United Kingdom and Radicalistion.

ppgj

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Radicalisation of U.K. campuses

Hasan Suroor, January 5, 2010


WRONG EDUCATION: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Abdulmutallab’s London connection has strengthened the Right wing’s call for a crackdown on campus radicalism.

What is it about London and Muslim extremists? It is perhaps the only major western capital which finds itself so frequently linked to Islamist radicals. No matter where in the world — from Mumbai to Detroit — a terror attack takes place or a terror suspect is caught, more often than not it turns up a London “connection”.

Indeed, Britain has become so notorious for its reputation as a safe haven for the radical flotsam and jetsam of the world that whenever a plot is uncovered intelligence agencies instinctively look for a link with London, dubbed “Londonistan” to rhyme with such hotbeds of extremism as Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The revelation that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian youth who attempted to blow up an American airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day, spent three years at a London university where he allegedly dabbled in extremist propaganda has reignited the row over the so-called “Islamisation” of British campuses with the government being accused of not doing enough to tackle the problem.

It has emerged that during his time at the University College London, Abdulmutallab was president of the Islamic Society whose branches in various institutions are often controlled by radical groups, notably Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) that calls for the establishment of a worldwide Islamic state and some of whose ex-members are said to have gone on to become militant jihadis. It has been claimed that he is the fourth president of a university Islamic Society to face terror charges.

Lately, a number of former HuT activists — now supposedly “reformed” — have come in from the cold to give an “insider’s” account of outfit’s activities and presence on British campuses. They include Ed Husain who has written a best-selling book, The Islamist, on the subject and now heads a high-profile think-tank that advises the government on “de-radicalisation” strategies.

Radicalisation of British universities has become a major political issue in recent years. Three months after the July 2005 London bombings, Professor Anthony Glees, a Right-wing academic, published a rather alarmist report sensationally titled When Students Turn to Terror in which he named more than 30 universities where, he claimed, “extremist and/or terror groups” operated. Within months, the government issued guidelines to universities advising them to “vet” students for extremist tendencies, identify potential jihadis and report them to security agencies. However, it was forced to tone down the advice after academics protested that it amounted to asking them to “spy” on their own students.

The Right has seized the botched Detroit plot to demand that the old guidelines be revived and strictly implemented, and to attack universities which accept funding from “Arabic and Islamic sources” (as one self-styled “Islamic specialist” put it) for setting up centres of Islamic studies. “Reformed” radicals, fired by the zeal of a “new mullah”, have joined calls for strict “policing” of campuses and warned that otherwise “we will see more Umar Farouk Abdulmutallabs.”

Writing in this week’s Observer, a former senior member of HuT, Rashad Ali, painted an alarming picture of how extremist groups have penetrated universities through organisations like the Islamic Society.

“When I was involved with Hizb, we controlled the Islamic Society of Sheffield Hallam University for several years, as well as running the society in Bradford University and Birmingham University. We were full-time activists dedicated to fomenting dissent, anti-western feelings and nurturing those who we believed could help to advance our cause,” he wrote accusing universities of being in denial about the “level of radicalisation” taking place on campuses.

Post-Detroit, there have been renewed calls for a ban on HuT and other similar organisations. But there are those who sensibly argue that banning religious or cultural groups, no matter how toxic their views, goes against the very idea of free debate associated with campus tradition. Besides, a ban would simply drive such groups underground and make it more difficult to monitor them.

Outlawing a group simply because of its views is seen as the first step towards a slippery slope that can only lead to turning universities into cantonments. Historically, universities have been battlegrounds for competing ideas and worldviews; and, occasionally, things may have gone wrong but as John Sutherland, Emeritus Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London (yes, the same college that Abdulmutallab attended) says, British universities have “usually got it right.” Important campaigns against fascism and war, for example, have come out of the tradition of free speech on university campuses.

In an article in The Times, Prof. Sutherland argued that universities had to take “risks” and tolerate “radical and dissident elements” in their midst. He warned against knee-jerk reactions and urged university administrators to “keep a cool head” when faced with demands for “drastic” measures.

