Muslim Youths, Islam and Violent Radicalisation: Addressing Some Myths
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
| Author | Shahid Bux |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2007.80.3.267 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SHAHID BUX
PhD Candidate, University of St Andrews, Scotland
MUSLIM YOUTHS, ISLAM AND
VIOLENT RADICALISATION:
ADDRESSING SOME MYTHS
Since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, it is generally
accepted by many that the world confronts a ‘new’ and
qualitatively distinct type of security challenge from an equally
‘new’ kind of terrorism. While earlier instances of political
violence by non-state actors were geographically constrained,
and generally directed towards unambiguous political object-
ives, the ‘new’ networks of terrorist violence function across a
global dimension whose goals are more dispersed. An example
of this is to be found in the London attacks on 7 July 2005.
Public and political discourse throughout the West often
describes the ‘new’ problems of global political violence partly
in terms of ‘radicalisation’ process (es) among Muslim groups
in different parts of the world. This article addresses the UK
government response to the radicalisation phenomenon and
shows how existing policies and measures have failed to gauge
the complexity of the radicalisation process, and risk creating
further community divisions.
Introduction
The London attacks of 7 July 2005, in which 52 commuters were
killed, heightened concerns about violent radicalisation among
Britain’s 1.6 million Muslims. In November 2006, the then head
of MI5 warned that the agency had identified at least thirty major
terrorist plots being planned in Britain and advised that the
agency was targeting more than 1,600 individuals actively
engaged in promoting attacks both in the UK and abroad
(Manningham-Buller, 2006). The plots were said to be the most
serious of many more that were being planned by 200 British-
based ‘networks’ involved in terrorism. Most of those said to
be involved were thought to be British born with connections
to al-Qaeda.
Despite what many presume is a growing rate of radical-
isation within the UK, efforts to understand the phenomenon and
effectively respond to it have largely been misconstrued. While
all those tasked in the field of counter-terrorism, in particular the
police, security and intelligence services, have toiled assiduously
The Police Journal, Volume 80 (2007) 267
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