Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon - Chapter Eight Podcast Five

Great Britain “Many people born in Britain have little attachment to the country, which makes them vulnerable to radicalization.” UK Prime Minister David Cameron, referring to some Muslims   Muslim–Non-Muslim Relations   The Muslim population of Britain surpassed 3.5 million in 2015, representing approximately 5.5 percent of the overall population of 64 million. Britain has the third-largest Muslim population in the European Union, after France and Germany. As the number of Muslims in Britain swells, so do concerns about their influence in society. Many Britons, particularly the less educated, are concerned about a social transformation they cannot prevent.   As discussed in Chapter 4, this tension is reflected in the media, particularly in tabloids and on radio and television talk shows. The year 2016 marked the tenth-year anniversary of the publication of Melanie Phillips’s Londonistan. Her disquieting neologism “Londonistan” resonated with many public intellectuals and became a buzzword in debates about Islamic influence. Non-elites organized among themselves.   Largely in response to the growth of Muslim populations, the English Defence League was launched in May 2009 among the working class. It was widely loathed by the intelligentsia but resonated in many rough-and-tumble neighborhoods. Its creator, Tommy Robinson, was physically assaulted on video by Islamists in his hometown of Luton. Britons increasingly share his concerns about the march of Islam. A 2010 survey found that 63 percent of Britons did not disagree with the statement “Muslims are terrorists,” and 94 percent agreed that “Islam oppresses women.” Three-quarters of those interviewed believe that Islam is bad for Britain. The numbers are higher today.   In cities, many working-class parents fear that their daughters will become prey to Pakistani child-rape gangs and prostitution rings, and that municipal officials will be hampered by fear of being charged with anti-Muslim animus. The autobiography Girl for Sale described the sexual exploitation of Lara McDonnell, who was victimized by a Muslim pedophile gang when she was only thirteen years old. Some youths fear their nation’s future. A 2015 survey of ten-to-sixteen-year-old British children revealed that 35 percent agreed that “Muslims are taking over England.”   Police and security forces find themselves hindered in conducting anti-terrorism planning. From patrolling the streets to entering homes to interviewing suspects to conducting training exercises, all activities must be conducted with religious sensitivity. In an antiterrorist exercise conducted in 2016 to test emergency response capabilities, a participant pretending to be a Caliphate operative yelled “Allahu Akbar.” The chief constable who ran the exercise was forced to ask forgiveness from the Muslim community. He apologized, “On reflection, we acknowledge that it was unacceptable to use this religious phrase immediately before the mock suicide bombing, which so vocally linked this exercise to Islam.”   Other Britons are less contrite than confused. Many cannot understand why some of the brightest, most ambitious, and high-achieving young British Muslims support the Caliphate. They do not understand why a prestigious, left-oriented school would produce suicide bombers, as described in the following profile.   Twenty-Seven: The Old School Tie—The Holland Park Martyrs and the “Socialist Eton”   If there is any British secondary school that could lay claim to the title of alma mater for Caliphate Britons, it would probably be London’s Holland Park School, which is also a good example of the red-green partnership in schools and on campuses discussed in Chapter 3. Dubbed the “Socialist Eton,” Holland Park embodies multicultural London. In the words of the academy, “Latin mottos gave way to egalitarian ideals.” It has attracted the children of the trendy rich, such as Anthony “Wedgie” Benn; powerful socialist politicians, such as Prime Minister Tony Blair and Roy Jenkins; and the progeny of left-oriented public intellectuals, particularly those connected with the newspaper The Guardian. The school calls them “socialist grandees and a smattering of literati and glitterati of West London.”   Holland Park boasts impressive educational statistics. Many of its graduates, from all ethnic backgrounds, perform well on standardized tests and in university admissions. Some continue on to Oxford or Cambridge. But by May 2015, what set Holland Park apart from other schools was its five alumni who had died fighting for the Islamic State. At least six former pupils from Holland Park School left Britain to become Islamic fighters or have been linked to terrorism. Former female students have also been arrested for supporting the Caliphate. This is confusing for most of the academy’s graduates. They remember a Holland Park that promoted poetry, multiculturalism, and inclusion. Many warmly reminisce about their old school. Their salad days bring memories of long hair, rock and roll, stealing a smoke, and making out. One graduate stated, “Contrary to popular opinion, we didn’t have bomb-making classes at Holland Park Comprehensive.”