Drastic new tactics to prevent school pupils as young as 13 falling into extremism.
Two hundred schoolchildren in Britain, some as young as 13, have been identified as potential terrorists by a police scheme that aims to spot youngsters who are "vulnerable" to Islamic radicalisation.
The number was revealed to The Independent by Sir Norman Bettison, the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and Britain's most senior officer in charge of terror prevention.
He said the "Channel project" had intervened in the cases of at least 200 children who were thought to be at risk of extremism, since it began 18 months ago. The number has leapt from 10 children identified by June 2008.
The programme, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers, asks teachers, parents and other community figures to be vigilant for signs that may indicate an attraction to extreme views or susceptibility to being "groomed" by radicalisers. Sir Norman, whose force covers the area in which all four 7 July 2005 bombers grew up, said: "What will often manifest itself is what might be regarded as racism and the adoption of bad attitudes towards 'the West'.
"One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.
"But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising al-Qa'ida. That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child's family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man."
The Channel project was originally piloted in Lancashire and the Metropolitan Police borough of Lambeth in 2007, but in February last year it was extended to West Yorkshire, the Midlands, Bedfordshire and South Wales. Due to its success there are now plans to roll it out to the rest of London, Thames Valley, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and West Sussex.
The scheme, funded by the Home Office, involves officers working alongside Muslim communities to identify impressionable children who are at risk of radicalisation or who have shown an interest in extremist material – on the internet or in books.
Once identified the children are subject to a "programme of intervention tailored to the needs of the individual". Sir Norman said this could involve discussions with family, outreach workers or the local imam, but he added that "a handful have had intervention directly by the police".
He stressed that the system was not being used to target the Muslim community. "The whole ethos is to build a relationship, on the basis of trust and confidence, with those communities," said Sir Norman.
"With the help of these communities we can identify the kids who are vulnerable to the message and influenced by the message. The challenge is to intervene and offer guidance, not necessarily to prosecute them, but to address their grievance, their growing sense of hate and potential to do something violent in the name of some misinterpretation of a faith.
"We are targeting criminals and would-be terrorists who happen to be cloaking themselves in Islamic rhetoric. That is not the same as targeting the Muslim community."
Nor was it criminalising children, he added. "The analogy I use is that it is similar to our well-established drugs intervention programmes. Teachers in schools are trained to identify pupils who might be experimenting with drugs, take them to one side and talk to them. That does not automatically mean that these kids are going to become crack cocaine or heroin addicts. The same is true around this issue."
But Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said the police ran the risk of infringing on children's privacy. He warned: "There is a difference between the police being concerned or believing a person may be at risk of recruitment and a person actually engaging in unlawful, terrorist activity.
"That said, clearly in recent years some people have been lured by terrorist propaganda emanating from al-Qa'ida-inspired groups. It would seem that a number of Muslim youngsters have been seduced by that narrative and all of us, including the Government, have a role to play in making sure that narrative is seen for what it is: a nihilistic one which offers no hope, only death and destruction."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We are committed to stopping people becoming or supporting terrorists or violent extremists. The aim of the Channel project is to directly support vulnerable people by providing supportive interventions when families, communities and networks raise concerns about their behaviour."
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
Britain: 180 kids identified as extremism risks
LONDON - British police said Saturday that a program that tries to identify children at risk of Islamic radicalization has dealt with 180 cases over an 18-month period.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said that around 180 children were referred to the program, designed to combat homegrown terrorism, between April 2007 and September 2008.
The program, known as the Channel Project, asks parents, teachers and youth workers to look out for children who may be taking an unusual interest in extremist literature or those who may be tempted to join radical groups. Community leaders and local government workers, etc...
"One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.
Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise, and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire http://www.muftimenk.co.za/Downloads.html
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
I'm assuming they're doing the same sort of thing to weed out "potential" serial killers, right? And "potential" rapists? And "potential" psychotic loners who go on shooting sprees at their school? And "potential" fraudsters and "potential" embezzlers? And "potential" gang members?
After all, since when are terrorists the only potential threat to society?
