Ten years on – Remembering 7/7

Today is the tenth anniversary of 7/7, it is time to reflect on the day and what caused four young British Muslims to commit such a heinous act. Prior to the day, I would argue until I was blue in the face that a young British Muslim would never commit an act of terrorism on British soil.

I vividly remember that day, I had been in library early that morning typing up my dissertation on “Institutionalised Racism within the police force” and staggered out for a breather and leg stretch. Andy on security was absorbed by the screen in front of him and typically I made some joking comment as I walked across. Andy looked at me and asked if I knew what had happened, I didn’t as I had been hiding away and frantically working in the library since 7am. The first image I saw was of the red bus blown apart, I was in disbelief and shock. My only response was “Why?”

I failed to understand why, what motivated them to carry out these attacks? The question of why, continues to be the question I keep asking myself. If we are to effectively prevent and counter we must first understand the why and how recruitment and radicalisation takes place. Over the coming years I have spoken to many academics, journalists and police officers in trying to understand the mindset and the process. I was offered many models, however I don’t feel that any one model can truly allow us to understand.

Soon after 7/7 I began to experience large volumes of Islamophobia, random people wanting to stop me in the street and fight me, taunts of bin Laden and a significant increase in racism. I have lost count of the number of times this happened to me and in many ways it became a normal part of my life as it has been for many.

During the Summer of 06 I decided to be volunteer at a refugee camp in the West Bank. An experience which has changed my life. I was welcomed to Israel with over nine hours of interrogation at Tel Aviv airport. An experience which quickly snapped me out of my naivety of being a British traveller. I experienced what thousands experience daily, humiliation, repetitive questioning, stress, afraid to speak to others, aggressive questioning, periods of waiting, having to watch Palestinians undergo more aggressive forms of questioning, the searching of my luggage, body searches, more waiting, more questioning and finally I gave up. I vividly remember sitting on the floor with an American and laughing at the silliest of jokes. It made us both feel much better, miraculously my passport reappeared. This was not the freedom I had envisaged, there was another search of my bag and a very aggressive body search. I can still recall the fear I felt and the relief of finally being set free, arriving at my hotel in Jerusalem and looking across the beautiful night sky with al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock a stone throw away. I remember the delicious falafel wrap, filled with hummus, pickles and chips that I ate in a small café outside the old gate. I was surprised at the number of armed soldiers on the streets of Jerusalem, a very rare sight in Britain. For the next few days I continued to look over my shoulder, unable to trust the hospitality of strangers, questioning the motives of all those around me and easily alarmed. On my arrival into Nablus, I was overwhelmed by being one of 23 volunteers from across the world, every day was an emotional rollercoaster and the children at the refugee camp demonstrated high levels of resilience having faced the trauma of growing up in a war zone. Too many memories and emotions to share in a single blog. No day would go by without tears in my eyes.  We could see the F-16 fighter jets flying over head on the way to bomb Lebanon. For a short period in my life I tasted life in a war zone, we could hear gun fights in the distance, returning to the abandoned school that we slept in to find the streets on fire, feeling the trembling of the ground when bombs were being dropped, seeing the reality of death on the streets and the impact on families.

I remember being at a hospital when a 14 year old boy was rushed in having being shot in the head by an Israeli soldier, the mother turning to the camera and saying every child has its day and today is my child’s day! I experienced the humiliation that the Palestinian’s face daily having to go through check points and I slowly began to understand why and how someone could be radicalised and recruited.

You can read about our experiences and reflections below:

http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/camp2006/impressions_internationals.htm

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/student-tells-of-life-in-west-bank-with-audio-1-155149

On my return I was a little shell shocked, fireworks would make me jump. I still dread bonfire night, the fireworks remind me of gun fights and bombs. With hindsight, I returned being vulnerable to being radicalised. I was more outspoken than I had previously been, however I was fortunate enough to have the critical thinking skills and resilience to counter this vulnerability.

I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity sit with teachers who had been grounded in traditional Islam which led to the opportunity to visit Yemen during the Summer of 07. In the valley of Hadramawt I was fortunate to sit with the Habaib, the lessons of Habib Ali had a particular impact on me and has informed my approach to interfaith and building bridges. Traditional Islam, Sufism and religious literacy can all be factors which can make an individual resilient to becoming radicalised.

I continue to ask why? I believe that I have began to uncover some of the reasons and process however I have much more to learn. I have spoken to many, read plethora of research, spoken to many ex-combatants, discussed with academics and practitioners. I don’t claim to have found all the answers!

My research trips to Northern Ireland, have allowed me to learn from the troubles and very different circumstances. I gained an insight in how social factors can play a significant role within radicalisation. I was struck by the experiences of one inspirational man, who had no interest in civil rights, politics or any paramilitary group before Bloody Sunday. He saw many of his innocent friends being killed that day, which pushed him into the arms of the IRA. When questioned why he left, his answer is powerful and has a profound impact, “I was tired of carrying so many of my friends to the cemetery. There had to be another way to create change” which began a process of opening up dialogue with the British Army.  I am inspired by the work of peace activists who work tirelessly and we have much to learn from them.

These are some of my life experiences which drive me to build bridges between communities, promote peace and try to counter extremism. My way of remembering 7/7 is by trying to find ways of understanding why recruitment/radicalisation takes place and finding ways of countering and preventing radicalisation. There has to be an alternative to this “Clash of Civilisation” that some are becoming a catalyst for. We need to actively become agents for peace, many are feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of global conflict. We need to think global and act local, what can we do to spread peace in our communities, local areas, towns and cities? My approach is one of condemnation to the acts of terrorism and compassion to the survivors and families of the victims.

The following film gives an overview of four people who give their own perspectives on the events of that terrible day: a man who was on the same tube carriage as one of the bombers; a young woman whose mother was killed on the bus; an Imam from Leeds; and an expert on the study of terrorism.

https://www.truetube.co.uk/film/77

If we want peace, we need to break the cycle of hatred

As I have been writing this blog, we have seen horrendous attacks take place on Friday 26th June in Tunisia, Kuwait and France, which has sent shock waves through communities.

I have started a campaign titled “Muslims Against Da’esh” We intend for it to grow organically and we are currently in the process of developing a vision and strategy, this will include the development of memes as a mechanism of promoting counter narratives and peace, social media campaigns, training and events.

We will be encouraging people to use the hashtag
#MAD
#MuslimsAgainstDaesh

#MAD4Peace

This will be a Muslim led campaign which encourages people of all faiths and none to get involved. I have been touched by messages of support and encouragement I have received from diverse communities.

Can you please like our page and circulate details through your networks

https://www.facebook.com/MuslimsUniteAgainstDaesh

Let us unite and stand together in Peace

Peace & Love

Ali