Friday, February 05, 2010

"I think it would be naive to think that Britain could not see its first female suicide bomber"

Muslim women in the UK misunderstanding Islam in increasing numbers: "Muslim women 'radicalised' in UK," by Rahila Bano for the BBC,

On Monday a female suicide bomber killed 54 people in north-east Baghdad.

The attack may have happened on another continent, but there are increasing concerns that violent extremism among women may now also be increasing in the UK.

It is believed that the process of radicalisation often takes place at universities.

One Islamist group linked with this practice is Hizb ut-Tahrir.

While not itself connected to any terrorist acts, Hizb ut-Tahrir has courted controversy and politicians have seized on some of its more inflammatory views.

The Conservative Party has said it would ban the organisation altogether.

Nazreen Nawaz is a spokeswoman for the group. She became a member while studying medicine at King's College London.

Today, sitting at her dining table in south London, she teaches her four-year-old daughter how to spell and explains her decision to join.

"The philosophy of Hizb ut-Tahrir offered me a view of Islam that could solve many of the problems in the Muslim world," Dr Nawaz says.

"We don't advocate that British Muslims go over and fight in Palestine and occupied countries.

"What we say is that people in lands such as Afghanistan, Iraq and occupied countries have the right to defend themselves."

'Naive'

There are concerns that hundreds of British Muslim women have been radicalised, many while being students.

Former Hizb-ut Tahrir member Hadiya Masieh on why she joined and later left
Recent intelligence reports about terror plots involving women, and the growing trend of al-Qaeda's use of female suicide bombers, have ignited concerns that some may turn to violent extremism in Britain.

"I think it would be naive to think that Britain could not see its first female suicide bomber," says Sabira Lakha, an adviser to the Muslim Women's Advisory Group....

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