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Under currents
The News Editorial: Under Currents
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
There are worrying indications in British society that a violent anti-Muslim sentiment has now developed to the point at which attacks on Muslim-owned properties and institutions are imminent. There have been arrests in the last few days of 32 men across the UK and the recovery of arms and ammunition that included rocket-launchers, hand grenades and explosives as well as a quantity of handguns and automatic rifles. Not since the days of the IRA has such a large cache of illegal weaponry been obtained with the intent of use by a domestic terrorist group.
Many of those arrested appear to belong to the far-right British Nationalist Party (BNP) which has a decades-long history of racist and anti-Semitic activity. British parliamentarian Muhammad Sarwar praised the police and other law-enforcement agencies for their timely action. Much to their credit the police moved in protection of minority ethnic and religious groups (Muslims were not the only targets) and a tragedy has been averted.
Almost coincidentally, Commander Shaun Sawyer of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command told a meeting of British Muslims that he was concerned about the danger to their communities and that the police were responding to the growing threat. He said of the far-right… "I fear that they will have a spectacular... they will carry out an attack that will lead to a loss of life or injury to a community somewhere. They're not choosy about which community."
As the recession bites ever-deeper the polarization of British society continues apace, and as the faded dream of multiculturalism and plurality dissipates into a reality of unemployment for many poor whites, the far-right is again resurgent. Polarities in the UK to a degree reflect our own difficulties, with the difference that here extremism is more embedded and widespread and the moderates, whoever they are, lack both voice and organisation sufficient to make a counterweight. A successful attack on a Muslim target in the UK could have appalling consequences here, and we have only to think back to the violence that grew out of the Danish cartoons story to know the truth of that. Extremism has a global connectivity – what goes 'bang' in the UK may be an even bigger bang here.
The News Editorial: Under Currents
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
There are worrying indications in British society that a violent anti-Muslim sentiment has now developed to the point at which attacks on Muslim-owned properties and institutions are imminent. There have been arrests in the last few days of 32 men across the UK and the recovery of arms and ammunition that included rocket-launchers, hand grenades and explosives as well as a quantity of handguns and automatic rifles. Not since the days of the IRA has such a large cache of illegal weaponry been obtained with the intent of use by a domestic terrorist group.
Many of those arrested appear to belong to the far-right British Nationalist Party (BNP) which has a decades-long history of racist and anti-Semitic activity. British parliamentarian Muhammad Sarwar praised the police and other law-enforcement agencies for their timely action. Much to their credit the police moved in protection of minority ethnic and religious groups (Muslims were not the only targets) and a tragedy has been averted.
Almost coincidentally, Commander Shaun Sawyer of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command told a meeting of British Muslims that he was concerned about the danger to their communities and that the police were responding to the growing threat. He said of the far-right… "I fear that they will have a spectacular... they will carry out an attack that will lead to a loss of life or injury to a community somewhere. They're not choosy about which community."
As the recession bites ever-deeper the polarization of British society continues apace, and as the faded dream of multiculturalism and plurality dissipates into a reality of unemployment for many poor whites, the far-right is again resurgent. Polarities in the UK to a degree reflect our own difficulties, with the difference that here extremism is more embedded and widespread and the moderates, whoever they are, lack both voice and organisation sufficient to make a counterweight. A successful attack on a Muslim target in the UK could have appalling consequences here, and we have only to think back to the violence that grew out of the Danish cartoons story to know the truth of that. Extremism has a global connectivity – what goes 'bang' in the UK may be an even bigger bang here.
