Thread: Amanpour: Britain's radical Muslims shock me

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01 ... index.html

Amanpour: Radical, moderate Muslims battle for young English minds

POSTED: 6:33 a.m. EST, January 20, 2007

More on CNN TV: CNN explores terror's new breeding ground. Watch the premiere of "CNN: Special Investigations Unit," Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

By Christiane Amanpour
CNN Chief International Correspondent


Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences covering the news and analyze the stories behind events. Christiane Amanpour describes the people she met while making "The War Within."

LONDON, England (CNN) -- When we reported the unprecedented suicide bombings of the London underground trains and buses in 2005, we were shocked beyond words that young British Muslims, born and bred here, would go to that extreme.

We could not understand what would drive them to kill themselves and their fellow citizens.

And so we started to investigate what we call "The War Within."

What struck us most was how deeply the Iraq war has radicalized today's generation of young Muslims in Britain. Whether extreme or mainstream, they are angry about the war, angry that their country so devotedly follows U.S. foreign policy, angry at what they see as a worldwide war against Muslims and Islam.

A man who runs a youth center in a London neighborhood with a large Muslim population said the message of extremism preys on many kids who see no way out of their ethnic ghettos. Those youth, he said, have always had vices -- street crime, drugs, car thefts.

"But then now you've got another threat," Hanif Qadir told me.

"The new threat is radicalism. It's a cause. Every young man wants a cause."

We knew much of the Islamic world feels like this, but we were surprised at the extent of these feelings in Britain. (Audio slide show: Preying on young British Muslims)

The UK was rocked by the attacks of July 7, 2005 and the attempted attacks that failed two weeks later. Since then, Britons have many questions about the role of the Muslim community here.

In our investigation, we found shocking evidence of the bigotry, intolerance and hatred preached by some Muslim fundamentalists in the UK. We met men like Anjem Choudary of the now-banned Al-Mahajiroon extremist group, who denounces democracy and predicts Britain will be ruled by Sharia, Islamic law.

He publicly distances himself from suicide bombings here in the UK, mindful of Britain's tough new anti-terrorism laws, yet we filmed him openly condoning violent Jihad abroad.

"I happen to be in an ideological and political war," Choudary said. "My brothers in al Qaeda and other Mujahedeen are involved in a military campaign." (Watch a call for Islamic law in Britain )

And this week, a report in the London Sunday Times says Choudary has been using a false name on a password-protected Web site to incite Muslims to go to Somalia to wage holy war.

Some mosques in Britain, while publicly agreeing to cross-cultural tolerance, in fact sometimes host preachers from both Britain and abroad who rail with hatred against "kafirs" (infidels), against homosexuals, against democracy and even against women.

This hate-speech and the attempt by extremists to recruit young disaffected Muslims on London's deprived streets and even on university campuses is beginning to motivate the "other voices of Islam" to try to seize back their religion, which they say has been hijacked. (Watch moderate Muslims fight back )

Extremists and radicals are very adept at playing the media's game. Even though they are a minority, a small number of them can gather on a corner, hold a protest or demonstration and get a massive amount of media attention and air time. That's because today's mostly tabloid media culture in the UK has sensationalized the "Muslim issue" and focuses only on the extremists, rarely finding the facts, context and texture beneath the surface.

We found a deep sense of Islamophobia on the rise here in Britain and across Europe. The European Monitoring Center, which tracks religious and ethnic bias, says Muslims regularly face abuse, threats, attacks and misunderstanding.

And as we discovered talking to a cross section of Muslims around Britain, many of Europe's 13 million Muslims said that since 9/11 they have been made to feel like terrorists. More than ever they feel like second-class citizens in their own countries.

There are incredibly brave Muslims who've been forced to become unofficial activists for tolerance and integration. In Walthamstow -- where two dozen young Muslim men were arrested last summer for allegedly plotting to blow up U.S.-bound planes with liquid explosives -- Qadir, the youth worker, has reached out to teenagers.

His youth center now tries to lead the disaffected and alienated along a different path, urging them to watch out for extremist preachers in their mosques and arranging pool tournaments with the beat cops as one way to forge a closer community bond.

In Birmingham, home to Britain's second-largest Muslim community, a Muslim artist nicknamed "Aerosol Arabic" is trying to be a role model to students and the angry young people in his community. Along with a priest he is doing cross-cultural art projects that build a sense of acceptance and togetherness.

While some Muslim women in the UK are feeling the intense pressure of a chorus of ministerial calls to remove their niqabs, a veil that covers most of the face, we meet one Muslim woman, a comedian, who is trying to promote tolerance through a unique brand of comedy-club humor.

As a small band of Muslim extremists try to promote their agenda at a campus debate at prestigious Trinity College, we traveled to Ireland to hear mainstream Muslims try to win back the public podium. One young Muslim calls the violence and intolerance some extremists promote a mental illness, not an ideology.

