With friends who reside in the U.K. many of them shared with me their thoughts on the attack yesterday. For the most part they shared this point: "It was bound to happen, it was only a matter of time."
The first thought I had was because of England's support of the U.S. in the Iraq war, which would be true as we have seen by statements issued by these thugs. But beyond that what they were actually referring to was the opinion that many Britians hold, that their country is a haven for Radical Islamic groups and has been for years.
Here is an exerpt of a paper written in October of 2001, by Colonel (Res.) Jonathan Fighel, ICT Researcher and Intelligence Analyst on the subject:
"On 23 February 1998, a statement appeared in the London-based Arabic Newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi calling on all Muslims to kill Americans. The statement, published by Osama Bin Laden and his associates, purports to be a religious ruling, or fatwa, against the “Crusaders and Jews,” whether civilian or military (see Appendix). This document is part of the evidence that links the bin Laden network to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
It is not by chance that this fatwa was first published in England, where its publication was protected by democratic rights and freedom of speech. This is only one more example of the cynical exploitation of the freedoms of Western civilization by radical Islamists for the advancement of their extremist goals, including the abolition of those very freedoms. In order to launch their Jihad against the “Infidels” of the West, the Islamists have established a kind of forward base among their enemies, operating under the protective umbrella of democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech and religion. The U.K. has thus become a safe haven for the launching of Jihad against the rest of the Western world."
Zacarias Moussaoui, currently detained in New York on immigration-law violations, may have intended to become the 20th hijacker in the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He was arrested two weeks before the attacks. Moussaoui’s brother Abd Samad Moussaoui says Zacarias once loved America. Speaking to CBS news in the south of France on 3 October 2001, Abd Samad said that his brother “once loved everything about America, including blue jeans and Bruce Springsteen.” However, he came to hate the U.S. after joining a radical Islamic group in London that brainwashed him. [CBS 48 Hours, 3 October 2001]"
The artical goes on to describe some of the radical Islamic groups known to operate freely in the UK at the time, as well as a copy of the Fatwa.
Today in a Cybercast News Service report, it doesn't look like much has changed, although after September 11th, Britain began to act against some of the groups and their leaders.
"Terrorism experts have long warned that Islamists espousing violence enjoy a haven in London, an assertion that has come into sharp focus again with Thursday's bombings in the British capital.
For years, Britain tolerated the presence of high-profile and outspoken Islamic clerics whose fiery sermons frequently extolled jihad against the West. Since 9/11, however, anti-terror legislation has been tightened, some groups have been outlawed, terror rings have been broken and some controversial figures have been arrested."
That's a good start but much more has to be done if Britain is to avoid these attacks in the future. Britian still has many such groups and it will be interesting to see how fast they are rounded up.
It is important to note that among Britain's Muslim population there seems to be a wide ideological distance between themselves and the radical sects.
In this article, published three months ago, it reports the result of a survey that was taken by Guardian/ICM poll on British Muslims.
Specific results:
Opposition To Al-Qaeda
The ICM survey also showed that the overwhelming majority of the 1.6 million British Muslims - 73% - are firmly opposing Al-Qaeda network."
That of course leaves 27% that you have to infer that are either don't care, slightly opposed or support Al-Qaeda.
Yet, 73% is a good number. However:
"13 percent, however, believed that any future Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States would be justified."
One wonders if that sentiment is the same for England?
Britain got a wake up call on July 7th. It has done some work in clamping down on these groups but there is much more work to be done. Perhaps now, though I wish it hadn't taken this tragedy to motivate them, they will complete the job.
Yet at this point I'm sadly only slightly optimistic. Let's hope I'm wrong.
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