This week the BBC revealed that it's leading charity organization,
called Children in Need unknowingly gave just under $40,000 to the
London bombers.
Two of the bombers, Mohammed Siddiq Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, were
running a bookshop in a Community School in Leeds, when the school and
bookshop received the grant, along with almost half a million more
dollars from the local council.
There appears to have been little or no oversight of what the two men
spent the money on, although one fellow worker at the bookshop claimed men
used the money, in part, for jihadi text books.
While reaction in the U.K. to this news has focused on the issue of
charity oversight, I think there are some important lessons for U.S.
policy-makers as they tackle Islamic radicalism overseas. Conventional
approaches are aimed at the mosques, and millions of dollars of
taxpayer's moneys in the Islamic world is being spent on moderating
the messages of Imams. One example is the new mosque building scheme
in Afghanistan or providing funds to religious ministry's for training imams.
But that's misguided, says Shiv Malik, a London-based journalist who
has closely covered the so-called British jihadi network. In this
instance, bomber Mohammed Siddiq Khan's was a social worker.
"Radicals in the West, and increasingly in the Middle East are turning
their backs on the sort of traditional Islamists thinking you find in
mosques. Being a social worker is a far more effective platform for
radicals like Khan. They get to shape their own message and pass it on
to hundreds of people," said Malik.
Mosques might seem like the obvious choice, but many mosques have
already turned their backs on extremists or have never moved beyond
their traditionalist message. Given the strong spotlight of attention
in the UK, most radicals have taken their message underground.
According to Malik, governments need to be more savvy. The UK's lock-
em-up approach has jailed dozens of suspected jihadi sympathizers, but
that's only a temporary solution, and prison is often where they meet
more serious al-Qaeda trained terrorists already behind bars.
"We need to get jihadists who have the respect of people on the
street, and who have seen the error of their ways, to reach out to the
younger generation, not send them to terror training school in
prison," said Malik.
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Comments (8)
Anonymous spews:
“For your info, the late Great Britain, France, Belgium & other Europeans, colonized the Middle East & the Far East for generations in the 19th & 20th centuries. The colonizers subjugated the local natives to servitude, and at the same time robbed those territories of its natural resources, treated them like 3rd class citizens.”
I get really tired of hearing the above accusations directed against European countries who colonized the Middle East for few decades during the twentieth Century. You never hear them complain about the Turkish enslavement of the Arab people for over four hundred years. That is because the Turks are believers in Allah and His Prophet and those others are not. At least those Europeans opened your societies to he World and built your modern infrastructures and modern state institutions. What have the Turks done to you and yours besides using your young men as fodders in their many wars of aggression and taxing you back into the Stone Age? The least you could do is be thankful to those who liberated you from a 400 years nightmare called Osmallis.
August 30, 2008 12:28 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 30, 2008 12:28
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August 28, 2008 2:33 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 28, 2008 14:33
For your info, the late Great Britain, France, Belgium & other Europeans, colonized the Middle East & the Far East for generations in the 19th & 20th centuries. The colonisers subjugated the local natives to servtitude, and at the same time robbed those territories of its natural resources, treated them like 3rd class citizens.
OHHNNNOOOO!!! WHAT A DRAMA!! AND ISLAMIC WARRIORS JUST MASSACRED THEM ALL BEFORE THEIR CHILDREN TOOK THE RULE..
August 27, 2008 4:19 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 27, 2008 04:19
It was the imams and now it is the social workers who are recruiting Jihadists. I think the West should severely limit or even stop immigration from countries known to harbor Islamists. Secondly any violent crime conviction of any immigrant should include deportation after serving their jail time. We have plenty homegrown criminals and we do not need to import more.
August 22, 2008 10:46 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 22, 2008 22:46
{ Idolator wrote:
Why are not Muslims thankful to the Brits for being able to migrate there and still have freedom of religion? They always have a choice to go back to their Islamic hotbeds!}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Idolator & the likes of it: One must track back to history to find out why is today the way it is.
For your info, the late Great Britain, France, Belgium & other Europeans, colonized the Middle East & the Far East for generations in the 19th & 20th centuries. The colonisers subjugated the local natives to servtitude, and at the same time robbed those territories of its natural resources, treated them like 3rd class citizens.
Eventually around the middle of the 20th century, the colonies gained their freedom & indepenance from their jailors. Many of these colonies ran into civil wars & turbulant times right after that, thanks to the Divide & Conquer policies of the British Fox. So, the elite & rich & educated locals started to emigrate from their countries to England, France, USA, etc...
So, all those immigrants OWE nothing to their previous tormentors; on the contrary, it is Britain, France & other Western countries OWE apologies & restitutions to the peoples of their previously colonized countries.
August 22, 2008 8:27 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 22, 2008 20:27
Not a single word from the Post on the NIST's fraudulent report on the collapse of WTC 7: have you no soul??? Do you actually care so little about human life that you continue to spout the same old lies about 9-11 and 7-7??? Where is the human dignity??? SHAME!!!!!
August 22, 2008 4:36 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 22, 2008 16:36
Have you yet to hear, 'Russia enters arms aggrement with Syria.' Cold war allies.
Israel has voiced concern.
Hemispherical boundry's are claimed.
A world in flux; a licence to kill vs. the right to defend.
The sky is a witness
August 21, 2008 11:55 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 21, 2008 23:55
No doubt Malik's observations are an important aspect of a larger effort to address the evolving threat of radical Islam in the West, but the obvious question is how to mobilize reformed radicals in an organic enough way that they do not appear as agents for a government agenda.
If many mosques have indeed turned their back on extremism, reformed Imams would seem to be the logical choice for reaching out to jihadists in their communities.
August 21, 2008 5:00 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on August 21, 2008 17:00