10-13-2005, 03:14 PM
Lee Kuan Yew in Forbes Magazine
Homegrown Islamic Terrorists
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Of the four suicide bombers who struck London's transit system on July 7, one was a Jamaican-born British citizen and three were of Pakistani descent but born and raised in Britain. One of them, Mohammad Sidique Khan, had recorded a chilling video message of more terror to come, which was aired on Al Jazeera in September. London's Guardian found the message "disturbing not only because of its content but also because of who was delivering it. We have become used to such grim messages delivered in Arabic. This was spoken in English, in a calm native Yorkshire accent, aimed specifically at British Muslims." More than likely Continental Europe, as well as Britain, has homegrown suicide bombers among its second-generation Muslims. British intelligence has found that most of these British terrorists have been radicalized by Islamist preachers in Britain.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced new legislation giving the government powers to take preventive action, including expelling preachers of hate. These moves will help but will not eliminate the problem. In the 1960s Singapore had, by statute, set up the Islamic Religious Council. The council controls all sermons in mosques and teachings in madrassas. Yet in December 2001 Singapore and Malaysia arrested the first group of some 30 homegrown Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members as they were planning to detonate seven truck bombs at American, British, Australian and Israeli targets in Singapore. (Singapore arrested a second group of 21 Islamic militants in August 2002.) These terrorists had been indoctrinated by a charismatic preacher during religious classes in the privacy of JI members' homes, not in mosques or madrassas. These recruits had weak and vulnerable personalities and only a shallow understanding of Islam. Joining the jihadists gave them a sense of belonging to a secret group embarked on a mission from which they would gain redemption by sacrificing themselves to avenge the oppression of Muslims everywhere.
<b>Terrorist Tactics</b>
In a video aired on Al Jazeera in early August, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man in al Qaeda, warned of more bombings if British troops remained in Iraq and Afghanistan. Would London have been spared if Britain had not supported the U.S. in Iraq? I doubt it. London--like other European and Asian cities, including Singapore--was on al Qaeda's target list. JI had been preparing to bomb Singapore in 2001, long before the Iraq invasion. When arrested, the jihadists said they wanted to kill Americans and their allies in Singapore.
If terrorists succeed in forcing the U.S. and its allies out of Iraq, the jihadists will be triumphant and terrorism will spread worldwide. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's objective is not to get Americans out of Iraq but to control Saudi Arabia and its oil--and after that, the world.
The insurgency in Iraq can and will be defeated by Iraqis, not by Americans. After a government is installed following the second election, American forces will be able to progressively step back. It's in the Sunni population's best interest to participate in the next elections, whether or not they approve the constitution. If they reject participating in the government, a nasty civil war could well result, with Iraqi Sunnis killing Iraqi Shiites and Kurds. But however many Iraqis are killed, the Shiites and Kurds will never yield their hold on power. They have the will and the numbers, as well as the wherewithal that the U.S. can provide, to prevail.
<b>Ideological Battle</b>
To stop the increase in terrorist recruits, the U.S. and Europe must discredit extremist ideology, which takes Koranic passages out of context, preaches hatred against non-Muslims and seeks to spread Islam through violence. Muslims who want to be a part of the modern world of science and technology must confront and stop these Islamists from preaching violence and hatred. They must get the ulamas (Muslim scholars) and ustaz (religious teachers) to preach that Islam is a religion of peace, not terror, and that it is tolerant of other peoples and their faiths, as Muslim scholars have proudly asserted.
In countries where Muslims are a minority, as in Britain, they must take a clear-cut stand against Islamist terrorists. Britons increasingly look upon Muslims with unease. Mosques have been vandalized and Muslims assaulted in the streets. Nearly 300 hate crimes were committed in London in the week after the July bombings. Muslim community leaders have advised Muslim women not to wear head scarves. As British Muslim MP Shahid Malik told his fellow Muslims, "It is not enough to condemn--you must confront. The extremism in our community is now our problem."
In Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Iraq, Muslims will be forced to confront the Islamists or witness their governments being overthrown and their people dragged back into a feudal past, just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan.
This surge in Islamist terrorism will take years to tamp down. In the meantime the world is at risk of these terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Were that to happen, the slaughter would be horrendous. The nuclear programs of rogue states, therefore, must be stopped and their stockpiles of weapons and matériel confiscated.
