Terrorism – SEDAA – Our Voices

Britain is still unwilling to confront Islamist extremism

21st October 202121st October 2021 admin

By Khadija Khan The gruesome and senseless killing of British MP Sir David Amess is a blow to the heart and soul of Britain’s democracy. Sir David, who had been a Conservative MP since 1983, was stabbed multiple times during a Friday meeting with his constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Soon after the attack, Ali Harbi Ali, 25, a London-born man of Somali heritage, was arrested on suspicion of murder, and has now been charged after being detained under terrorism legislation. While it is too soon to say what the motives were…

We must confront the Taliban apologists in the west

1st September 2021 admin

By Khadija Khan On the 102nd anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from the British Empire, the Taliban swept into the capital city of Kabul and declared the formation of an “Islamic emirate”. Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said the group would form an “open” and “inclusive” government under Sharia law – an oxymoron if ever there was one. The collapse of the government, the withdrawal of western forces and attacks on Kabul airport – claimed by the terrorist group ISIS-K – have made Afghanistan a hellhole for the citizens of the…

The Farce of Afghanistan

16th August 202118th August 2021 admin

By Amjad Khan In the immediate aftermath of the 911 attacks in 2001, the rationale for going into a Taliban governed Afghanistan, in order to dismantle and eliminate al-Qaeda infrastructure, had merit. The US had just experienced the worst terrorist attack in its history, the Taliban was a widely despised organisation and the international community had every reason to believe al-Qaeda was planning further attacks. The Taliban also had an appalling human rights record and their treatment of women was enough to make the totalitarian, theocratic Republic of Gilead…

The UK Supreme Court has made the right decision over Shamima Begum

4th March 202110th April 2021 admin

By Tehmina Kazi

Touting Muslimophobic terrorism as a ‘reaction to jihad’ is as dehumanising as it is counterproductive

19th March 201919th March 2019 admin

By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid Unfortunately, the aftermath of every major terror attack provides a platform for self-serving, narrow-minded, often bigoted, voices to forward their own agendas at a time when all the attention should be on the victims. Following jihadist attacks, those with the unflinching belief that all global ills are a corollary of the West’s imperialism would waste no time in pointing fingers towards western foreign policy for an act rooted in a genocidal ideology. Similarly, following the recent terror attack in Christchurch those rigidly earmarking radical Islam as having…

British authorities are not equipped to deal with jihadis returning from ISIS

28th February 2019 admin

By Khadija Khan In 2004 the British government secured the release of Jamal Udeen al-Harith from Guantanamo Bay, after strenuous diplomacy with the Americans who had captured him in Pakistan, where he was believed to be an al-Qaeda operative. Al-Harith carried out a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2017 after joining ISIS. He was born Ronald Fiddler and raised in Manchester, UK, and was reportedly radicalised in the local mosque. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour government reportedly lobbied “intensely” for his release from Guantanamo Bay and he was given £1…

Shamima Begum, the ‘Jihadi Bride’ and the moral dilemma we face

16th February 201917th February 2019 admin

By Saima Baig There are an estimated 400 British nationals (there could be more), who left for Syria to join the Islamic State caliphate. Some have died, some are in refugee camps and there is no information about the rest. Here is the dilemma. What do we do when some of them want to come back to the UK? The Islamic State are some of the most barbaric psychopaths to exist on this planet, who have committed extremely heinous crimes since they launched their “caliphate” in 2014. All those who…

Terror attack in Finsbury Park: Call out hate speech and the “us vs them” pronouncements

20th June 201720th June 2017 admin

By Tehmina Kazi A few thoughts on Monday’s terror attack in Finsbury Park. 1. There is sometimes a crossover between terrorist attacks and hate crimes — and on the face of it, last night’s attack appears to be both. But of course, it is possible to commit a terror attack that is not a hate crime. The most widely-accepted definition of hate crime is a criminal act which is motivated by bias against the victim’s membership, perceived membership or association with a particular group that shares a fundamental characteristic (this…

Finsbury Park mosque terror attack

20th June 2017 admin

By Iram Ramzan Another day, another terrorist attack. Is there no end to the senseless violence and killings? This time, it seems the terrorist was not from the Muslim community, but a non-Muslim who apparently attacked Muslims deliberately. Police were called just after 12.20am on Monday June 19 to reports of a white van striking worshippers outside Muslim Welfare House in Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park. Witnesses said the van struck pedestrians who were tending to an elderly man who had collapsed. Here are some of the facts so far: Darren Osborne (47), of Cardiff,…

Manchester Attacks: Spare us your crocodile tears, anti-Prevent lobby

30th May 2017 admin

By Shamim Begum I am a Muslim and, shock horror, I support Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorist strategy. I do so because I have seen the reality of Islamist extremism in my local community for years, despite the denial by so many other Muslims. When I was at university, I remember meeting Muslim women who were calling for the establishment of a caliphate while ranting on about how evil Britain is. The attack in Manchester was devastating. But last week as I shed tears for the victims, my anger was growing, in particular against what is widely…