September 2, 2008
British Ignore Jihad and Islamic Supremacism to Their Peril: (Part One of Two)
In the global war against Jihad, the United Kingdom is a key battlefield of vital importance to American national security. British Jihadists have planned or attempted three mass casualty terrorist attacks on the United States homeland - led by Dhiren Barot, Richard Reid, and a team of Jihadists who sought to target transatlantic jets from UK to Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The national security debates over American homeland security must not lose sight of the continuing threat of Islamic supremacists in the United Kingdom to the United States and other nations.
But the past several weeks have shown a willingness of British government agencies to ignore the basis behind such Jihadist threats. This has been seen in the recent MI5 report that states that Jihadists are not “religious zealots” and that there is “no single pathway” to Jihad, ignoring the ideology of Islamic supremacism. This has also been seen in the British Home Office’s inconsistencies in trying to discredit al Qaeda, while promoting an individual who calls for Jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel. Such combined denial and inconsistencies should be troubling to Americans.
On further inspection, these actions are part of a larger challenge for the British government and for American national security in honestly addressing and confronting the Islamic supremacist ideology behind Jihad. Recent studies have shown that many young British Muslims continue to believe violence is justified by religion, and over the past several months, some Americans have finally seen excerpts from videotapes from British Jihadists in the August 2006 transatlantic jet terror plot - where such Britons justify their actions based on an Islamic Jihad against America.
The British government will not recognize the terms “Jihad” or “Islamist terrorist,” and claims that it has a “counter-radicalization” process in place to discourage “extremism” and the use of violence. British “counter-radicalization” tactics fail to identify an ideology that such “extremists” embrace, making such tactics of questionable value at best. America should rightly be skeptical of such British “counter-radicalization” tactics, given the long history of British tolerance and appeasement of Islamic supremacists, both before and after 9/11. Instead, such British “counter-radicalization” tactics are being promoted in the United States, and being recommended by American analysts to our policy makers, military, and legislators.
Islamic supremacism in the United Kingdom is not just a British problem. It remains a near and present threat to America’s national security and the security of our allies. Furthermore, as British tactics are being promoted to be used in the United States as well, such tactics must be examined in the larger war of ideas against Jihad and Islamic supremacism. As the British Channel 4 Dispatches documentary “Undercover Mosques-The Return” will show, Islamic supremacist preaching continues in British mosques thought to be “dedicated to moderation;" the UK Guardian, Daily Telegraph, London Times, Daily Mail all have reports on such Islamic supremacist hatred, segregationist views, and calls to violence being taught in mosque preaching to adults and children. This is the same Islamic supremacism and hatred revealed in the Channel 4’s previous documentary “Undercover Mosques.” It is clear that the war of ideas is being lost in the key battlefield of the United Kingdom, because the British government and its leaders refuse to acknowledge who and what the enemy ideology of Islamic supremacism is. Americans must not only learn lessons from their shortcomings for our own national security, we also must not repeat such British mistakes ourselves.
On the following pages, I have summarized the challenge at multiple levels of the British government, the impact of refusing to understand the supremacist nature of the Jihadist ideology we face, and the political blinders that keep many British leaders (and increasingly American leaders) from recognizing that there is no way to compromise with Islamic supremacism. Ultimately, like any supremacist ideology, as shown in America’s history in fighting white supremacism in the 20th century, we must declare a confrontational war of ideas at every level to combat Islamic supremacism. I have divided this analysis into the following major topics:
1. British Home Office’s RICU Seeks to Discredit al Qaeda, But Not Jihad
After the July 7, 2005 London transit bombings, the Research, Information and Communication Unit (RICU) was created in 2007 to support the United Kingdom Home Office, Communities and Local Government, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The goal of RICU was to help win the “hearts and minds” of British Muslims by communicating messages that would resonate with Muslims and counter messages by al Qaeda as part of a “counter-radicalization” campaign. To that end, in February 2008, RICU issued a guide for UK ministers and civil servants where Jihadists were rebranded as “criminals,” and terms such as Islamist extremism and jihadist were no longer to be used to avoid offending British Muslims. The guide states: "[t]his is not about political correctness, but effectiveness - evidence shows that people stop listening if they think you are attacking them.” That same month, the UK Association of Chief Police Officers announced that British police would be trained on Islamic faith and culture, including the importance of the Qur’an and Sharia law to Muslims.