The question they must ask themselves, he said, was: “At what point must institutional tolerance give way to heavy-handed control? And if you ban the Islamic Society, do you also ban the Jewish Society, or the female students’ consciousness-raising groups? At what point does militancy — never in itself a bad thing in a young student — become signing up to terrorism?”

Increasingly, however, sane voices such as those of Prof. Sutherland’s are being drowned by shrill calls for a “crackdown” and there is a real danger that campuses could soon turn into “cantonments.” All it will take is one more HuT/al-Qaeda-inspired atrocity with a London connection.

The Hindu : Columns / Hasan Suroor : Radicalisation of U.K. campuses
 

ppgj

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January 7, 2010

Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab charged

Times Online

The Nigerian accused of the failed Christmas Day airplane bomb plot was charged on Wednesday with attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, tried to destroy the Detroit bound plane by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear.

The bomb was designed to detonate "at a time of his choosing," the grand jury's indictment said.

While there is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction is a terrorism charge in the United States.

the charge comes as the Los Angeles Times reported that U.S. border security officials learned of Mr Abdulmutallab's alleged extremist links while he was en route to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed.

A federal database noted State Department concern that Abdulmutallab may have been involved with extremism in Yemen and officials decided to interview him when he arrived in the U.S., a senior official told the Times.

The newspaper said it is not clear whether the intelligence was strong enough for Dutch officials to stop Mr Abdulmutallab from flying had they learned of it before the flight's departure.

Abdulmutallab faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a bomb on the plane.

"Short of actual murder, these are some of the most serious charges in the criminal code," said Lloyd Meyer, a former terrorism prosecutor at U.S. war crimes tribunals at the Guantanamo Bay prison. "These charges are tailored to the facts of what happened over the sky in Detroit," he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6978736.ece
 

mattster

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This article about the radicalization of UK campuses is so true.

It was true even 25 years ago when I saw my moderate Muslim friends in Malaysia who were liberal in their thinking come back after 4 years in the UK with the faces covered, beards and even turbans. Their personalities were completely changed as well and they did not associate with non-Muslims as easily anymore.

It has gotten progressively worse. It seems like the UK and London especially has become a cesspool where the worst elements of Islamic fundamentalist groups converge and exchange ideas and indoctrinate others.

It is not just limited to universities but they seem to be the root of this.

Given the recent profiling to prevent terrorism at US airports of passengers from some high-risk countries, it is amazing to me that the UK is not on this list.

People from the UK or who studied in the UK should be the first people to be profiled when travelling to the US.
 

sky

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This article about the radicalization of UK campuses is so true.

It was true even 25 years ago when I saw my moderate Muslim friends in Malaysia who were liberal in their thinking come back after 4 years in the UK with the faces covered, beards and even turbans. Their personalities were completely changed as well and they did not associate with non-Muslims as easily anymore.

It has gotten progressively worse. It seems like the UK and London especially has become a cesspool where the worst elements of Islamic fundamentalist groups converge and exchange ideas and indoctrinate others.

It is not just limited to universities but they seem to be the root of this.

Given the recent profiling to prevent terrorism at US airports of passengers from some high-risk countries, it is amazing to me that the UK is not on this list.

People from the UK or who studied in the UK should be the first people to be profiled when travelling to the US.

When you say people from the uk should be the first to be profiled when travelling to the us,do you mean all uk citizens or all muslims.I say this because muslims make up about 5% percent of the uk population.

I'm a hindu and if the us started that i would never travel there,screw america.The uk government started letting in lot's of arab imam's into the uk to fill up a shortage in preacher's.This was to help out the islamic community,boy was this a big mistake.

The mess we now find our selfs in is because of that,pakistani imams were in the uk for at least 20 years before the arab ones arrived .We never had any problems before,but now we do.

Please also remember the us was happy to encourage the pakistanis to radicalize its own people to win the afghan war.You reap what you sow and america is just as guilty as the uk .

By the way was it a us citizen who was arrested a few weeks ago ,who was going bring terror to india.May be india should profile all americans.
 

ppgj

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7-yr-olds groomed as suicide bombers

PTI, 11 January 2010, 12:29am IST

LONDON: A number of children in Britain, as young as seven, are being groomed by jihadists as potential “terrorists” and “suicide bombers”, a media report said on Sunday.

