would allow for al Qaeda to be more influential in daily operations than himself. Ultimately, this one incident can be defined as the point in time when al Qaeda was officially brought into London. Another very well known terrorist inside of the United Kingdom is Abu Qatada. Abu Qatada is widely regarded as the leader of al Qaeda in Europe. “Besides being the leader, he was also the main recruiter to jihad for al Qaeda in the United Kingdom”[67]. “He was a Palestinian that had immigrated to the UK in 1985 and lived in North East London”[68]. Abu Qatada collaborated very closely with Bakri and Abu Hamza, making him a terrorist with connections to almost every cell in the United Kingdom. He was said to have “run” the terrorists within London[69]. Prior to being the leader of al Qaeda in Europe, Qatada was a radical cleric, one that showed Abu Hamza the path[70]. “He was arrested again finally in March 2005 and sent to Belmarsh prison, and he is awaiting extradition charges to Jordan”[71]. “Khaled al-Fawwaz, Adel Abdel Bary, and Ibrahim Eidarous used London as one of their safe-havens prior to their involvement with the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa”[72]. “Abu Doha, who was in connection with Ahmed Ressam and others to attack LAX in December of 1999, was involved throughout the Mosque Network of London[73]. The little known 2003 Ricin Plot in London revealed an al Qaeda terror lab in London. “Mustapha Taleb, Mouloud Feddag, Sidali Feddag and Samir Feddag were responsible for creating the Ricin and packing it into homemade bombs to be detonated throughout the London underground metro system”[74]. While these are only a few of the terrorists conspiring in London and the United Kingdom, they are by far the most influential of the crowd. “At least 400 suspected al Qaeda operatives are at large in Britain and if all those who have returned from training camps are included it could go up to 600”[75]. This number does not take into account the terrorists that are not linked with al Qaeda. If this statistic were to include all informants, religious clerics, and fundraisers, then this number could well be in the thousands. The one problem is that since London acts as a “travel liaison” or “pit stop” for a good number of terrorists, the official number can never be certain because of the constant influx in their population. The government of the United Kingdom has seen a drastic incline in the number of Islamic Extremist terrorists within the United Kingdom and London since the early 1990’s.
Counter-Terrorism Legislation in the UK
The fact that the United Kingdom holds democratic values poses a great threat concerning terrorist related crimes. As mentioned earlier, western countries that are run with democratic beliefs, can do little in the wake of terrorists because of specific civil liberties that are granted including; freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. The United Kingdom has been more lax than most western countries have been. The only reason that there has been any change in the United Kingdom’s policies is because of the July 7, 2005 London Bombings, pressure from the alliance with the United States, and the continuing efforts by the French government to thwart terrorists from existing within France (especially Paris). Since London won the 2012 Olympic Games race in early July, 2005, they have been forced to guarantee security to the rest of the world. The first pieces of legislation to be looked at should be the Public Order Act of 1986 and the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998[76]. These two pieces of legislation primarily protected different religious groups from hatred-especially that of hate speech. This would have been the opportune time for severe terrorist legislation to come about because this was the time that Islamic Extremists began to enter in large numbers and radicalize Mosques in London. The Terrorism Act of 2000 greatly stepped up the efforts of the British government to combating against terrorists. “It is a criminal offence not to disclose to the police, as soon as reasonably practicable, any information a person knows or believes might be of material assistance in: (i) preventing the commission of an act of terrorism anywhere in the world, and (ii) securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person in the UK, for an offence involving the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism. The Act also outlaws certain national and international organizations described as "terrorist" groups, making it illegal for them to operate in the UK”[77]. The problem with this legislation was