Westminster terror

The terror attack in London some days back has once again drawn attention to the rise in extremism amongst Muslim communities in the West, particularly in the United Kindom where a large South Asian community has put down its roots. The attacker, identified as Khalid Masood was a late Muslim convert who mowed down four people near Britain’s Houses of Parliament earlier this week. Police are still trying to piece together information about the attacker and what his links may have been to terror organisations operating in the region. But the clues are far and few. Neighbours have described Masood as a quiet man who largely kept to himself. But there are certain incidents in his life that may have forced this middle aged man to commit the crime that he did and this is where the British government needs to focus its attention.  Investigations are underway over who Masood was meeting with and what influence they had on his actions.

We are told that Masood worked in Saudi Arabia but did not have a criminal record there or attract the attention of the security services. This may or may not be the turning point in his life but it takes away from the rise in extremism within the Muslim community in the UK. Muslims nurse a number of grievances against the British government and feel that they have been sidelined as a community. In comparison to other South Asian communities, Muslims have done poorly in terms of education and economic empowerment. Mainstream community leaders say that the community itself has not focused on its progress and has lagged behind as a consequence. The larger issue is that of a feeling of neglect and anger amongst many young Muslims in general and those of South Asian origin in particular. Lessons must be learnt of how the British government reacted after the Brixton riots some decades earlier. The same approach needs to be taken for the Muslim community.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2017.