On August 26, 2008, the Guardian reported on another RICU initiative, this time to discredit al Qaeda among news media and web sites, and spread RICU’s messages both in the United Kingdom and in other countries. The Guardian report also states that British Home Office’s RICU seeks to “exploit new media websites and outlets with a proposal to ‘channel messages through volunteers in internet forums’ as part of their campaign.” (Another Guardian report also states that RICU’s efforts will not “dismiss [Islamic] ‘grievances’.”) Given that the UK Security Minister, the former UK PM’s chief of staff, and Sir Hugh Orde have all called for some type of talks with al Qaeda, RICU’s efforts to condemn al Qaeda are certainly welcome.
However, RICU’s reported campaign to discredit al Qaeda promotes a documented defender of Jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel - Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, also known as Dr. Fadl. The Guardian report states that RICU’s “first dossier of material being despatched to diplomatic posts worldwide cites condemnation of al-Qaida from Sayyid Imam al-Sharif aka Dr Fadi [sic], a former leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad.” The thrust of Al-Sharif’s “renunciation” of Al-Qaeda was focused on arguing against killing other Muslims and individuals who are deemed to be “innocent” (a term Jihadists interpret based on their opinions).
In the July 13, 2008 Guardian/Observer article by Lawrence Wright on Al-Sharif, key facts about Al-Sharif’s continuing support for Jihad were pointed out:
“Fadl [aka Al-Sharif] does not condemn all jihadist activity, however. ‘Jihad in Afghanistan will lead to the creation of an Islamic state with the triumph of the Taliban, God willing,’ he declares. The jihads in Iraq and Palestine are more problematic. As Fadl sees it, ‘If it were not for the jihad in Palestine, the Jews would have crept toward the neighbouring countries a long time ago.’”
“Speaking of Iraq, he [Al-Sharif] notes that without the jihad there, ‘America would have moved into Syria.’”
It could be considered outrageous that a pro-Afghanistan Jihad supporter such as Al-Sharif would be promoted by the British Home Office’s RICU as a method of “discrediting” Al-Qaeda while British troops are under fire in Afghanistan from the Taliban, until it is understood that the UK Defense Secretary himself also calls for negotiations with the Taliban, and that MI6 has actually met with Taliban members for such negotiations. This underscores the challenges in foreign policy and counterterrorism strategy with the British government which largely views terrorist groups as the Taliban as regional issues that can be dealt with by political engagement (despite the Taliban’s history and stated goals of transnational terrorism). The result is a narrow ideological debate only with those transnational Jihadists that UK government officials believe are a likely near-term threat to the UK homeland, such as al Qaeda, while refusing to confront Jihad itself or its ideological basis in Islamic supremacism.
In addition, RICU’s anti-al Qaeda campaign reportedly also “notes that groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are now keen to distance themselves from al-Qaida.” This is not RICU condemning Hamas and Hezbollah, but stating how different they are from al Qaeda. The important context for American audiences is that the Hamas and Hezbollah Islamic supremacist terror groups have significant support and a history of tolerance within the United Kingdom.
Hamas is not part of the “UK Proscribed Terrorist Groups” listing; the British government merely “boycotts” negotiations with them. In August 2003, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the British charity Interpal for providing funds for the Hamas terrorist group. Yet Interpal operates legally in the UK, and qualifies for tax-deductions. (In America, funding the Hamas terrorist group is a crime, as seen per the Holy Land Foundation’s upcoming September 8, 2008 Hamas terror funding trial.) Hamas supporters openly speak on British television shows and at conferences. In September 2006, Britons Omar Sharif and Shmuel Cohen reportedly “were the first foreign nationals used by the Palestinian group Hamas to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel.” The revelations of efforts by failed British suicide bomber Omar Sharif for Hamas has not changed support for Hamas among individuals, members of government, and groups in the United Kingdom. In December 2006, British MP George Galloway publicly sought to direct donations to the Hamas-front British charity Interpal. British author Adrian Morgan has written a two-part series on “How Britain Helps Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood” (part one, part two); other articles by Adrian Morgan on UK Jihad can also be found at Family Security Matters.
