The idea that poverty and ignorance cause terrorism has led the U.S. to shower billions on Muslim countries, hoping to win hearts and minds and alleviate what mainstream analysts doggedly believe are the root causes of terrorism. But it has been known for years that poverty doesn’t really cause terrorism at all. The Economist reported in 2010: “Social scientists have collected a large amount of data on the socioeconomic background of terrorists. According to a 2008 survey of such studies by Alan Krueger of Princeton University, they have found little evidence that the typical terrorist is unusually poor or badly schooled.”
In the same vein, CNS News noted in September 2013: “According to a Rand Corporation report on counterterrorism, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2009, ‘Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated, or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, their most important characteristic is normalcy (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.’ One of the authors of the RAND report, Darcy Noricks, also found that according to a number of academic studies, ‘Terrorists turn out to be more rather than less educated than the general population.’”
The Times Online reported the following as far back as April 2005: “Three-quarters of the Al-Qaeda members were from upper middle-class homes and many were married with children; 60% were college educated, often in Europe or the United States.”
“Terror cell founded in Wales ‘funded Islamic extremists,'” by Wyre Davies, BBC, July 16, 2018 (thanks to the Geller Report):
A terrorism network founded in Wales is suspected of a number of attacks in Bangladesh, the BBC can reveal.
The cell was started by respected south Wales businessman Siful Sujan, who had companies based in Cardiff.
The American military said he was a key figure in the so-called Islamic State, before he was killed by a US drone strike in Syria in 2015.
It is now claimed the work of his network continued, led by his brother Ataul Haque, who had lived in Wales.
Haque moved from Wales to Spain, and he was arrested in the town of Merida in September 2017.
The FBI says Sujan’s Welsh company, Ibacstel Electronics, was sending money to the USA to fund plans for a bomb attack there; and it was also buying military-grade equipment which was being sent to Islamic State fighters.
The officer investigating Haque agreed to be interviewed by the BBC on condition of anonymity due to the nature of his work.
“On the face of it Ataul’s business was legal, but the destination of these resources – or at least part of them – were destined to finance ISIS, technologically and financially,” said the officer.
“We estimate that in December of 2015 Ataul Haque sent and co-ordinated a total of $50,000 (£37,691) to Bangladesh. The destination of that money, according to our Bangladeshi colleagues, was specifically “operational”, to carry out attacks.”
Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil pinpointed Siful Sujan as the man who helped set-up ISIS there.
He said the former Glamorgan University student who lived in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, had recruited up to 50 jihadi fighters in Bangladesh, and helped fund terror attacks.
“Siful Sujan was the architect, or one of the key architects, of the global money moving operation of ISIS. We are actually talking about big sums of money,” said Mr Khalil, who is now living in exile in Sweden.
“There were a number of operations in the second half of 2015 which Bangladeshi intelligence agencies believe were funded by Sujan’s money.”…
James Lincoln says
For years, the West has been trying to avoid a link between Islam and terrorism.
To admit the link, the West would have to drastically change the approach – which is currently unacceptable to many Western countries.
At least President Trump publicly acknowledges the link between “radical” Islam and terrorism, even though the problem is also with “regular” Islam – whose Muslim members can turn into jihadists without much in the way of warning.
In order to win this war, as a first step, the West needs to acknowledge that Islam – in and of itself – is unacceptable to Western democracies.
overman says
Never give money to a muslim business. God knows how many more of these innocent looking jihadi businesses exist – even down to the street vendor selling hot dogs.
ln the UK l’m surprised at how many muslims own cell phone shops, where gullible fools just automatically hand over their phones, together with all their personal history – ripe for the next jihadi ID thief.
gravenimage says
UK: “Respected south Wales businessman” founds jihad cell accused of attacks in Bangladesh and plot in US
………………………
What they mean is not “respected south Wales businessman”, but “pious Muslim”.
James Lincoln says
Agreed.
DHazard says
I wonder how many psychopaths are taken by others to be just a devout Muslim and successful businessman? In Islam you can hide you psychopathy in plain sight and nobody would know.