Muslims must root out 'cancer' of radicalisation

This is precisely what has been missing from the Muslim response to the ongoing atrocities of Daesh.

Sadiq Khan, the most senior Muslim in Labour’s ranks, has spoken out at a Westminster lunch for journalists, about his fears that his teenage daughters could be tricked into going to Syria by online jihadists and disclosed that he had grown up in south London with boys who went on to act in “terrible ways”.

Khan is the first Muslim I have heard who has the courage to be honest about the reality of the situation, stating:

“Extremism isn’t a theoretical risk. Most British Muslims have come across someone with extremist views at some point – and so have I.
“It’s affected my personal life, my friendships and my career. People I knew as a boy have gone on to hold extremist views, and even to act on them in terrible ways.”

Mr Khan recalled that when he worked as a lawyer he had the “horrible” task of representing people with extremist views:

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to challenge the hideous views of seemingly intelligent and articulate people. People who look and sound like normal Londoners, until they say that 9/11 was a Mossad [Israeli secret service] conspiracy, that the Jewish workers in the Twin Towers were tipped off and escaped.”

Mr Khan called for a “prolonged and concerted effort by us all” to tackle Britain’s “social segregation”.

He argued: 

“We’ve protected people’s right to live their cultural life at the expense of creating a common life. Too many British Muslims grow up without really knowing anyone from a different background, without understanding or empathising with the lives and beliefs of others.
“And too many British people have never befriended a Muslim, never worked together, never eaten together, never played sports together. As a result, too many people have formed a single identity – too often based around their religion or ethnicity.”

His words ring true from the conversations I have had with Muslims and my own experiences. There is a definite disconnect from what we are being told and what is actually going on in the Muslim community. This is a long way from the useless platitudes which attempt to complete divide Daesh from Muslims.

No doubt he will endure a lot of heat for his honesty here.