Regarding Hezbollah, the British Home Office finally recommended in July 2008 that Hezbollah’s military arm be designated on its proscribed terrorist listing (due to its involvement in Iraq), although this “does not apply to Hezbollah’s political or social activities.” Six months ago, the UK Defense Secretary called for British negotiations with Hezbollah. In December 2007, the British Home Office allowed Lebanese Ibrahim Moussawi, an editor of Hezbollah’s newspaper and former Hezbollah Al-Manar television editor, to attend a “peace conference” where he promoted Hezbollah as a “social network that helps children and the elderly.” Moussawi’s promotion of Hezbollah was not limited to just one “peace conference,” but he went on a speaking tour promoting Hezbollah throughout the United Kingdom at rallies in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Norwich, Cambridge, and Cardiff. Moussawi worked for the same Hezbollah Al-Manar television station (banned in the United States and France), which serves as the propaganda arm for the Hezbollah Islamic supremacist terrorist group, and which calls the 9/11 attacks a Zionist conspiracy and promotes the Nazi anti-semitic propaganda “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.”
The British Home Office has tolerated its employees’ involvement with Islamic supremacist organizations. In November 2006, it was discovered that a member of the Home Office staff, Abid Javaid, was a member of the Islamic supremacist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. Yet the British Home Office was reportedly not concerned about the revelation of this member of Hizb ut-Tahrir on their staff, telling the Daily Mail that Home Office members are not asked about such memberships; the Daily Mail further reported that “Home Office staff are free to be members of the Islamic extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a group that calls for the creation of a global Islamic caliphate enforcing Sharia law, and that regularly denounces democracy and pluralistic values. Hizb ut-Tahrir refused to explicitly condemn the July 7, 2005 London transit bombings, hiding behind an ambiguous definition of “innocence” commonly used by Islamic supremacists, stating “the rules of Islam do not allow the harming of innocent civilians,” while Hizb ut-Tahrir’s spokesman said that he would “condemn what happened in London only after there is the promise from Western leaders to condemn what they have done in Falluja and other parts of Iraq and in Afghanistan.” Hizb ut-Tahrir’s protestation after the July 7th bombings was focused on questioning the “accusations” that any Jihadist suicide bombers were involved. The Daily Mail also has reported that Hizb ut-Tahrir have distributed pamphlets calling for the destruction of Israel and for Jews to be murdered. After the July 2007 car bombings in London and Glasgow, the London Times and Daily Telegraph reported links between the car bombing suspects and Hizb ut-Tahrir activists. The April 19, 2008 Daily Telegraph report, “Islamists ‘urge young Muslims to use violence’,” states that Hizb ut-Tahrir has been promoting Jihad and inciting violence, calling Muslims to “destroy the new crusaders.” This same Daily Telegraph report also states that Hamas British suicide bomber Omar Sharif was initially recruited by Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Hizb ut-Tahrir continues to hold conferences throughout the United Kingdom promoting Islamic supremacism and denouncing democratic values. In February 2008, the East London Advertiser reported on Hizb ut-Tahrir’s debate at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, where "[a] packed audience... was overwhelmingly persuaded by [Hizb ut-Tahrir’s] Dr Abdul Wahid’s argument to reject democracy.” The report states that a “vote at the end of the debate showed 78 per cent of the audience agreed that political participation had ‘failed Muslims.’” The July 20, 2008 Daily Express reported on Hizb ut-Tahrir’s summer 2008 campaign “Stand For Islam - Don’t Sit And Take It,” where Hizb ut-Tahrir is condemning pluralistic values and promoting its Islamic supremacism at British football tournaments, graffiti and rap contests, youth conferences, and seminars, in Coventry, Oldham, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, London, and other British cities. JihadWatch.org’s August 19, 2008 report provides an eyewitness report of the August 16, 2008 Hizb ut-Tahrir conference in East London entitled “Khilafah The Need for Political Unity.”
British government efforts to condemn and renounce al Qaeda are a common and welcome goal that is shared with Americans. However, the position of the British government on other Jihad and Islamic supremacist organizations should give American policy makers pause for concern. Inconsistency on such groups and unwillingness to recognize their ideological basis stems from both a lack of historical grasp of how to fight supremacism and an entrenched belief among many in UK that Jihadist terror can be dealt with using tactics in the Northern Ireland conflict.
2. Discussions with British Home Office’s RICU on Terror Lexicon and Supremacism
On June 24, 2008, I was part of a panel discussion with British Home Office RICU’s Jonathan Allen (Head of Unit) at a meeting in Washington, D.C. held by the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) on the topic “Words Matter: The Role of Lexicon in Counter-Terrorism Communications Strategy.” The HSPI has a brief synopsis of the panel discussion on their website. As previously mentioned, RICU is the group that created the British version of the “terror lexicon” for the UK Home Office to be used by British government agencies where terms like “Islamist terrorist” and “Jihadist” have been replaced with the term “criminal.”
