A suspected secret cell of foreign militants, believed to be linked to al-Qa’ida and using British hospitals as cover, are being questioned over the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow.
Five of the eight people under arrest last night are said to be doctors. Another of those detained is the wife of one of the doctors, who is a medical assistant working for the NHS. The home of a sixth doctor is said to have been searched by police. Late last night an Australian television network reported that a suspect wanted in connection with the attacks had been arrested in Brisbane.
Attention has been focused on a group of nationals from the Middle East, who had not previously attracted the interest of security agencies.
Until now, cases of Islamist terrorism have involved mainly Muslims who were born and brought up in Britain. The alleged arrival of teams from abroad to carry out attacks, their identities unknown to the domestic law agencies, adds another dimension to the terrorist threat being faced in the United Kingdom.
So is it medicine or religion that causes all of the world’s problems? Doesn’t higher education and income set us free from crime and terror?
Or is it true that people must choose between evil and good, flesh and Spirit?
It is socialized medicine that causes terrorism. Unless there is something else that people are not mentioning that these perps have in common.
Those poor oppressed British Muslim physicians… having to set off their car bombs in Mercedes-Benzes instead of Ferraris. No wonder they hate us.
Dreadful. The good things are:
(1) The disasters were averted.
(2) Most of the criminals were caught.
(3) All non-terrorist groups have been exercising responsible rhetoric.
Let’s hope that the last applies to T19 too: we all have a responsibility here and every little helps.
One of the many sad things about this is that doctors who had taken an oath to preserve life are working to take lives.
Truly sad
Jim Elliott
Please, JS, your #2 should read “alleged criminals”. How irresponsible of you!
Touche, oh Phil. Which Phil are you? I have fond memories of at least one Phil of the past …
John, I am glad that over there in the UK, you are hearing from non-terrorist groups, calming words. For that I am grateful.
You live there so you are more in tune with the pulse of the place, so I want to ask for your opinion on the following question.
Has this most recent terrorist act, become some kind of a tipping point for the Brits, insofar as their patience and tolerance of Muslims is concerned?
I read reports from the Times,(and NY Times too), that never once mentioned that the suspects were Muslim, only that they were *asian*. On the other hand, the Telegraph has had a powerful op-ed piece that is calling on the nation to reestablish its acceptance of itself as a BRITISH nation.
Now today, Heathrow is again sent sideways over the finding of a suspicious package, disrupting many travellers and obviously, flight schedules too.
My feeling is that if the tipping point has not been reached, it may be close at hand, but I would like your opinion on the matter.
#8
Thank you for your enquiry. I live in a part of the UK – the North East – where there aren’t that many Muslims: very few in Durham, where I actually live, only a small minority in Newcastle, where I work. Nevertheless, I resist your polarisation between ‘the Brits’ and ‘Muslims’. The fact of the matter is that most of these Muslims are ‘Brits’. It seems to be the case that most of the Muslims involved in these latest terrorist activities are non-Brits. but that they may have had British Muslim help. This messiness is a consequence of Britain’s status as an ex-imperial, ex-colonial power. Whatever, it is a reality. These Muslim terrorists will speak excellent English (better than many indigenous Brits.) and home-grown Muslim terrorists speak with British accents and not only in language but in many other respects are indistinguishable from indigenous Brits. They are now part of our always hybrid culture. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems – at least at the extremes there manifestly are – but it does mean that talk of ‘Brits’ reaching ‘the tipping point’ is both an inaccurate description of the multiple realities and rather dangerous. Sorry if I seem offensive but the stakes here are very high.
I’d like to say on a personal level that I have a Muslim dentist, that I have taught Muslim students, and that I often take taxis driven by Muslims (who, often enough, engage me in theological conversations about Christianity) and that I have never experienced the slightest personal hostility to me as a white British Christian. In this area, as in others, I am completely devoted to the principle of ‘live and let live’, because the alternatives are all so obviously worse. I know many Christians, especially evangelical Christians, deny the validity of this principle (here, as elsewhere) because they claim it is incomprehensible to Muslims. They are wrong: the great majority of British Muslims accept it and indeed like it.
Best, John.
I am waiting for Irenaeus to tell us the week’s headlines should be:
[b] 999,999,992 Moslems Do Not Launch Terror Attack Against Britain [/b]
We must accentuate the positive.
JS, thanks for your reply and explanation of the situation on the ground as you see it. You said nothing offensive in any way. You were simply stating your opinion and how the facts are on the ground from your prespective.
By the way, when I used the term Brits, I did NOT only mean native folk of the land, the English, Welsh, Scots, Irish, Manxmen, Cornish, etc. The Term Brit now of course, has come to correctly mean all the folks who live there, including the immigrant communities as well.
When I referred to a Tipping Point, it was not to imply a dividing of the land along racial lines. I accept as a given, that the bulk of all Brits, including also the majority of the Muslim community, are peaceful citizens.
What I meant is simply whether the entirety of the British population, of whatever their background, is getting fed up with the Jihadists? If so, are the Brits going to be more willing to take proactive action? Will the local Muslim communities come to act in a manner that will be seen as being British in the defence of the realm?
That is after all, the essential point, isn’t it?
Surely the goal is for all Brits to be Brits, not hyphenated-Brits with divided loyalty.
‘Will the local Muslim communities come to act in a manner that will be seen as being British in the defence of the realm?’
I think so. Most already do. There are enormous problems here but there are lots of intelligent and benevolent persons on all sides trying to work this thing out. It’s terribly important not to drive people into defensive camps. The UK is one of the places where Islamicist terror has to be defeated and where I think it will be defeated.
Best wishes,
John.
Headline at Fox News today: Al Qaeda to British Cleric: ‘Those Who Cure You Will Kill You’
He did the right thing and went to the authorities, but he didn’t mention the possible doctor connection because he thought it was too vague.
More at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288015,00.html