‘We can’t stigmatize entire Muslim community over a single crime’

ISIS targets individuals to make them believe what they are doing is for the cause of Islam. But such actions are far removed from Islam, says Henna Rai, Women Against Radicalization Network. David Russel, of English Democrats, takes a different stance.

On Monday, ISIS claimed responsibility for the suicide terror attack at a concert in the UK city of Manchester left 22 dead and 59 injured.

The suicide bombing happened outside a stadium where pop star Ariana Grande had just been performing. The suicide bomber detonated an explosive device shortly after the show finished and the stadium was emptying.

Police have named the bomber who died in the attack as 22-year old Salman Abedi.

Read more

Manchester bomber Salman Abedi ‘trained in Syria’

RT:  David, people on social media, have expressed anger over the lack of security at the event. Do you think the authorities are doing enough to ensure people's safety?

David Russel: I think we’re probably missing the point, to be honest. Do we need to employ more security over the threats that we face in this country? We seem to be making allowances for the fact that these guys and [girls?] some of them want to run amok in our country and cause all sort of terrorist atrocities.

RT:  Henna, Europe's seen a string of attacks by Muslims, what do you think are the reasons behind their radicalization?

Henna Rai: There are many reasons behind what causes radicalization. A lot of the time we see it because of a wide complexity of issues. They may have vulnerabilities, isolation, online grooming – which is what takes place by members of ISIS, who target these individuals, who have been surfing the net, and then continue to feed them this evil ideology, according to them, to make them believe that what they are doing is for the cause of Islam, whereas … it is as far removed from Islam as anything else.

RT:   Henna, there have been several high-profile rapes by migrants over the past few months. Isn't this a reason to be wary of Muslims?

HR: Let’s be clear here, it is not about Muslims – anybody can carry out a rape attack. We have cases of white pedophiles; we have cases of Asian pedophiles. So let’s not stigmatize a single community just for a crime.

RT:  Do you think European authorities are doing enough to help Muslim migrants adjust in society?

DR: This begins to be the problem. Our own government in the UK tend to put these people in secular ghettoes. They tend to believe that because these people are of a certain descent that they need to be with their own people. That doesn’t help integration or assimilation in anyway whatsoever. And I think our governments are being complicit in causing these ghettoes, shall we say.

Just going back to the point that the young lady said [Henna Rai] there – “We can’t stigmatize and blame all people.” I do believe white pedophiles act on their own. We’re finding that 98 percent, or 95 percent, or 99 percent of all Muslim grooming gangs – let’s get rid of the word ‘Asian’ for a moment as they believe it is a slur on the rest of the Asian community- I am sorry, but the figures suggest otherwise in the UK.

HR: That is absolutely incorrect. We have clear cases where white pedophile gangs have been working in conjunction with each other, planning attacks and targeting vulnerable young people and couples, raping babies and toddlers. But right now we’re not talking about this; right now the issue is terrorism and the terror attacks that have taken place in Manchester. So our focus should be on that and how we’re going to tackle this monster in our own midst.

RT:  Henna, Ariana Grande, who was performing at the Manchester Arena has quite provocative songs, yet her concert attracted a lot of underage girls. Do you think the concert was attacked because Muslims find such things offensive?

HR: I don’t think it was a matter of that. This was targeting people for the sake of targeting those that would be most vulnerable; where there was going to be a mass crowd of people. Let’s be clear here: we do not know what the motive behind this attack was. Albeit, it has all the hallmarks of a jihadist suicide bomber and somebody who was working with the inspiration of ISIS to carry out such an attack.

However, Ariana Grande was a Nickelodeon star, who has become a pop teen sensation, who attracts varied crowds, not necessarily provocative, I don’t agree with that, I haven’t seen many of her songs, but what I have seen they have been somehow age appropriate. Maybe it was just what I’ve seen. However, those present at the concert [the day before] yesterday where people of all kind of ethnicity, diverse groups - mainly parents, families, their children, young teens, preteens. The youngest victim that we saw, who succumbed to the attack was that of an eight-year girl, Saffie Roussos. This shows it was absolutely discriminate. The attacker did not care who he targeted…

DR: I think you’re completely missing the point… She is quite controversial [Ariana Grande] in what she sings about; she is quite controversial in her videos; homosexuality – something that Islam doesn’t abide by. We can argue as to why they attacked, or he attacked, or a group behind him and the so-called ‘lone wolf’ that these people are often called, and the same rhetoric that it has nothing to do with Islam – it has absolutely everything to do with Islam…

You can’t take these books that are somewhat of an instruction manual and then say after these people have read these [Islamic] books. We only have to look at the Middle East and what is going on in Europe at the moment to find out exactly that the laws and the lives of these people live. We’re inviting those people among us – and this is what is going wrong…