RICU’s Jonathan Allen discussed the efforts of his organization to come up with a lexicon that disallows use of the terms “Jihadist” and “Islamist.” Mr. Allen stated that RICU surveyed British Muslims to find an appropriate term for terrorists. Mr. Allen said that RICU rejected using the term “Jihadist” as being ineffective for international audiences and settled on the terms “criminals and murderers.” He also said that using terms that avoided any links between terrorism and any form of Islam would counter the message that Islam justified such attacks. Finally, he indicated that RICU’s goal was to encourage British Muslims to be against terrorist “extremism” as a common threat, even if they did not agree with British foreign policy.
During the panel discussion with RICU, I sought to refocus the discussion of what terms to call Jihadists, based on the Islamic supremacist ideology that they espouse. I argued that there was a realistic need to recognize the root ideology of Islamic supremacism as the basis behind Jihadist actions, and the terms we use and tactics we take must take such supremacism into account. While UK is concerned about reports of up to 4,000 active Jihadists, I pointed to America’s history in confronting a 4 million member (at its peak) terrorist organization in the 20th century - the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.
20th century America found that all that worked against white supremacism was total ideological confrontation, not engagement to legitimize white supremacists. America countered white supremacism with every measure possible in schools, homes, work, and every public place. For every member of the Ku Klux Klan, there were countless more non-violent white supremacists, like Alabama governor George Wallace, who sought to use political and social methods to enforce their supremacist views. I pointed out that the defense and promotion of equality was the means to confront and undermine supremacist ideologies, whether it is white supremacism, Aryan supremacism, Islamic supremacism, or any other identity-based supremacist ideology. But the worst mistake would be to fear to name it, fear to recognize its existence, and fear to confront it in a pluralistic society that values that “all men are created equal.” (Note: I have an expanded article on this topic “Crossroads in History: The Struggle against Jihad and Supremacist Ideologies” in both HTML and PDF formats.)
Washington, D.C. has a monument where the idea “all men are created equal” is chiseled in marble; this is also stated in our Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom. Defiance to supremacism is inherent in our national charter, our very identity as a nation. It is important for American audiences to recognize that while other nations also value equality, they do not share our unique history and sacrifices to prove the courage of our convictions against supremacism. But there is an important historical lesson for other nations to learn in America’s historical confrontation to supremacism.
In the question and answer part of the panel discussion, however, RICU’s Jonathan Allen responded to a question from the audience on my comments regarding confronting supremacism, stating that he was unfamiliar with the history on the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacism, and could not comment on the relevance to today’s terror lexicons. The relevance remains obvious, however; it is that honest confrontation of the ideology that drives supremacist terrorists is necessary for free societies. Merely dismissing those supremacists using terrorist tactics as “criminals,” as if they were a purse-snatcher or an embezzler, without investigating and confronting the ideological basis behind their actions accomplishes nothing for long-term security. UK’s government may believe that they may be able to contain such threats for a time, but until they tackle the reason of why such threats exist, they have done nothing to improve their security or the security of other nations who may be threatened by British Jihadists.
Some believe that there is a distinction between “engaging” and “empowering” political, “non-violent” Islamist groups. This is where the political science term “Islamist” fails in effectively describing the Jihadist ideological basis, due to the aggressive efforts by some counterterrorism and foreign policy analysts to redefine “Islamism” as a harmless ideology that can be afforded negotiations and political appeasement.
When recognizing the identity-based supremacist nature of the Islamic supremacist ideology, however, it is clear from American and international history that legitimizing Islamic supremacist groups through “engagement,” effectively does “empower” them as well. In the 20th century American efforts against white supremacism, we learned a painful national lesson that tolerance of supremacism is non-negotiable in a society that values both equality and liberty. That hasn’t changed today.
3. British MI5 Report’s Willful Blindness on Islamic Supremacism
Two months after my panel discussion with British Home Office RICU’s Jonathan Allen, UK’s MI5 Security Service proved that they too did not acknowledge the existence of Islamic supremacism. On August 21, 2008, the Guardian published a “leaked” classified internal research document by MI5 entitled “Understanding radicalisation and violent extremism in the UK.” The behavioral study is reported to be based on “several hundred individuals known to be involved in, or closely associated with, violent extremist activity.”