While Britain's Scotland Yard and MI5 intelligence service regularly warn of Islamist cells plotting violence -- some 30 potential plots have been identified -- some Muslim preachers, activists and ordinary people are beginning to see that they have to take the responsibility of seizing back their religion from the small band of extremists who have hijacked it.

Increasingly we found mainstream Muslims are realizing that they can no longer be quiet, but they have to stand up to have any hope of winning back the debate from the extremists who dominate it now.

The question is whether they can form a critical mass of voices to finally drown out the growing ranks of extremists.

Increasingly we found mainstream Muslims are realizing that they can no longer be quiet, but they have to stand up to have any hope of winning back the debate from the extremists who dominate it now.

Too late. They should have spoken up long ago. No one will trust them now.

I agree. Where were their voices the day after the bombs exploded. The silence spoke louder than words.

Islamophobia

No!
Islamofactia Yes!

I have to disagree about it being too late for Muslims to stand up and fight against radical Islam. I usually don't watch CNN outside of Lou Dobbs but I have to say I was pleased with Amanpour's special for a change.

Isn't this the question we've been asking since 9/11? Where are the moderate Muslims? Why don't they speak out? Now that some are should we discourage them? I hate to say it guys but there are 3 billion Muslims in the world. And they are scattered over the entire world; we can't kill or imprison them all. The only solution against radical Islam is the Reform of Islam. It has to come from inside........from Muslims themselves. Just as Christianity was reformed. There is hope, but this is where hope is.

Let's not discourage those who stand up against radicalism, let's support them. Isn't this what we've been asking of them? They are finally feeling enough pressure to stand up. For some of them when they do this they literally place their lives on the line. And if we don't support them, they'll have nowhere to turn and they will fail. If we support those who stand up, their numbers will grow and the radicals will be diminished.

This is very close to me; this is the very personal conflict that brought me to awareness of our lack of border security and brought me to this fight. I came from working for more than a decade in Dearborn, Mi. If any of you are familiar you know that is the largest Arabic; and in fact Muslim population in this country. For years I heard horror stories from Iraqi refugees about the cruelty of Saddam. I was at work among many Muslims on the morning of 9/11. I witnessed their fear and their tears. Those of us that were born Americans were stunned, we couldn't absorb what was going on, we had no idea it was a terrorist attack at first. But they did. And they were horrified. Partly because they were afraid of retaliation, but partly because terrorism had followed them to America. So I KNOW there are good Muslims in this country.

But I was torn; as all of us are......how to know which of them I could trust. These were people I had come to respect. And on 9/11 suddenly I was at a loss how to feel about them, or how to recognize a possible terrorist. So I started studying and doing research. So I'm well aware of the methods of the radicals. I watch what CAIR does closely because I equate them with the ACLU. Both of them are anti-American in my opinion. Any immigrant who comes here needs to assimilate to America, not the other way around.

In my quest I've come to this conclusion: I can ONLY trust those Muslims who speak out against radicalism. Such as Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel, Wafah Sultan.........these people are heroes to me. Amanpour's special showed me there are more heroes, those who aren't as visible. But every bit as important.

Every Muslim who stands against radicalism is alright by me; just as every Hispanic who stands against illegal immigration has my respect as well. If they stand with us, I stand with them. I'm sure you all feel the same; at least I hope you do.

I disagree they are not Muslim if they don't read the Koran. In the Koran is one very evil book. Islam is based on submit and rule, and any one else gets treated like a dog. But lets just keep trying to paint a pretty picture about islam. Islam made sure the middle east never developed again,,,,it was spread through hate and force.

Originally Posted by Matthewcloseborders

I disagree they are not Muslim if they don't read the Koran. In the Koran is one very evil book. Islam is based on submit and rule, and any one else gets treated like a dog. But lets just keep trying to paint a pretty picture about islam.

I have read the Quran Matthew.........and I personally think Mohammed was an egotistical monster. I do not believe him to be a prophet, just a murderer and a pedophile. But that's my opinion. I'm not a Muslim. But being realistic, Islam is 1300 years old. I won't be able to eradicate it, and it won't be eradicated in our lifetimes. And personally I don't care what people believe, as long as they don't try to impose it on me. Which is what radical Islam wants to do. I welcome any weapon in the arsenal to fight it.

Every Muslim who stands against radicalism is alright by me; just as every Hispanic who stands against illegal immigration has my respect as well. If they stand with us, I stand with them. I'm sure you all feel the same; at least I hope you do.

I wish that I could believe that. Not long ago, there was a Muslim man speaking out against radical Islam and then secretly he was conspiring. Does anyone remember this? I think he was a college professor. I try to give everyone repect, but it does not mean that I trust them. I know that there are good Muslims out there, the problem is that you never know. Sometimes, people play the game to gain people's trust. That is what "sleeper cells" do.