that it only allowed for police to search in areas that were authorized. Therefore if terrorists knew the areas, and they did, they could set themselves up in areas that were “safe-zones” by law. “The Anti-Terrorism and Crime Act of 2001 said that you could indefinitely detain without charge a foreign terrorist suspect if the individual could not be deported for other legal reasons”[78]. This legislation brought the government closer to a solution, but it gave immunity to terrorists that had other legal reasons. These allowed for terrorists to break the law initially and fraudulently enter the UK, but when caught for terrorist activity, were only deported for not entering the UK according to set laws. “The Prevention Act of 2005 allows for control orders to be made against any suspected terrorist, whether a UK national or a non-UK national, or whether the terrorist activity is international or domestic. The Home Secretary must normally apply to the courts to impose a control order based on an assessment of the intelligence information. If the court allows the order to be made, the case will be automatically referred to the court for a judicial review of the decision”[79]. The problem was that even though suspects could be forced to give up communication services, or be tied to house arrest, the punishment for breaking these was imprisonment or a fine. This did not deter terrorists because the consequences were not that severe. The Terrorism Act of 2006 is the most comprehensive and strategic piece of legislation that the government has ever proposed. It is broken down into four areas[80]:
1. Acts Preparatory to Terrorism
This aims to capture those planning serious acts of terrorism
2. Encouragement to Terrorism
This makes it a criminal offence to directly or indirectly incite or encourage others to commit acts of terrorism. This will include the glorification of terrorism, where this may be understood as encouraging the emulation of terrorism
3. Dissemination of Terrorist Publications
This will cover the sale, loan, or other dissemination of terrorist publications. This will include those publications that encourage terrorism, and those that provide assistance to terrorists
4. Terrorist training offences
This makes sure that anyone who gives or receives training in terrorist techniques can be prosecuted. The Act also criminalizes attendance at a place of terrorist training
The problem facing this legislation is that it breaks guaranteed civil liberties in the process. Parliament seems to be split as to what is deemed ethical and in the best interest of its citizens. Serious legislation that will inadvertently stop Islamic Extremists immediately in all phases of their planning of attacks has been needed in London ever since the first Islamic Extremist group entered into the country. “In addition, in a more decentralized network, these (terrorists) will go unnoticed not because data on analysts’ screens are misinterpreted but because they will never appear on those screens in the first place”[81]. “Of the 572 persons arrested in Britain up to April 2004 under anti-Terrorism laws, 289 were released without charge (51%). Of the remaining, 186 were charged with passport irregularities and other crimes not related to terrorism. Of the 97 charged with a terror-related offence 14 convictions have been upheld (2% of arrests)”[82]. It does the United Kingdom and London no good to arrest these individuals if they cannot be detained or imprisoned for long periods of time. The other problem that presents itself to the government is when the indivduals are imprisoned, they are all sent to Belmarsh Prison. Belmarsh is London’s most secure prison and is struggling to cope with its large number of terror suspects. “Belmarsh, which has 900 inmates and a 48-capacity high-security unit, also houses 12 other terror suspects”[83]. When large amounts of terror suspects are put together, such as in the case of Guantonomo Bay, Cuba, terrorists begin to conspire with one another, and can effectively run sleeper cells from inside the concrete walls of prison. “The Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdul Rahman, was able to contribute to the WTC 1993 Bombing from inside of a non-disclosed prison in the USA (Colorado) because he was allowed to see visitors in which he laid down the proper plan to other terrorists”[84]. Belmarsh creates the environment for which detained terrorists can collaborate with each other. If one of the prisoners were to ever get out prematurely, then those individuals could possibly relay the messages on to current cells, thus perpetuating the cycle of information again.