Last edited by crayon; 03-29-2009 at 03:16 PM.
Reason: added more
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
The problem really has always been the desire to secularize religion (Islam) -- the case is easy with Christianity since Jesus didn't hang around long enough to reinforce the laws of the OT.. rather most of the laws were abrogated through Saul and then you ended up with nothing but a huge western mythology that can't for the most part seem to uphold basic commandments let alone function as a viable political system. They can't seem to grasp why that isn't the case with Islam?.. so they try everything from smear campaigns to attacks on the character of the prophet to marginalizing the roles of Muslim women, erecting a million hateful sites under the guise of apostates leaving Islam because ---- purchasing news stations in 'Muslim lands' to brain wash the youth, prison cells to hold our young men without trial, send their missionaries overseas as well bandits to wreak civil unrest through random bombings to holy cites.. so why is it any wonder at all that they are identifying children as 'threat for extremism'? In the end it will crash hard on top of their heads.. already their economy is in shambles and pretty soon they'll be governed by the same despots that have gripped the Muslim world.. only they are elected by their own choosing as it seems having a free though is a difficult thing to maintain with nonstop forcible indoctrination through every medium...
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Osman
But Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said the police ran the risk of infringing on children's privacy.
Just a minor correction. Inayat Bunglawala no longer represents the Muslim Council of Britain. He is now an "Advisor on Policy and Research at ENGAGE, an initiative designed to encourage British Muslims to interact more effectively in politics and the media in the UK."
"I spent thirty years learning manners, and I spent twenty years learning knowledge."
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
i seriously think the home secretary jackpot jacqui and gory brown need to be brought to justice for squandering money through selfish behavior......first it was using money to train 60,000 agencies or bodies through powerpoint presentations to catch suspects.....oh my oh my and now they want to spy on kids....this is another classic case of turning the public's focus from the governments failings and poor handling of the financial situation to the good old enemy of ours 'the terrorist'.....
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
I don't have a problem with what they are doing, it stops freakish children with no lives falling into extreme thinking. And you do get kids/teenagers who have been caught with bomb making material. I had this mate who obsessed with making weapons purely because he was a jackass, nothing radical or anything, so one day he used a college computer to download some huge bomb making 'cookbook' (can't rember the exact name) because of faster internet, couple of days later our I.T teacher found it and the police got involved, lol. But it just shows that this stuff is availabe and if caught in wrong hands can cause serious problems. So I wouldn't mind if the problem is stopped at an early age
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by aadil77
I don't have a problem with what they are doing, it stops freakish children with no lives falling into extreme thinking. And you do get kids/teenagers who have been caught with bomb making material. I had this mate who obsessed with making weapons purely because he was a jackass, nothing radical or anything, so one day he used a college computer to download some huge bomb making 'cookbook' (can't rember the exact name) because of faster internet, couple of days later our I.T teacher found it and the police got involved, lol. But it just shows that this stuff is availabe and if caught in wrong hands can cause serious problems. So I wouldn't mind if the problem is stopped at an early age
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Osman
Just a minor correction. Inayat Bunglawala no longer represents the Muslim Council of Britain. He is now an "Advisor on Policy and Research at ENGAGE, an initiative designed to encourage British Muslims to interact more effectively in politics and the media in the UK."
that is one plus point for the mcb in my view then, i have bara for this man and his views, he is one of the number one people the media bring out to criticise and attack those who go in the path of Allah or those who enjoin the good and forbid the evil.
on the main point of this thread...
its a massive under estimation if they think every kid who writes i love al-qaeda or i love the mujahideen is a potential terrorist.
we have had more youngsters than this come up to us on the stall and make such statements in the past couple of years doing it and leicester is one of the most wishy washy almost pacifist muslim communities.
i dont particually have a problem with people targetting youngsters to try to get their message across, we all know Abu Jahal was beaten in battle by two nine year old boys, usama (ra) was sent by the muslims at the age of 18 and he led the whole army of the believers.
if anything i think all parts of the islamic revival movement should target the youth more, but instead people sit and say they are doing their studies making invalid excuses for them not to do the da'wah which was fard upon them from the time they reached puberty.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
Greetings and peace be with you Osman my friend,
I doubt that Britain can come up with a just reason to be in Iraq, we cannot claim self defence because we are the invaders. The reasons to be in Afghanistan seem dubious.
