Trends
Islamic State
Tags
Afghanistan, Conflict, Crime, History, Human rights, Law, Middle East, NATO, Politics, Religion, UK, USA, Violence
The Western public was graphically introduced to the brutality of the so-called Islamic State (IS) last summer when videos emerged of the beheadings of Westerners in Syria.
In each of the videos, the killer was a masked man with a strong
London accent. He was given the nickname ‘Jihadi John’
by the media.
Late last month, he was named as Kuwaiti-born Brit, Mohammed
Emwazi, a 26 year-old computing graduate from a well-to-do middle
class family.
An article in the Washington Post cited Asim
Qureshi from CAGE as one of the sources indicating Emwazi was
indeed the IS executioner. CAGE is the most prominent group
advocating for terrorism suspects in the UK. It started in
response to the US-led ‘War on Terror’ and one of their
most prominent leaders, Moazzem Begg, was released from
Guantanamo Bay in 2005 after being caught in Afghanistan
following the US invasion.
On the day of the revelations, they held a press conference to
discuss the revelations. The message from CAGE and from Qureshi
in particular, seemed to be that radicalization was solely down
to foreign and domestic policy, and that alone created
‘Jihadi John’ and many like him. “When are we going
to finally learn that when we treat people as if they’re
outsiders, they are going to feel like outsiders and they will
look for belonging elsewhere?” asked Qureshi. His comments
sparked a furious response and, predictably, were seized upon by
Islamophobes to further their own agenda.
UK policy certainly has aided the rise of extremist groups like
IS but not in the way Qureshi would have you believe.
On the domestic policy front, the power of his argument was
severely diminished by the attendance of the person sitting just
next to him, Cerie Kaleem Bullivant. A convert to Islam, Cerie
was harassed, interrogated and put under house arrest by the
British state. His life was made hell and his mother became
seriously unwell in that time. This writer previously interviewed
him as part of a report into the government’s controversial
PREVENT counter-terror program. He’s a nice, polite and engaging
man. Unlike ‘Jihadi John’, however, he isn’t running
around Syria cutting people’s heads off for the caliph.
This isn’t to say PREVENT, The Counter Terrorism and Security
Bill, Section 7 and other pieces of UK legislation aren’t
egregious violations of basic human rights.
The number of innocent Muslims caught up in the consequences of
these policies runs into the tens of thousands, if not more. If
anything the argument forwarded by Qureshi endangers those who
have been caught up in the UK state’s cross-hairs, as it frames
them as ticking time bombs. It is also ignore multiple other
factors and steps between government harassment and a position as
the Caliphate’s beheader-in-chief.
As for foreign policy, it certainly has contributed to the rise
of IS and other extremist groups but not just in the way Qureshi
perhaps meant. It seems Western and, in particular, UK policy
isn’t an issue for CAGE when it comes to Kosovo, Libya and Syria.
Afghanistan in the 80s was also fine dandy when the CIA was
arming the ‘Mujahedeen’ to fight the Soviet occupation. Begg was
violently involved in at least two of these conflicts. These
Western-led or supported wars all aligned very neatly with the
interests of the groups and individuals CAGE supports.
In Libya and Syria, the West and its allies worked hand in hand
with extremist groups on the ground in order to overthrow Muammar
Gaddafi and attempt the same against Syrian President Bashar
Assad. The destruction of those countries has created the perfect
conditions for terrorism to grow for decades to come. In stark
contrast to the usual (and more credible) argument that Western
invasions of Muslim countries like Iraq leads to radicalization,
some have even argued that young Muslims are joining IS and
al-Qaeda precisely because the West hadn’t actually bombed the
Syrian government.
Qureshi and the Post article talk about how Emwazi was detained
as he went to Tanzania for a safari trip with friends. MI5 feared
he might end up in Somalia fighting for Al Shabab and had
Tanzania detain him for a night. As he returned to the UK, he was
stopped and interviewed in Amsterdam. His personal life was
disrupted and it is alleged the British state ruined his
prospects of marriage on more than one occasion. Either way
nothing can justify his crimes and those of other extremists
which have overwhelmingly targeted other Muslims. Thousands of people
have been subjected to the same treatment by British intelligence
and haven’t responded by destroying countless lives as part of a
supremacist group.
Regardless, the initial suspicions about Emwazi’s ties to Al
Shabab may not have been so off the mark. UK court documents said
that Emwazi was associated with a British group linked to the Al
Shabab militant group and, according to the Post, captives held
by ‘Jihadi John’ have said he had a fascination with the conflict
in Somalia and made them watch Al Shabab propaganda videos.
In a quite nauseating moment during the press conference, Qureshi
almost broke down in tears as he described what a wonderful
man the Emwazi he knew was. Placing absolutely none of the blame
on Emwazi himself, Qureshi ignored several other factors which
have contributed to the rise of IS, Boko Haram and other
extremist groups in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The
foremost of these is the ideology which underpins these groups.
They adhere to a form of Salafism which places the
re-establishment of the Caliphate at its centre. IS claim to have
realized this dream and are attracting thousands of young
Salafist men from around the world.
READ MORE: Jihadi John: A profile of the world’s
most wanted Islamist
The link between Western and Gulf governments has also helped
create the perfect atmosphere for the rise of violent extremism.
Despite receiving millions of dollars from within the Saudi and
Gulf kingdoms, not to mention the numerous Gulf-funded websites
and satellite channels which pump out extreme
Salafist views, groups like IS retain the goal of eventually
overthrowing the Kings and Sheikhs there in order to expand their
Caliphate. The Monarchs’ policy of exporting this terror to Iraq,
Syria and anywhere else but home will one day come back to bite
them. Yet the invites to tea with the Queen and the British Prime
Minister continue to flow, as do the arms deals. This needs to be
addressed but won’t be.
Qureshi makes out as if the trend of young men from the West
travelling abroad to fight for terrorist groups only arose after
the 7/7 bombings led to the British state’s assault on civil
liberties. The fact is that this trend precedes the current
British security situation. In the early 90s, the intelligence
agencies looked the other way as Salafi extremists travelled to
fight ‘Jihad’ all over the world what was considered an informal
‘covenant of security’. In return, those men were not to
launch attacks on UK soil. Much like the Gulf nations, they hoped
to export the terrorism problem elsewhere.
The problem of terrorism is complex and many parties share the
blame. Until this is acknowledged then CAGE’s narrative is simply
untenable.
Eisa Ali, RT UK’s
correspondent in London. (Twitter: @EisaAli_RT)
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.