The Guardian claims that the MI5 report “takes apart many of the common stereotypes about those involved in British terrorism.” The Guardian states that the MI5 report, while acknowledging terrorists who act “in defence of Islam,” views that there is no “typical pathway to violent extremism.” It further states that the MI5 report views that "[m]any lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices,” and that “MI5 says there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation.” A day later, the Guardian reported on a new UK documentary showing growing Islamic supremacism in British mosques “dedicated to moderation,” summarized in my August 22 article on this subject.
The August 24, 2008 Daily Telegraph provides additional details on the MI5 report, stating that the report identifies “‘key vulnerabilities’ that lead a person to terrorism. These include ‘the experience of migrating to Britain, facing marginalisation and racism [and] the failure of those with degrees to achieve anything but low-grade jobs.’” The Telegraph report indicates the MI5 report also states that such potential terrorists are “far from being religious zealots.” In addition, the Telegraph states that MI5 report also blames the press: "[t]he report even throws in ‘inadequate media coverage’ that ‘perpetuates negative stereotypes’ as a catalyst for terrorism.”
Yet the “typical pathway” to British Jihadism is clearly through the ideology of Islamic supremacism. This has been substantiated in nearly every British Jihadist trial and plot addressed over the past several years, including documentation on the role of Abu Hamza and his role at the Finsbury Mosque (which attracted convicted terrorists Richard Reid, Zacarias Moussaoui, among others), on the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, and on countless others. But the MI5 report ignores all of the trial reports, testimony, documentaries, and studies (many of which are referenced at BritishJihad.com), ignores actual police raids on British mosques, and acts as if Islamic supremacism does not exist in the United Kingdom.
As shown by repeated studies and polls, it is nothing short of willful blindness to disregard the major problem of Islamic supremacism in the United Kingdom, and its associated affect on inciting Jihadist terrorism.
A July 2008 poll of British Muslim students shows that 32% believe that killing in the name of religion is justifiable (another 15% are “not sure”) and 40% were supportive of introducing Sharia law to Britain.
In August 2007, the Daily Mail reported that“an adviser to the Government’s preventing extremism taskforce” believed that up to 9% of British Muslims “agree and support proactively the people that are deciding to blow themselves up,” and up to 20% sympathize with such Jihadists. This is also supported by a July 2005 poll by the Daily Telegraph and YouGov which found 24 percent of British Muslims sympathesize with the motives and feelings of Jihadist terrorists, 56% of British Muslims can understand why some people might want to be suicide bombers, and 18% of British Muslims feel little to no loyalty to the UK.
In January 2007, the Policy Exchange study “Living apart together” found that, among Muslims aged 16-24, 37% would prefer to live under a sharia system, 36% believe if a Muslim converts to another religion they should be punished by death, and 13% “admire organizations like Al-Qaeda that are prepared to fight the West.” The study also found that 28% of Muslims of all ages seek to live under Sharia law, and 7% “admire organizations like Al-Qaeda that are prepared to fight the West.”
On the other hand, polls have also shown unwillingness of British Muslims to accept accountability for this growing Islamic supremacist problem. In July 2007 (two years after the July 7, 2005 London transit bombings), Channel 4 released poll results which showed that 24% of Muslims “believe the four men identified as the July 7th bombers were not actually responsible for the attacks,” 52% “believe that the British security services have ‘made up’ evidence to convict terrorist suspects,” and 68% “believe that the Muslim community does not bear any responsibility for the emergence of extremists willing to attack UK targets.”
But the MI5 report wants the British public to ignore these studies, ignore the mountains of evidence, testimony, trials, and public statements by those supporting Islamic supremacism. In this latest report, MI5 instead shrugs its shoulders and says that there is “no single pathway” in inciting Jihad (a word they can’t even use), that Jihadists are not “religious zealots,” and that if anything is to blame for Jihadist terrorism, it is unemployment, immigration, racism, and the press. What drives such willful blindness?
4. Why MI5 Report Seeks to Ignore Islamic Supremacism in Britain
After the release of the MI5 study which finds no common factor among Jihadists in UK, the Daily Telegraph’s Alasdair Palmer provided his perspective based on discussions with MI5 employees: “People in MI5 tell me that denying the connection between Islamism and terrorism derives from the belief that if you accept it, there’s no hope for a multicultural society in Britain: we would just have to recognise that part of the population is permanently liable to become terrorists.”
