As reported earlier, Luton itself has become “synonymous with Islamic extremism,” and once again, it is living up to that characterization. In the initial report, we were assured — though without any elaboration on actions taken — that “many Muslims in Luton have long recognised the problem they have with extremism.”
Indeed, the response seems perpetually limited to half-measures and lip service for public consumption, or virtually no action at all, as, for example, “embarrassed officials” at the Luton Islamic Center found themselves having to explain why they did not alert authorities about Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, who went on to attempt mass murder in Stockholm.
This is the bottom line: We all know how vigorously Islam calls for the defense of its tenets against heresy and innovation, and the pitch of the Qur’an’s rhetoric against beliefs at variance with the ones it preaches. Then, the unwillingness to do more than the bare minimum for basic “cover-your-rear” obligations to uproot such supposed “misunderstandings” of Islam should seem very, very odd, even to those most deluded by the false promises of multiculturalism.
“Stockholm bomber: banned extremists recruit near Taimur Abdulwahab al-Abdaly’s Luton home,” by Jason Lewis for the Telegraph, December 19 (thanks to Sr. Soph):
MI5 and anti-terrorist police are attempting to unravel what transformed the father of three into an extremist.
Uh, not enough marshmallows in the box of Frankenberry?
But moderate Muslims in Luton, where Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab lived for almost 10 years, claim the authorities are to blame for turning a blind eye to the activities of hard-core jihadi sympathisers.
Unimpeded by the police, the group, now calling itself The Reflect Project, is accused of mounting a campaign of intimidation and violence against those who disagree with it.
The group’s members are followers of the radical cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad, who is being held in jail in Lebanon on terrorism charges, and are led locally by Ishtiaq Alamgir or Sword of Islam – a former inland revenue accountant.
Earlier this year, Mr Alamgir helped to organise a protest at a homecoming parade in Luton for troops who had served in Afghanistan. The demonstration ended in violence and arrests.
It is illegal to be a member of Bakri’s organisation after it was outlawed for glorifying terrorism and for outspoken statements praising the “magnificent” September 11 hijackers.
But Bakri’s supporters still regularly set up a stall on the high street near Abdulwahab’s family home to try to recruit more young Muslims to their cause.
Last week, gathered around a trestle table after Friday prayers, Mr Alamgir and a dozen other activists handed out anodyne Introduction to Islam leaflets before quickly disappearing when approached by this newspaper.
Carefully written, apparently to avoid breaching anti-terrorism laws, the leaflet’s purpose appeared to be to direct prospective recruits to a website containing inflammatory speeches by Bakri and articles against “the terrorist activities of Britain”.
Some claim the group was involved with Abdulwahab, whose “will” told his wife and children he had lived for “the last four years with the secret of being mujahid or, as you call it, terrorist”.
The group described Abdulwahab, who studied at the town’s university, as a “lone wolf” and denied having anything to do with him.
The group, whose members use an ever-changing variety of names, has been holding rallies in community halls where, until his recent arrest, it was addressed by Bakri over an internet link.
Residents in the mainly Muslim Bury Park area claim Abdulwahab attended these meetings and complain that the government ban has not stopped the group or led to any police action against it. […]
The Luton Islamic Centre, where Abdulwahab prayed and which forced him out when he attempted to preach about his radical views, admits it did not inform the police.
“We try to work with the extremists, rather than force them underground,” a spokesman said yesterday.
Well, no one will dispute that you’re “working with the extremists,” compromising with evil as the path of least resistance, if not something much worse. You are either lazy enablers, or you are willing accomplices. Which one is it?
And while they say they’re trying to “work with extremists,” the “extremists” continue their work.