Last night Channel 4 screened the Dispatches documentary Why Bomb London? which sought to uncover the events and decisions that led unto the attacks. Had we brought the bombings on ourselves?
Through investigating the divisions within the British Muslim community, reporter Deborah Davies asks whether the British government – or Britain’s Muslim establishment – fully understand them. While prominent leaders are meeting with Tony Blair, younger Muslims are watching violent Islamist videos on the internet and listening to veteran Jihadists from Afghanistan and Iraq on recruiting drives. While their elders voice fears of a backlash after the London bombs, many youngsters are being drawn into a pattern of extremism which includes violence, expeditions to foreign wars and even, potentially, suicide.
The programme shows how, during the 1990s, the British government allowed known terrorists and extremists to settle in London and build up an underground network, despite the warnings from, and much to the alarm of, governments overseas.
It is to be broadcast again on Friday 12 August at 4.10am
