Doctors on Jihad - The Deadly Prescription

The United Kingdom is witnessing tense days with terror threats reeling the capital London and Scottish city of Glasgow over the past few days. The failed car-bombings at West End and that at Glasgow airport has ensured that the UK has raised its threat perception to its highest level. The failed terror attempts have also proved to be a baptism by fire for the barely week old Gordon Brown government, with the prime minister acknowledging the clear and present danger that Islamic fundamentalism and Al Qaeda linked and/or inspired groups pose for the UK and the larger democratic world in general. The tactics used by the terror plotters are similar to those that are commonplace on the streets of Baghdad, a deadly mix of explosives, fuel and nails that come together to ensure carnage. It is hardly surprising these tactics have now been adapted to the streets of London given the exposure the internet and Jihadi networks have received over the past half a decade. Bomb making tactics and methods to create widespread lose of life and limb are easily available for any individual provided the individual or group has the audacity and zeal to follow the foot steps of earlier “martyrs”. What is surprising though, is the fact that all three attacks failed, with the Glasgow attempt being the only one causing minor damage, the failure of the attempts is more luck and perhaps a sign of first timers giving their dose of Jihad a shot rather than experienced hands planning these attacks.

The initial investigations have also revealed a new face of terror – that of qualified medical professionals being involved directly or helping the perpetrators in carrying out the terror atrocities. For long terror analysts and civil society the world over have argued that the root cause of terror is not directly religion but actually poverty, disenchantment and a sense of alienation felt by poor, uneducated youths towards their governments and society and this ultimately leads them down the path of Jihad and religious fundamentalism. Also the role of Madarassas and other religious teaching schools have come under severe international focus for the role they play in radicalizing the youth. While, it is no doubt true that all the above factors contribute tremendously towards ensuring the radicalizing of youth the world over, the plotters of the latest terror plots in London prove that the explanation may not be the case always or that the profile of the religious extremists is changing. The eight persons currently under custody of the British police and the two detained by the Australian police are all doctors. All are well qualified and from external appearances do not fit the profile usually associated with terrorists, but the police do claim that all those detained were involved in these attacks, either directly or indirectly. This remarkable change in the profile of terror is indeed chilling and a stern reminder that increasingly the call for extremism is slowly taking hold of sections of society that were considered to be moderate and democratic in belief. It also shows that the call to fundamentalism has its roots not only in poverty or disenchantment, but also because of the perceived injustices the war on terror has thrown up. While earlier generations had grown on a steady diet of Arab nationalism that included a sense of pride in being Muslim and part of the Ummah, the current crop has been more inclined to follow the words and actions of men like Osama Bin Laden, for whom the message of destruction amounts to martyrdom. As mentioned, the fact that the terror perpetrators were doctors is surprising to most people, the unfortunate fact however is that many doctors have taken the path of extremism and are high on the terror pecking order. Take for example Al Qaeda’s second in command, Egyptian born Ophthalmologist, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who spearheaded the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt and his now widely considered the ideological mastermind of the Al Qaeda movement. Closer home, the horrific 2005 bombings in New Delhi, threw up Dr. Tariq Ahmed Dar, who was suspected as the mastermind behind the attacks. Similar examples are not hard to find, however, they remained dispersed in a wide-ranging profile of current Jehadis. The truly surprising aspect of these terror attacks is the fact that the entire ring of terror plotters seem to doctors, something that is unprecedented.

This new profile of the terror cells based in UK further deteriorates the standing of the expatriate South Asian community in Britain. While the radicalization of British Muslim youths was underway soon after the 9/11 attacks, popular perception held that those radicalized were those who were unemployed or those who went astray following the words of some deranged Mullahs. However, with doctors of differing nationalities now becoming an active part of the terror planning and execution, a general backlash against the community is inevitable. Those leaning towards the right of political ideology will see this as another example of how Islam as a religion itself is flawed and is inherently violent. Doctors wanting to work in the UK and Australia will also bear the brunt of the irresponsible actions of a deviant few. That said the onus now really lies with the governments of the Western world to prove to the world that their policies and actions are not a scheme to exploit the Muslim people or to gain a foothold in their lands, but rather their policies are based in ensuring human rights and freedom for all people. Guantanamo Bay, Haditha and Abu Gharaib however, will take more time and a definite shift in policy to prove as mere footnotes in the larger struggle to rid the world of religious fundamentalism and imperial war mongering.