Once again, here is where the British government could benefit from learning about the American historical experience in fighting supremacism, as per my panel discussion with RICU on June 24th. In a nation that decides to get serious about its commitment to equality, challenging supremacism is part of defending a pluralistic society. American has and continues to challenge identity-based supremacist ideologies such as white supremacism. But as shown in the American historical experience, this can’t be a half-hearted measure, and it can’t allow for legitimization of supremacist individuals. It requires defenders of equality to confront supremacists in every aspect of public and private life and to de-legitimize their ideology. America did not seek to merely “contain” the Ku Klux Klan terrorist organization in the 1960s-1980s; it challenged the root ideology that provided their basis. A white supremacist who renounced terrorism, but continued to seek “non-violent” political measures promoting white supremacism, segregation, etc., was still not accepted in an America that made a commitment to prove the courage of its convictions on equality. Efforts to fight supremacism in America made them a bane and a disgrace to all American in our homes, schools, work, and public areas. The war of ideas required confrontation, not “engagement” that would legitimize an anti-equality, anti-freedom ideology.
All supremacism is violent. This is a fundamental concept lost to those who stubbornly will not study or understand the problem of identity-based supremacist ideologies. Every supremacist word, action, law, segregation, and argument stems from the lie of supremacism that hates the natural law that “all men are created equal.” Such supremacist hatred is an inherent, festering violence against an egalitarian society, crushing, demoralizing, assaulting, and defacing liberty itself. Yet this is more than a philosophical challenge, this is a real life-and-death struggle for many societies today.
However, the MI5 individuals that spoke to Alasdair Palmer don’t grasp that tolerance of supremacism is guaranteed to prevent a “multicultural society,” which is dependent on pluralistic values and equality among all people. Islamic supremacists don’t seek equality, they don’t seek pluralism. Like white supremacists, they seek segregation and superiority, with their own laws and values enforced upon others. There is nothing “multicultural” about Islamic supremacism - like all supremacist ideologies, it is MONO-cultural. In Islamic supremacism, their way is the only way.
This is the same with white supremacists, Aryan supremacists, black supremacists, and any other identity-based supremacist organizations. Their ideologies of superiority are simply incompatible with societies that value equality and liberty.
Alasdair Palmer further states concerns by MI5 that “part of the population is permanently liable to become terrorists.” This is certainly true, and will be the case no matter what any government does, just like part of the population may become thieves, rapists, gangsters. The exclusive focus on the criminal nature of Jihadist terrorism, disregarding the ideology that inspires it, is completely misplaced. This is yet another instance where the British Home Office RICU’s “terror lexicon” that refuses to use the word “Jihad” fails the British public. When you can’t even name the enemy, how can you fight it?
As a national intelligence organization, MI5’s goals in research and threat countermeasure recommendations must be based on reality, not on denial of supremacist ideologies. On November 6, 2006, the MI5 Director-General Eliza Manningham-Buller warned MI5 to not “confuse fundamentalism with terrorism.” But what does “fundamentalism” mean? A society that values equality and liberty has a responsibility to confront an ideology that promotes supremacism and segregation. The FBI did not warn of not “confusing white racial pride with terrorism” in its war on white supremacism. In confronting supremacist ideologies, we need honesty in clearly defining where a society that values equality stands on those who support supremacism.
Moreover, realistic recommendations on long-term national security issues must not be based solely on the fear of the sheer volume of supremacist supporters. Such fear of the number of Islamic supremacists is no doubt a serious issue among some British politicians and government leaders. However, history shows that UK’s Islamic supremacism problem is insignificant compared to America’s fight with white supremacism.
During investigations of al Qaeda efforts to infiltrate MI5 in 2006, BBC reported concerns that MI5 believed approximately 400,000 people in the UK are sympathetic to violent jihad around the world. While this would be a significant number, it still only represents 0.65 percent of the UK population, with all British Muslims representing only 2.8 percent of the UK population. By contrast, at the height of the Ku Klux Klan’s membership in the United States, this single supremacist terrorist group’s membership represented 4 percent of the entire nation’s population, and white supremacist supporters were significantly greater. Regardless of the size of a population supporting supremacist ideologies, the lesson of American history shows that ultimately there is no other option other than confrontation and discrediting the supremacist ideology.
Part Two will continue on Wednesday.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Jeffrey Imm is Research Director of the Counterterrorism Blog , was formerly with the FBI, and also has his own counterterrorism research web site at UnitedStatesAction.com.