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Culture clash facing the world
THE images of the burning Taj Mahal Palace hotel and the blood-soaked concourse at Mumbai's main railway station shocked people around the world.
That horror and outrage is now compounded by reports emanating from India's Chief Minister that the carnage unleashed by terrorists was actually plotted in this country – and reportedly from Yorkshire.
In killing more than 150 people, the gunmen and bombers displayed an inhuman cruelty that is impossible to comprehend.
Put simply, why do the men behind these attacks, terrorists who targeted British and American citizens so ruthlessly, despise the West so much?
They chose the venues for their killing sprees with great care. From two five-star hotels to a popular restaurant, a railway station and a Jewish centre, each was symbolic of the free and liberal cultures that they seek to destroy.
In identifying themselves with a clash of cultures, the Mumbai attackers also ensured that this outrage will be seen as India's 9/11.
Whatever justification the captured gunmen choose to advance for their atrocities, however, it will not conceal the fact that this was a villainous killing spree.
What must concern police and security services in Britain, India, Pakistan and the rest of the world is how these baby-faced young men became murderers.
They were not born with hate in their hearts but sought out this form of war either alone, on the internet, or with the help of extremist groups in their community.
No effort must be spared in trying to prevent the brainwashing of young men and women. The four men from West Yorkshire who carried out the 7/7 attacks in London were "clean-skins" who committed mass murder. Despite the lack of a successful terrorist attack in Britain for more than three years, young minds continue to be corrupted, as shown by the conviction in September of Hammaad Munshi, a Dewsbury boy who, at the age of 16, had the grim distinction of becoming Britain's youngest terrorist.
They were all, however indirectly, inspired by the teachings of al-Qaida.
No government can legislate against what goes on in people's minds, but they can try to stop poison being poured into the ears of the impressionable. However bleak the outlook appears at times like this, governments in the West
and Asia must continue to try to convert would-be militants to the values of peace and tolerance.
Britain's Muslim community is central to this ambition. A strain of fanaticism has infected a minority of Muslims in
this country and their friends and family should intervene before it becomes an epidemic.
They must teach the young that there is no place for those who shun freedom and fairness and who seek to harm others.
In return, Britons must accept that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful and proud people who are as appalled as anyone else by what has gone on in Mumbai. British Muslims are not the problem, they are part of the solution.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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