To think that the BBC don't need to put up apologists for terrorists

[AgaPanthers]

'Jihadi John', face of the violent murder of various aid worker, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31637090

The BBC unquestioningly quote an 'Asim Qureshi' saying that he's a lovely guy, and before he was "harassed" by MI5, starting around 2009, when he finished university and attempted to fly to Tanzania (to go and pursue jihad in Somalia - MI5, or to go safari - he claims), he was a "beautiful young man".

In fact, it seems fairly clearly that he had extensive links with terrorist sympathisers in London.

And moreover, Asim Qureshi, as 30 seconds on Google would show, is a jihadist himself, here in 2009:

Not exactly your regular 'human rights activisit'.

Yanbu. It's always someone else's fault, isn't it? "I had to behead innocent people and it's all MI5's fault"

I doubt he was ever a 'beautiful young man'. He must have always been a psychopath.

He was a joke on 4. Was asked of he supported the act, waffled on evading the answer so was asked again. Evaded saying you are only asking cos I am Muslim. Was told nope, eventually kind of answered.
Another one was how did he not recognise his mates voice before Sunday. Afterall he is proclaiming to be a very good mate etc. claimed in 3 yeArs spoke 8 times... Such a close mate to know how he he ticked..
The whole time I was thinking err mate, the terrorist is what he is becuase of choice not because he was stopped entering a country and sent back. Being asked questions by the authorities here and in Amsterdam didn't make him into a terrorist. His own free choices did this. If police having chats made you a terrorists then how comes there aren't more?

Yes, the C4 interview is worth watching.

It's not like he was put in bloody Guantanamo Bay was it?

There's more detail on him here:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2971104/Angelic-schoolboy-turned-reviled-executioner-Jihadi-John-s-descent-polite-west-London-pupil-bloodthirsty-killer-revels-brutality.html

Basically he has a British passport, British education, but born in Kuwait, and he hang around with Islamists in London, and initially attempted to go and torture and murder in Somalia, but when that failed, he wanted to to go to Kuwait, and the Kuwaitis knew his background and said said 'fuck off, you are a British extremist, we don't want you here, go back to England'.

Which he did.

But somehow he made it out of Britain to go and torture and murder saintly aid workers.

It's difficult to see what part the British security forces are supposed to have in radicalizing this piece of shit - he did that perfectly well by himself, choosing in London, where you can be basically anything you want, to associate with murderous terrorists.

The only person responsible for his murderous and cowardly acts is him. Anybody who excuses his behavior or has any sympathy for him is deluded.

I wish Primo Levi was still with us to say something pithy about Mr Quereshi's thesis.

But of course there are millions of human beings worldwide who have survived egregious oppression and state harrasment and gone on to thrive and live worthwhile lives without beheading anybody.

A suspicious mind would wonder what Cage's real agenda is.

Moreover, there is plenty of evidence to suggest Emwazi's radicalization dates back to his undergraduate years.

Which would mean MI5's intelligence was spot on and Emwazi was not reacting to unjust actions by the UK state at all.

Oh I just saw that youtube link re Qureshi. Interesting.

hmm whilst I certainly don't sympathize with his dispicable acts you've got to take into account the fact that nothing in this world happens in a vacuum. There's a multitude of interconnecting social and political factors that give rise to extremism. Its quite likely that a bad experience with mi5 could push you over the edge into extreme hatred if you were already highly critical of the uk, and felt that your religion was (historically and currently) oppressed by the west. Again, I don't condone it, my sympathy lies with the people who were murdered and their families, but I think understanding why extremism takes root is key to tackling it. The problem won't go away on its own, and you can't fight an ideology with bombs. In our lack of consideration to cause we are creating a power dichtomy between extremists and liberals, good and evil, its far too simplistic, and not helpful.

FuckUp

Yes I can understand a youngster who has lived in an oppressed state all his life seeing friends and family murdered with no access to justice or education joining a terror group to fight. Of course anyone couid understand that step.

However this cunt grew up in one of the most liberal countries in the world here in Britain. He was educated and freely allowed to practise his religion and values.

MI5 may well have tried to recruit him. So what! He was obviously not harassed to such an extent that he couldn't skulk off to Syria.

To call this psychopathic bastard who has no pity no mercy and no humanity was once a nice guy who was turned into a monster is palpably bollicks.

I hope that tte security services are watching this cunt who lied on channel 4 and I hope against hope that so called john is captured and put on trial by the Americans.

And sorry but hope he is exucuted.

yanbu I found that awful

Does he have family here?

Yes 26, I think they still live in Notting Hill.

Parents and either three or five younger siblings, depending which account you read.

His brother is involved in the Greenwich mosque where Lee Rigby's killers turned bad, but other than that, fairly normal sounding family- Kuwaiti asylum seekers in early 90s, council flat in little venice, dad a minicab driver, C of E primary and state comp for all the DC. At least two of them grads of former polys. All quite stable.

Little Venice, i mean.

I completely agree with Fuckups post, but I couldn't have made the point that eloquently!

Fuckup I take your points.

However I still think the performances on TV yesterday by CAGE were damaging to community relations in the UK. A conspiracy theorist might think they were funded by the far right!

Oppression doesn't just occur through physical violence though I lovemycats, it also happens through cultural imperalism which can be extremely damaging to communities, culture and identity. It also inevitably creates resistance which is what's happening here with the lure of extremism. I take your points that the far right could have a field day with this but that doesn't mean we should oppress the point of view, we need more transparency in the media not less for a truly democratic society.

Thanks for the support from some posters, really thought I'd get flamed. I'm not a terrorist sympathizer, I don't want to live under a strict Islamic regime anymore than most people, just think there has been many historical struggles which have led to this point which need acknowledging.

*suppress the point of view

Yanbu OP

And YY to everything ilovecats has said

Maybe he once was a nice guy, and a good friend.

Who knows?

People are often more complicated than neat little sound bites about psychopathy would have you allow. I don't think Asim Qureshi's comments are that different to neighbours of serial killers saying So-and-So was such a nice, polite young man.

Maybe it is a terrorist conspiracy. Or maybe he's (AQ) genuinely horrified at what happened to the bloke he used to know.

Kay Burley on SKY interviewed one of the people from "Cage" and my goodness did she give him hell. He accused her of asking an islamophobic and racist question and she snapped back "Oh, get over yourself".

Give that girl a medal!

Not like neighbours no, he specifically blames British security forces. There was little sense of the individual's responsibility for his own actions.

The fact he is lovely to his friends shows he is not unable to control himself when he wishes.