Conclusion
Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “Islamic terrorists will be a serious threat to Britain for a long time to come” and “I can't tell how long this threat is going to last”[85]. From looking at all the dimensions of the Muslim population, the location and diversity of London, Islamic Mosques in London, the financial centre of London, Islamic Extremist groups in London, and the Counter-Terrorism legislations that the government has enacted, it is apparent why the Islamic Extremist movement in London has escaladed over the past decade. Although London enjoys the perks of being a tourist attraction, filled with the western culture narrative, London has emerged as a prime threat. The actions that London has taken have also caused other western countries, and their beloved cities, to be even more threatened. The other western countries now have to worry and monitor not only those countries that are plagued by Islamic Extremism, or harbor terrorists, but also accordingly they must “keep one eye open” toward London. As mentioned earlier, London has become the Headquarter for al Qaeda in Europe. Unfortunately, al Qaeda has grown today into the superpower that dictates and influences the actions and ideologies over most terrorist groups. Therefore, when a country is plagued by al Qaeda, it becomes forthright a country plagued by Islamic Extremist groups. “Therefore the greater the number of independent actors and centers of terrorist planning and operations, the more difficult the (counter-terrorism) mission becomes”[86]. Al Qaeda runs the show, which allows for smaller groups like Al-Muhajiroun to infiltrate into the London society almost undetected. The problem comes in once the Islamic Extremist groups have nestled themselves into a society, just as they have done in London. It becomes nearly impossible to rid average citizens of the terror they face. If any action is taken, it is seen as attacking civil liberties, and not the Islamic Extremists. The community of London, and the United Kingdom, is significantly smaller than the United States: major cities are closer together and information and people can be in physical contact more readily. This element allows for Islamic Extremist groups to build under the radar of Counter-Terrorism agencies watch eyes, ultimately becoming an effective group that uses terrorism as their method of political or religious violence. London has allowed for itself to warp into a society that cannot tackle a surge of Islamic Extremist groups that imbed themselves within a society. This problem was not caused by the July 7, 2005 London Bombings, or even by the 9/11 attacks, instead it was a problem that was not dealt with over two decades ago. Magnus Ranstorp, counter-terrorism expert from St. Andrews University, said, “The baseline anxiety level has been rising since 9/11 (in the UK)”[87]. For whatever reason, officials failed to listen to counter-terrorism experts that predicted the future because it simply “was not plausible for such a trend to unfold”. What London is facing is the same thing that the USA faced after 9/11. The 9/11 attacks were a culmination of mistakes made from decades prior. London is the present case for what went wrong years ago, and now consequences to those actions are being conveyed to the public alike. However, what separates London from other western countries is the simple fact that they have more to lose. London has positioned itself in the international community to a position in which they have financial control. If this is lost, then London and the United Kingdom will whither away like dust in the wind. No one can know for certain when this reign of terror will cease from existing, but until then, London must do everything it can, for they are the deciding factor for which pathway Islamic Extremism will take in the future.
-----------------------
[1]
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5]
[6]
[7] Price and Ibrahim, Arabs and Muslims. Pg. 127
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19] Ibid
[20] Ibid
[21]
[22] The Washington Quarterly: Spring 2006 pg. 122
[23] Ibid
[24] Ibid
[25] The National Interest: Spring 2006 #83 pg. 51
[26]
[27]
[28] Price and Ibrahim, Arabs and Muslims. Pg. 305
[29]
[30]
[31] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 60
[32] Ibid
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 62
[37]
[38] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 58
[39] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 136
[40] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 225
[41]
[42] Alexiev, Alex Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad's Stealthy Legions Pg. 2
[43] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 137
[44] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 107
[45] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 137
[46] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 54
[47] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 137
[48]
[49] Ibid
[50]
[51]
[52] Ibid
[53] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 136
[54] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 124
[55] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 130
[56]Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 138
[57]
[58] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 146
[59]
[60]
Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 66
[61] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 71
[62] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 71-72
[63]
[64]
[65]
[66]
[67] Napoleoni, Loretta Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks. Pg. 137
[68] Ibid
[69] Doyle, Neil; Terror Base UK: Inside a Secret War. Pg. 56
[70]
[71]
[72] Country Reports on Terrorism 2004. Pg. 55
[73] Country Reports on Terrorism 2004. Pg. 55
[74]
[75]
[76]
[77]
[78]
[79]
[80]
[81] Howard and Sawyer, Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Pg. 476
[82]
[83]
[84] Thompspn, Paul The Terror Timeline Pg. 8
[85]
[86] Howard and Sawyer, Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Pg. 475
[87]
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