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| Drummer Lee Rigby R.I.P. |
This week has seen the
brutal murder of Lee Rigby, a
serving UK soldier, who was attacked and killed, whilst walking down the street
outside Woolwich Barracks, by two men with knives who were boldly proclaiming
their attack to be revenge for the deaths of
Muslims abroad. The immediate effect of this attack has been to highlight the dangers
of religious extremism and the violence it encourages, produces and condones,
with politicians and security services acknowledging that, in a free society,
it is
hard to prevent such
isolated incidents from occurring. With the radicalisation of British citizens
questions are being asked about how to prevent such attacks from happening again.
The vast majority of
British
Muslims, and indeed Muslims worldwide, are shocked and appalled by such
violence and it is as a diverse but united society that tensions and extremism
must be addressed. Whilst not lessening the brutality of this attack, or
justifying it, that the attackers are able to point to civilian deaths as a
result of the ‘war on terror’ should be noted. The UK and its allies are responsible
for civilian deaths abroad and that they are abroad does not lessen the human
suffering they cause. The shock and outrage, as well as the empathy for Lee
Rigby’s family and friends, caused by this incident will be mirrored elsewhere
when innocents die. If any good can come out of such a vile act such as this,
hopefully the public here will better understand what feelings are stirred by
such violence occurring somewhere which should be safe.
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| EDL Undercover faction |
We have also witnessed, despite the statements and actions
of the vast majority of Muslims, another reactionary type of extremism both online and on the streets, with the English Defence League (EDL) – a far right and often violent group whose
Facebook
page now has over 100000 likes – mobilising its supporters to ‘protest’
outside of Mosques and the British National Party (BNP) –a far right political party – calling for
deportation and days of ‘
national action.’ In the days since Lee Rigby’s murder there has been an increase in
attacks
on Muslims and mosques and many have noted an increase in bigotry, racism
and xenophobia appearing in their Facebook and Twitter feeds. Although I have
been fortunate enough to read many posts in my own Facebook feed from friends condemning
both violence and bigotry and celebrating the fact that their friends have not
resorted to posting such things, I have also been exposed to some very
reactionary and bigoted views from friends I would not have expected it from.
It appears that extremism feeds on extremism, with both extremes here reacting
to the other and using their actions as a recruiting device. Just as attacks
motivated by Islamic extremism undoubtedly help to recruit for the EDL and BNP,
the statements and ‘protests’ carried out by the BNP and the EDL make it far
easier for British Muslims to become radicalised online and by radical clerics.
Hate breeds hate.
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| Anonymous killer |
Coincidentally, this week has also seen President Obama
attempt to
justify
US drone strikes, which follows on from his recent restart of the push to
close
Guantanamo, as well as revelations about the
UK’s
role in rendition carried out by the CIA since 9/11 and the escalation of
the ‘war on terror.’ It was particularly interesting reading an article this
week attempting to justify the continuing use of drone strikes by the US on the
grounds that
civilian
deaths are falling. In isolation, and when far removed from the actual
realities of the drone strikes, this would appear to be a reasonable argument,
but, when you consider the effect that just one death can have on a population,
any continuing civilian deaths are likely to cause further radicalisation and
be the recruiting tool, and justification, for further violent attacks. Since the beginning of the ‘war on terror’ the UK and the US have used violence abroad to try and stop violence on home soil and this has fanned the flames of extremism by giving ever increasing numbers of people a reason to fear and hate the West. As we
have seen this week, violent attacks from one extreme fuel recruitment for, and
incidents from, another extreme. We have seen a rise in far right extremism, a rise in bigotry, a rise in xenophobia, a rise in fear and a rise in hatred. This is the result of one shocking and violent death. Imagine if we lived in constant fear of a drone strike, being able to hear them overhead and always wondering whether you, or someone you know, might be taken for a ‘
military-age
male in a strike zone’ and killed or snatched away to be ‘interrogated’ and
held in a foreign country without charge, trial, conviction or defence.
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| Radicalised LEGO |
Much is made of
the need for terrorism to be combated at home, and for work to be carried out
within the Muslim community to stop radicalisation, but this is only one part of the solution. The recruiting devices of extremist groups
and extremist clerics, both at home and abroad, are the very acts carried out on foreign soil which are
supposed to make us safer, and, for as long as they continue, people will be
radicalised and will want to perpetrate violence. The problem here is that, due
to the longevity of the ‘war on terror,’ there are Western troops on the ground
in largely Muslim states, a powerful symbol even when not engaged in fighting;
there are targets in numerous states, who are being attacked by drones; and
there are ever increasing numbers of radicalised Muslims who wish to attack the
US and the UK, therefore increasing the number of targets. With this being the
reality, it seems unlikely that the violence will stop long enough to stop
acting as a recruitment device. Considering this reality, it is likely that, in spite of
President Obama’s fine words about tackling ‘underlying
grievances and conflicts that feed extremism,’ we will continue to see an escalation of
extremism both at home and abroad as the ‘war on terror’ appears to be far from
over.
