Nafeez Ahmed: The circus: How British intelligence primed both sides of the ‘terror war’
Every time theres a terrorist attack that makes national headlines, the same talking heads seem to pop up like an obscene game of whack-a-mole. Often they appear one after the other across the media circuit, bobbing from celebrity television pundit to erudite newspaper outlet.
A few years ago, BBC Newsnight proudly hosted a debate between Maajid Nawaz, director of counter-extremism think-tank, the Quilliam Foundation, and Anjem Choudary, head of the banned Islamist group formerly known as al-Muhajiroun, which has, since its proscription, repeatedly reincarnated itself. One of its more well-known recent incarnations was "Islam4UK".
Both Nawaz and Choudary have received huge mainstream media attention, generating press headlines, and contributing to major TV news and current affairs shows. But unbeknown to most, they have one thing in common: Britains security services. And believe it or not, that bizarre fact explains why the Islamic States (IS) celebrity beheader, former west Londoner Mohammed Emwazi aka Jihadi John - got to where he is now.
A tale of two extremists
After renouncing his affiliation with the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), Maajid Nawaz co-founded the Quilliam Foundation with his fellow ex-Hizb member, Ed Husain.
- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/circus-how-british-intelligence-primed-both-sides-terror-war-55293733
bemildred
(90,061 posts)arendt
(5,078 posts)mulsh
(2,959 posts)was merely one of the major blunders. Over the last hundred year they've helped to bring us many aspects of violent political Islam, but then the Brits left cesspools and decimated societies nearly everywhere they tried to colonize. Just ask the Sepoys.
Rue Britainia indeed.