According to The Telegraph, UK police have identified at least 10 primary school students, aged between seven and 10, who are at risk of being radicalised and turning to violence.

Some have taken inspiration from jihadi websites or after viewing extremist material in Islamic bookshops; and one child was even referred to the programme by his teacher after writing on a school book: “I want to be a suicide bomber.”

Others were identified by their parents after suddenly adopting traditional Muslim dress or espousing extremist views, the report said.

In fact, 228 people in total, mostly teenagers and young men aged 15-24, have been referred to the anti-terrorism Channel project, a government outreach programme, after being singled out as “potentially vulnerable to violent extremism”, the newspaper said.

“For people to be identified have to be distinct changes in behaviour and warning signs. We assess each one on its own merits. There is a very small number of children aged seven, eight and nine.

“The programme is not appropriate for people who are dangerous or have passed over into violent extremism. The whole purpose is to persuade,” Craig Denholm, deputy chief constable of Surrey police, who oversees the programme, said.

7-yr-olds groomed as suicide bombers - UK - World - The Times of India
 

ppgj

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Spy agency’s monitoring intended to weed out fledgling terrorists

UK universities come under MI6 scanner

London:pTI

Britain’s spy agency MI6 is said to be keeping a close watch on varsities in a bid to weed out fledgling terrorists, following revelation that Christmas Day bomb plot suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was 'radicalised' while studying at the University College, London.

An unnamed university source told “Sunday Express” newspaper: “MI6 agents used to come in once at the beginning of the academic year to ask about students from potentially “difficult” countries.

“They would want to know where they lived, and the accommodation officers had to be sure that if the students shifted to another place, the change of address was recorded and forwarded onto the relevant security services.

“In recent months, they have upped those visits in some cases to twice a month where they think there could be problems brewing with radicalisation of students.”

At least five campuses are under special watch — University College London, Brunel University in west London, Bedfordshire University in Luton, Sheffield Hallam University and Manchester Metropolitan University, the newspaper said.

In fact, MI6 officers have been frequently visiting the varsity campuses and are advising lecturers and tutors on how to spot extremists who might be using colleges as recruiting grounds and how to “profile” the would-be radicals so they can spot those most likely to drift into extremism.

Students from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Egypt have long been unofficially monitored by university staff in charge of allocating accommodation.

One source said: “Funnily enough, they were all sponsored by their governments and none of them over here were studying English, it was all nuclear physics and engineering. Their addresses were kept a close eye on and if they moved they had to tell us and we would pass on the information to the appropriate authorities.”

The MI6 guidance directs staff to watch closely vulnerable first-year students, who may be lonely and missing family, and therefore at most risk from the grooming techniques used by militant recruiters.

Additional support for students has also been put in place so that they have someone to turn to if they’re approached by radicals, while moderate imams have been recruited to universities where insurgents have been known to operate, the report said.

‘Kids being groomed as terrorists’

A number of children in Britain, as young as seven, are being groomed by jihadists as potential “terrorists” and “suicide bombers”, reports PTI from London, quoting a media report on Sunday. According to “The Sunday Times”, the British police have identified at least 10 primary school students, aged between seven and 10, who are at the risk of being radicalised and turning to violence.Some have taken inspiration from jihadi websites or after viewing extremist material in bookshops.

Other youngsters were identified by their parents after suddenly adopting traditional Muslim dress or espousing extremist views, the report said.

In fact, 228 people in total, mostly teenagers and young men aged between 15 and 24 years, have been referred to the anti-terrorism Channel project, a government outreach programme, after being singled out as “potentially vulnerable to violent extremism”, the newspaper said.

UK universities come under MI6 scanner
 

mattster

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When you say people from the uk should be the first to be profiled when travelling to the us,do you mean all uk citizens or all muslims.I say this because muslims make up about 5% percent of the uk population.

I'm a hindu and if the us started that i would never travel there,screw america.The uk government started letting in lot's of arab imam's into the uk to fill up a shortage in preacher's.This was to help out the islamic community,boy was this a big mistake.

