Thought provoking piece from the Spectator."What was missing from the 7/7 commemorations"8 July 2025, 6:00amhttps://www.spectator.co.uk/article/what-was-missing-from-the-7-7-commemorations/"Something was scarce, if not absent, in the commemorations of the 7/7 Islamist attacks yesterday, and that is the fact that these were Islamist attacks. The word did not appear in the Prime Minister’s official statement to mark the anniversary. Keir Starmer commended ‘the unity of Londoners in the face of terror’, but what kind of terror? Far-right? Far-left? The IRA? Eco-warriors?The trouble is that if you specify the nature of the attacks, you specify the nature of the perpetrators. They were: Mohammad Sidique Khan (born in Leeds, parents from Pakistan); Shehzad Tanweer (born in Bradford, parents from Pakistan); Hasib Hussain (born in Leeds, parents from Pakistan); and Germaine Lindsay (born in Jamaica, family converted to Islam after settling in Yorkshire). That all were Muslims and all here as a result of immigration is purely coincidental and definitely not something we should learn any lessons from (sic).To recognise Islamism as the cause of 7/7 is to say that four British Muslims blew up people who were supposed to be their fellow citizens, and did so in the name of ‘protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters’, as Khan put it in a video statement. That to Khan, Tanweer, Hussain, and Lindsay, and those who think like them, a Muslim’s kinship and loyalty is with co-religionists the world over and not with the country that welcomed their families and extended them the benefits of citizenship.The obvious follow-up question is: how many Muslims in Britain feel the same way?" One cannot derive much consolation from the activities of the Prevent programme.'Prevent is a key strategy in the UK’s counter terrorism frameworks which CONTEST introduced following the 7/7 London terrorist attacks in 2005. Prevent aims to reduce the threat of terrorism by preventing people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It claims to be comprehensive in its aims to deradicalise and rehabilitate vulnerable people.But Prevent statistics claim that 'There were 4 more referrals made for ‘Extreme right-wing concerns’ this year (1,314) when compared to last year (1,310). The number of Islamist referrals increased by 17% (781 to 913), accounting for 13% of all referrals where type of concern is specified. Despite the increase this year, Islamist referrals are still 75% lower than their highest levels (3,706) seen in the year ending March 2017. The number of referrals for ‘Extreme right-wing concerns’ is greater than Islamist referrals for the fourth year running'. So the official body monitory terrorism says we are more at risk from 'Extreme far right' groups than from Islamist ones.Do you believe that ?If you do stay well clear of sitting close to any white male on the bus you are using.
John Hawkes ● 54d