KEY POINTS:
When Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi died for his adopted nation of Britain, serving in Afghanistan, he became a symbol of the gap that could be bridged between young Muslim youth and their British home.
But yesterday around the streets of Birmingham where he grew up, many were feeling
increasingly alienated from the authorities and questioning what lay behind the anti-terrorist raids in the nearby streets.
On Wednesday police raided 12 addresses in the city, arresting nine men said to be Muslims. Security sources said the alleged plot - thwarted by the new Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit - was of a sinister nature never before seen in Britain. It was to carry out a "close quarters" style abduction of a Muslim soldier. They claimed the victim would have been filmed, made to plead for his life and executed.
Yesterday Hashmi's brother Zeeshan, a former soldier, said there could be no justification for such a barbaric act.
"What I would say to the extremists is that extremism does not help change anything. If you really want to make a change and be effective, I would say it's best to be part of the system and work peacefully within, not be outside it."
He continued: "One of the main reasons why my brother and I went into the military - apart from being British and feeling a sense of duty to the country - was because of the position of global politics and the clash between East and West. Because we are British and Muslims, we thought we could be of benefit by taking part and perhaps ensure greater understanding through our position."
Waqar Ahmedi, a local youth leader who recently took 30 young Muslim teenagers and young men on a three-day army training course to expose them to the opportunities offered by the military, said the idea of killing a British soldier was "twisted ideology", adding: "We believe that if a Muslim soldier is kidnapped and killed he would become a martyr and the people who did the killing are the ones who left the faith."
But in Hashmi's home area of Bordesley Green yesterday others questioned whether more Machiavellian reasons lay behind the recent warnings about terrorism, whether the authorities were making a scapegoat of the Asian community to justify their own actions.
"I feel [Prime Minister Tony] Blair has a lot of problems justifying to the community the war in Iraq. If the Government keeps hyping up the fact there is still a big terrorist threat it keeps people thinking they are justified in protecting the country. We Muslims equally want to protect the country. But I feel it is a ploy taken from the Americans. If people live in fear they ask less questions," said Riemo Rehman, 36.
On the day that Home Secretary John Reid made a fresh attempt to extend the maximum period that terror suspects can be detained without charge beyond 28 days, he continued: "People are worried. Are 20 policeman going to turn up at their house and then six weeks later say 'sorry we made a mistake'? Everybody feels on edge. It is wrong. We are a community that helps and supports anti-terrorism but that is never highlighted."
- INDEPENDENT