The mess we now find our selfs in is because of that,pakistani imams were in the uk for at least 20 years before the arab ones arrived .We never had any problems before,but now we do.

Please also remember the us was happy to encourage the pakistanis to radicalize its own people to win the afghan war.You reap what you sow and america is just as guilty as the uk .

By the way was it a us citizen who was arrested a few weeks ago ,who was going bring terror to india.May be india should profile all americans.

Profiling is a horrible last resort. But as far as the UK is concerned, yes I think that they should profile Muslims from the UK especially those who are Converts and of Pakistani/Arab/African origin. The converts are the ones who should receive the most attention.

I would not waste too much time profiling Muslims from the UK whose ethnic origin is from countries like Iran, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, etc.

Even though though profiling is a terrible option, at this point I dont think that the US has any other choice. The Brits have no one to blame for this except themselves. They have allowed too many radical Islamist nut cases to make London their base for far too long.

As for the US/Saudi/Pak involvement in the Afghan War.....Yes I admit it was a collossal mistake and the US and Pak are both paying the price for it.

But this happened 40 years ago, how long are the Pakistanis going to milk this story as an excuse for everything that is wrong with Pak. What happened to Pak is as much a product of their own choices.
 

Calanen

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Profiling is a horrible last resort. But as far as the UK is concerned, yes I think that they should profile Muslims from the UK especially those who are Converts and of Pakistani/Arab/African origin. The converts are the ones who should receive the most attention.

I would not waste too much time profiling Muslims from the UK whose ethnic origin is from countries like Iran, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, etc.
Because of course we know, there is no common connection and profiling would just be intolerant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd8cRvZZv44
 

ppgj

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Britain moves to ban Muslim group

January 12, 2010 -- Updated 1137 GMT (1937 HKT)


UK bans Muslim group

London, England (CNN) -- A controversial Muslim group planning to stage an anti-war march through a town that receives British war dead will be banned in the UK from Thursday.

British Home Secretary Alan Johnson prepared an order Tuesday proscribing Al-Muhajiroun, also known as Islam4UK.

"Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly," Johnson said in a statement.

Al-Muhajiroun is already banned under two other names in the Terrorism Act 2000 -- Al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect. Johnson said the ban would now also apply to "a number" of the other names the group goes by.

The proscription does not need approval by Parliament, because it is considered an amendment to the act, said the Home Office spokeswoman, who did not give her name in line with policy.

"We are clear that an organization should not be able to circumvent proscription by simply changing its name," Johnson said.

The ban would prevent Al-Muhajiroun from having meetings or raising money, and it would make attending a meeting or being a member of the group a crime.

The group's leader, controversial British Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, had threatened to stage a march in the town of Wootton Bassett as a protest against the war in Afghanistan.

Choudary said Sunday, after news of Johnson's plans, that the Home Office could not shut him down.

"We're not going to stop because the government bans an organization," he told CNN by phone. "If that means setting up another platform under another label, then so be it."

A ban "will just make the use of those names ... illegal. But Muslims everywhere are obliged to work collectively to establish the Islamic state and sharia law in the UK or wherever they are -- those things can't change," he added.

The bodies of British war dead are traditionally brought to Wootton Bassett, near a Royal Air Force base, when they are returned to the country.

Relatives and friends line the streets of the town along with local residents as hearses carry the flag-draped British remains, in scenes of public mourning widely reported by British media.

Choudary's proposal to march empty coffins through the streets drew fury and outrage.

The Home Office had said the march would be illegal if the group were banned, but the decision to proscribe the group was not caused only by its plans for the march, the Home Office said.

Choudary has never announced a date for his march and area police said he had not contacted them about it, as march organizers are required to do beforehand.

The Terrorism Act 2000 gives the home secretary the power to ban groups if the punishment is "proportionate and based on evidence that a group is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000," according to the Home Office.

According to the law, groups can be banned if they commit or participate in terrorism; prepare for terrorism; or promote or encourage terrorism. The home secretary can also take into account factors such as specific threats posed to the United Kingdom or British nationals overseas, and the extent of the group's presence in the United Kingdom.

Britain moves to ban Muslim group - CNN.com
 

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