I guess if Britain pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and paid them compensation to rebuild their countries, the risk of terrorism would fade away.
Paying compensation would probably be cheaper than keeping troops in these countries, and we would work towards peace.
Sadly I do not see this as an option the British Government would take.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Eric H
Greetings and peace be with you Osman my friend,
I doubt that Britain can come up with a just reason to be in Iraq, we cannot claim self defence because we are the invaders. The reasons to be in Afghanistan seem dubious.
I guess if Britain pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and paid them compensation to rebuild their countries, the risk of terrorism would fade away.
Paying compensation would probably be cheaper than keeping troops in these countries, and we would work towards peace.
Sadly I do not see this as an option the British Government would take.
In the spirit of praying for peace on Earth
Eric
peace eric,
right now the muslims just want to be left to get our own house in order, if they pulled out and stopped supporting the apostate rulers i am pretty certain they wouldnt even need to pay compensation.
however if they dont and the muslims get stronger and seize more areas then sooner or later they will be in a position to demand compensation along with any truce or peace treaty.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Joe98
That makes no sense. I can show by changing a few words:
The Germans never declared war on Canada and nevr attacked Canadian assets.
On 9/11 the Taliban started a war against everybody including the UK and Canada.
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joe, that would be true if history began on 9/11 but it didnt so you are wrong. 9/11 was the chickens coming home to roost.
the muslims are not the agressors, ok some may go overboard a little in their response but still they are defending themselves.
whilstever the west is supporting their puppet rulers in the muslim lands and occupying other parts then children will continue to be radicalised and the vast majority will not meet people like me to explain to them why it is not permissable according to most scholars to attack the uk whilst living here at the same time.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
Greetings and peace be with you Joe98
Canada took sides in an existing war, and you could possibly justify the first Gulf war by saying, the British and Americans took sides and came to the aid of Kuwait.
Is there an honest and truthful reason to be in Iraq today, we have to admit to a lot of mistakes in judgement.
The reason to be in Iraq is seen by many to be wrong and unjust, these young kids see injustice against their own people, and are being asked to respond. If we take away the injustice, the kids will have nothing to respond against.
In the same way that rioters recently smashed the windows of the RBS bank, there was great injustice. Directors were being paid millions at the expense of people losing their homes because of the perceived greed of the directors.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Joe98
"Most scholars" ? I thought Islam has never changed since the time of the prophet pbuh?
1. Why would they have a differing view ?
2. Please explain "Islamicphobia"
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the sources have not changed, however how those sources have been interpretated can differ from scholar to scholar.
in this particular case the difference is over what it is permissable to do when the non-muslims attack our brothers and sisters whilst we are living in the same land as them or break their covenant and attack us here.
some scholars take the view that muslims shouldnt be seen as traitorous and attack them as should be seen to have good character even when the non muslims are not behaving correctly, but under such circumstances it is still obligatory to leave such a place.
a minority view says if the disbelievers attack us first then allowed to attack them even whilst living amongst them.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
format_quote Originally Posted by Joe98
"Most scholars" ? I thought Islam has never changed since the time of the prophet pbuh?
1. Why would they have a differing view ?
2. Please explain "Islamicphobia"
-
islamophobia, i.e the fear of islam.
some people hate and fear islam because they are ignorant and bigotted, others because they see it as a challenge to their way of life and they dont want to change.
Re: Police identify 200 children as potential terrorists
From a purely linguistic point of view, Islamophobia would imply an irrational fear of Islam. However, it's meaning according to popular usage is more akin to the Islamic equivalent of anti-semitism. The same with homophobia I suppose.
"I spent thirty years learning manners, and I spent twenty years learning knowledge."
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and now they want to spy on kids....this is another classic case of turning the public's focus from the governments failings and poor handling of the financial situation to the good old enemy of ours 'the terrorist'.....
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