<i>Lee Kuan Yew, minister mentor of Singapore</i>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Homegrown Islamic Terrorists
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Of the four suicide bombers who struck London's transit system on July 7, one was a Jamaican-born British citizen and three were of Pakistani descent but born and raised in Britain. One of them, Mohammad Sidique Khan, had recorded a chilling video message of more terror to come, which was aired on Al Jazeera in September. London's Guardian found the message "disturbing not only because of its content but also because of who was delivering it. We have become used to such grim messages delivered in Arabic. This was spoken in English, in a calm native Yorkshire accent, aimed specifically at British Muslims." More than likely Continental Europe, as well as Britain, has homegrown suicide bombers among its second-generation Muslims. British intelligence has found that most of these British terrorists have been radicalized by Islamist preachers in Britain.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced new legislation giving the government powers to take preventive action, including expelling preachers of hate. These moves will help but will not eliminate the problem. In the 1960s Singapore had, by statute, set up the Islamic Religious Council. The council controls all sermons in mosques and teachings in madrassas. Yet in December 2001 Singapore and Malaysia arrested the first group of some 30 homegrown Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members as they were planning to detonate seven truck bombs at American, British, Australian and Israeli targets in Singapore. (Singapore arrested a second group of 21 Islamic militants in August 2002.) These terrorists had been indoctrinated by a charismatic preacher during religious classes in the privacy of JI members' homes, not in mosques or madrassas. These recruits had weak and vulnerable personalities and only a shallow understanding of Islam. Joining the jihadists gave them a sense of belonging to a secret group embarked on a mission from which they would gain redemption by sacrificing themselves to avenge the oppression of Muslims everywhere.
<b>Terrorist Tactics</b>
In a video aired on Al Jazeera in early August, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man in al Qaeda, warned of more bombings if British troops remained in Iraq and Afghanistan. Would London have been spared if Britain had not supported the U.S. in Iraq? I doubt it. London--like other European and Asian cities, including Singapore--was on al Qaeda's target list. JI had been preparing to bomb Singapore in 2001, long before the Iraq invasion. When arrested, the jihadists said they wanted to kill Americans and their allies in Singapore.
If terrorists succeed in forcing the U.S. and its allies out of Iraq, the jihadists will be triumphant and terrorism will spread worldwide. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's objective is not to get Americans out of Iraq but to control Saudi Arabia and its oil--and after that, the world.
The insurgency in Iraq can and will be defeated by Iraqis, not by Americans. After a government is installed following the second election, American forces will be able to progressively step back. It's in the Sunni population's best interest to participate in the next elections, whether or not they approve the constitution. If they reject participating in the government, a nasty civil war could well result, with Iraqi Sunnis killing Iraqi Shiites and Kurds. But however many Iraqis are killed, the Shiites and Kurds will never yield their hold on power. They have the will and the numbers, as well as the wherewithal that the U.S. can provide, to prevail.
<b>Ideological Battle</b>
To stop the increase in terrorist recruits, the U.S. and Europe must discredit extremist ideology, which takes Koranic passages out of context, preaches hatred against non-Muslims and seeks to spread Islam through violence. Muslims who want to be a part of the modern world of science and technology must confront and stop these Islamists from preaching violence and hatred. They must get the ulamas (Muslim scholars) and ustaz (religious teachers) to preach that Islam is a religion of peace, not terror, and that it is tolerant of other peoples and their faiths, as Muslim scholars have proudly asserted.
In countries where Muslims are a minority, as in Britain, they must take a clear-cut stand against Islamist terrorists. Britons increasingly look upon Muslims with unease. Mosques have been vandalized and Muslims assaulted in the streets. Nearly 300 hate crimes were committed in London in the week after the July bombings. Muslim community leaders have advised Muslim women not to wear head scarves. As British Muslim MP Shahid Malik told his fellow Muslims, "It is not enough to condemn--you must confront. The extremism in our community is now our problem."
In Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Iraq, Muslims will be forced to confront the Islamists or witness their governments being overthrown and their people dragged back into a feudal past, just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan.
This surge in Islamist terrorism will take years to tamp down. In the meantime the world is at risk of these terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Were that to happen, the slaughter would be horrendous. The nuclear programs of rogue states, therefore, must be stopped and their stockpiles of weapons and matériel confiscated.
<i>Lee Kuan Yew, minister mentor of Singapore</i>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->