Inequality and alienation: The making of murderous Jihadists

There was the most extraordinary interview this morning on BBC Radio 4’s today programme. A young woman, Asmae, from the Molenbeek region of Brussels where many European Jidadists have come from, not only claimed that she knew Salah Abdeslam,-who was one of the Paris terrorists, caught last week in Brussels , but she also stated that; “when I first knew him as a teenager he was a ‘normal’ and kind young man. ‘Normal’ in the Molenbeek sense” , she added. The BBC reporter Matthew Price, responded, "I’m not sure that many people in Paris, would think of him as a normal and kind person ", before going on to ask, “so how did it all change for Abdeslam?”

Asmae responded with insight and clarity: “it occurred”, she said, “after he went into prison for petty crime. Inside jail he met with a well known jihadist, Abdelhamid. In Belgium’s prisons there were no such things as rehabilitation programmes or awareness that extremism was being taught behind bars. As a result he and countless others came out of prison much worse than when they went in.”

The story that Asmae tells is perhaps the most familiar and well trodden path for the making of many murderous Jihadists. The two suicide brothers involved in yesterday’s attack in Brussels, Khalid and Brahim el Bakraoui, both had criminal records but nothing related to terrorism.

Closer to home both the UK’s infamous shoe bomber Richard Reid and one of Lee Rigby’s murderers Michael Adebewole, both were petty criminals but whilst inside prison these men converted from Christianity to Muslims and a radical path taught by their extremist preachers.

Of course not every Black man or woman who sees their own life chances extremely limited by the way society treats their race or religion turns to extremism and Jihad, but the reality is that in many of these areas or communities, can quickly become a breeding grounds for both petty criminality and or radicalisation. Discussing the Brussels bombings, the director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, Peter Neumann stated that places such as Molenbeek,’ have effectively been abandoned, politically and economically by the State.’ This in a global city where billions of pounds are invested almost everywhere except in minority areas such as Molenbeek.

Trying to understand the bigger picture the young women-Asmae - from Molenbeek stated; “Belgium’s do not want to confront their history. They came to Morocco looking for cheap labour to work in its mines and other back breaking jobs, but when the Moroccans decided to stay, and give a future for their children they were not invited for jobs and decent education.”

If we are to understand the physical and physiological journey that leads a ‘normal, kind’ individual to commit mass murder then we have to confront some uncomfortable truths about inequality and alienation. Whether we like it or not they are key factors that drive individuals to the arms of violent extremism. Furthermore, we must have clear plans about how we give all individuals a sense of belonging and equality of opportunity.

How bizarre is it, for example, that here in the UK after the Paris atrocity last year the Chancellor George Osborne announced he would spend an extra 3.5 billion pounds on fighting extremism. That would take the budget to 16 billion pounds over 4 years. 400 million pounds a year, every year.

However, in almost unbelievable sharp contrast the UK spends less than 5 million pounds a year on tackling race inequality.

When we deal with some of the root causes of extremism including inequality and alienation, we not only save lives and ensure that all our communities can thrive but we could easily save 100’s of millions of pounds every year as well. Surely that makes good sense!

Simon Woolley