Britain is often considered the exemplar of multiculturalism and national integration. Easily the most multicultural nation in Europe, Britain does provide an awesome picture of people from all sorts of races, colors, religions and origins living side by side. Previously Britain’s openness to all cultures and ideas was hailed as a great success but the London tube bombings in 2005 ripped apart that lofty notion.
And now another report is about to blast the idea that British multiculturalism is devoid of loopholes. In a recently complied list of 500 foreign jihadists by the US military, no fewer than 500 British residents are encrypted. Last month, the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar, near the Syrian border was raided and files pertaining to the names and addresses of loyalist to al-Qaeda from 13 different nations were seized.
Although the names of countries such as Libya, Morocco, Yemen, France and Belgium have cropped up, Britain’s presence is the most outstanding of them all. Since the 7/7 attacks that sent a ripple of shock across Britain, doubts have been raised whether the Britain’s openness and willingness to embrace migrants was taking the toll now.
It’s everyman’s knowledge that Britain has been infiltrated by jihadists and Muslim extremists. The problem is that these people are mostly young, in their mid-20s and are second generation British-Muslims. It seems that to them, their religion and roots take the utmost importance rather than their country and nationality.
British home security police and M16 will now investigate the 500 British residents whose personal details have been received from the US military. Crackdown will be tough and in all likelihood the guilty will be punished. But an apprehension once planted is almost impossible to be weeded out. The truth is that Britain is not safe anymore and the process to throw out the black sheep is going to last for long.
Image Source: Davids Zondy
Source: The Telegraph, UK
