terrorism Archives | MelaniePhillips.com

It takes more than ideas to make an extremist

June 23, 2020 Melaniecannabis, radicalisation, stabbings, terrorism

There’s still much we don’t know about Saturday’s stabbings in Reading which left three dead and others injured. The suspect, Khairi Saadallah, was arrested on suspicion of murder and then re-arrested under the Terrorism Act. Over the past three years, the security service has uncovered and broken up 25 terrorist plots. But after the Reading atrocity, officials were quick to point out that the scale of Britain’s terrorism threat means that such apparent “lone wolf” attacks are very hard to prevent. But there’s another reason why the authorities are finding…

Britain Global conflict

It’s all about the narrative. Who controls it, wins

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 Melaniehuman rights, jihad, terrorism

Are we seeing a crack developing in the hitherto impregnable “human rights” dogma which has helped emasculate Britain’s defences against terrorism? In the wake of the latest Islamic terror attack last Sunday in London, in which two people were stabbed by a terrorist who had recently been released from jail and was actually considered so dangerous he was being shadowed by armed police, the government has indicated it will scrap automatic early release for such prisoners. It may also re-introduce control orders and other more draconian sentencing options for terrorists,…

Britain Global conflict

Britain is losing the fight against extremism

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 Melaniede-radicalisation, Islam, liberalism, terrorism

For the second time in just over two months, terrorism on Britain’s streets has descended into lethal farce. On Sunday Sudesh Amman, an Islamist who had just been released from prison even though he was considered so dangerous that he was being shadowed by armed police officers, seized a knife from a shop in Streatham and stabbed two people before those officers shot him dead. Last November Usman Khan, an Islamist released from prison 11 months earlier, murdered two people at a conference that he was attending on London Bridge…

Britain Culture wars Global conflict

After the New Zealand mosque attacks, an Orwellian frenzy

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 MelanieIslamophobia, New Zealand mosque attacks, terrorism, Twitter storm

It’s not often that I find myself in the same boat as Chelsea Clinton. At a vigil in New York for the 50 Muslims slaughtered by a gunman at two New Zealand mosques, Clinton was accused by students of being a cause of the massacre. The reason for this ludicrous charge was staggering. It was that she had criticized the antisemitic tweet by Rep. Ilhan Omar suggesting that Jews use their money to suborn American politicians in the interests of Israel. “Forty-nine people died because of the rhetoric you put…

Israel

The terrorist murder of Aisha Rabi

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 MelanieAisha Rabi, Jewish extremism, Shin Bet, terrorism

As the result of an Israeli gagging order being partially lifted, it has been revealed that five Jewish teenagers from a yeshiva in the disputed territories have been accused of the murder of a Palestinian woman, Aisha Rabi. This was a heinous and appalling crime. Rabi, the mother of nine children, was killed last October when a rock was hurled at her car. Lawyers for the five teenagers claim that the Israeli security service, the Shin Bet, used torture and ill-treatment against the boys who the lawyers say are innocent…

Britain

Preachers of hate prey on our liberal values

October 25, 2018 MelanieChoudary, Islamists, terrorism

Preachers of hate prey on our liberal values What do you do with a problem like Anjem Choudary? In 2016, he was jailed for five and a half years for inviting support for Islamic State. Last Friday, he was released on licence halfway through his sentence. Choudary, who emerged from prison reportedly reaffirming his support for Isis, is no run-of-the-mill extremist. He has arguably had more influence on radicalising British Muslims than has any other Islamist. Choudary avoided arrest for many years by exploiting legal loopholes. Few believe the threat…

Israel

A climate of suspicion, or prudent defence against terror?

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 MelanieMoral Maze, privacy, suspicion, terrorism

A climate of suspicion, or prudent defence against terror? MI5 is to declassify and share information on UK citizens suspected of having terrorist sympathies. “Key” biographical data on potentially hundreds of people will be given to neighbourhood police, councils and other public agencies such as the Probation Service and the Charity Commission. Is this only prudent in the interests of national security, or does it needlessly compromise privacy and freedom? I discussed this on BBC Radio’s Moral Maze this week with fellow-panellists Giles Fraser, Claire Fox and Tim Stanley. Our…