• World
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Central & South Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America & Caribbean
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • North America
  • Politics
    • US politics
    • Donald Trump
    • Brexit
    • European Union
    • India
    • Arab world
  • Economics
    • Finance
    • Eurozone
    • International Trade
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Startups
    • Technology
  • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Film
    • Books
    • Travel
  • Environment
    • Climate change
    • Smart cities
    • Green Economy
  • Global Change
    • Education
    • Refugee Crisis
    • International Aid
    • Human Rights
  • International Security
    • ISIS
    • War on Terror
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
  • Science
    • Health
  • 360 °
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice
  • About
  • FO Store
Sections
  • World
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Sign Up
  • Login
  • Publish

Make Sense of the world

Unique insight from 2,000+ contributors in 80+ Countries

Close

As “Jihadi John” is Unmasked, Counterterrorism Tactics Must Be Unpicked

Alan Greene • Feb 27, 2015

© Shutterstock

True or not, Mohammed Emwazi’s harassment claims are a lesson in unintended consequences.

The unmasking of Islamic State militant “Jihadi John” as Mohammed Emwazi, a 26-year-old man from London, has raised new questions about the United Kingdom’s approach to counterterrorism. As the media searches through his past for clues to explain how a “polite, mild-mannered young man” ended up as the chilling figure in horrific execution videos, it was revealed that Emwazi was known to security services before he left the UK.

It has been reported that Emwazi claimed he was harassed by security services to the point of filing a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission over his treatment. He had claimed that he was questioned by police in Tanzania when trying to travel there on holiday and was subsequently flown to the Netherlands, where he was interrogated by an MI5 agent. Upon returning to Britain, he said he was monitored by police and was prevented from leaving the country on several occasions. He said that the surveillance and restrictions placed on him prevented him from finding work and damaged his relationships.

It should be noted that his claims may have been false or exaggerated. But they nevertheless serve to highlight the potential for counterterrorist measures to have counterproductive effects, particularly if they target a specific minority group.

The UK has past experience of counterterrorist measures doing more harm than good. In Northern Ireland, at the height of the Troubles, tactics like the erosion of procedural rights, the use of arrest powers for information gathering purposes and the use of internment without trial were deployed almost exclusively against Catholics. Rather than helping in the fight against the Irish Republican Army (IRA), this further strained the relationship between the security services in Northern Ireland and the Catholic minority, making some people more sympathetic to the IRA’s cause.

Today, David Anderson, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, is also aware of the damaging effects of counterterrorist powers. When tentatively proposing the reintroduction of powers to relocate people placed under government control orders, he also stressed the need to assist those subject to a forced relocation to be helped to find work, training and housing.

Jihadi John / Flickr

Jihadi John / Flickr

Unfortunately, the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act was subsequently passed in 2015, giving the British government the power to relocate people, but without evidence of Anderson’s more holistic suggestions also being followed. People can, therefore, be moved away from their home and connections and be left to reconstruct their lives without assistance.

The UK is aware that terrorism cannot be defeated exclusively by locking up convicted or suspected terrorists or restricting their rights to liberty and privacy. This can be seen with the case of Brusthom Ziamani, a 19-year-old former Jehovah’s Witness and Muslim convert who was recently convicted of planning an attack similar to the murder of soldier Lee Rigby.

Prosecution and a prison sentence were the last resort for security services in this case. Prior to this, they had sought to enter Ziamini into the government’s PREVENT “de-radicalization program.” A difficulty with PREVENT, though, is that it operates in a way that requires trust between Muslim communities and local authorities and the police. If this trust is damaged, it can instead be seen as a vehicle for surveillance.

Good existing relationships between communities and public bodies, therefore, are vital. If these relationships are damaged, this strategy can run into difficulties. Take Project Champion in Birmingham, for example: This saw more than 200 security cameras set up in predominantly Muslim areas between 2010-11, leaving locals feeling victimized and threatening legal action. Breaches of trust like this may live long in the memories of communities.

No Excuse

Of course, even if Emwazi felt ostracized and victimized, none of this condones, justifies or excuses his horrific actions. However, taking a heavy-handed approach causes problems for the people being monitored. And as much as we might rail against that resentment being used as justification for violence, we must also face up to the fact that it may simply not be productive for people to have their lives stunted by counterterrorism efforts.

After appalling attacks such as the Charlie Hebdo murders in France, we must remember not to vilify an entire group of people. Indeed many, if not most of those most hurt by the Islamic State are Muslims themselves. Since 9/11, there has been a five-fold increase in deaths from terrorism and the Middle East is the area most affected.

We must be careful not to paint all individuals of a minority with the same brush when a terrorist attack happens or when one individual is named as a murderer. We must also realize that ostracizing a minority group, while at the same time expecting them to “uphold British values,” is woefully contradictory.

*[This article was originally published by The Conversation.] The Conversation

We bring you perspectives from around the world. Help us to inform and educate. Your donation is tax-deductible. Join over 400 people to become a donor or you could choose to be a sponsor.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Photo Credit: Fuyu Liu / Shutterstock.com

Share Story
CategoriesBlog, Europe, International Security TagsBritain, ISIS, Islamic State, Jihadi John, United Kingdom
Join our network of more than 2,000 contributors to publish your perspective, share your story and shape the global conversation. Become a Fair Observer and help us make sense of the world.

Fair Observer Recommends

Brexit Goes to the Proms Brexit Goes to the Proms
Anu Shukla • Sep 23, 2019
Education and Surveillance Are Merging in the UK Education and Surveillance Are Merging in the UK
Peter Isackson • Sep 04, 2019
Convictions Are Not Central to Boris Johnson’s Brand Convictions Are Not Central to Boris Johnson’s Brand
Peter Isackson • Jul 23, 2019

One Reply to “As “Jihadi John” is Unmasked, Counterterrorism Tactics Must Be Unpicked”

  1. Avatar CHarlene Batchelor says:
    March 7, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    Well said !!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Post navigation

Previous PostPrevious The World This Week: Power is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac
Next PostNext Make Sense of the Month: Radical Islam, Peace and Power
Subscribe
Register for $9.99 per month and become a member today.
Publish
Join our community of more than 2,000 contributors to publish your perspective, share your narrative and shape the global discourse.
Donate
We bring you perspectives from around the world. Help us to inform and educate. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Explore

  • About
  • FO Store
  • FAQs
  • Republish
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Regions

  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Central & South Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America & Caribbean
  • Middle East & North Africa
  • North America

Topics

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Global Change
  • International Security
  • Science

Sections

  • 360°
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice

Daily Dispatch


© Fair Observer All rights reserved
Support Our Crowdfunding Campaign

Free media cannot run for free. Unlike social media, we are not using your personal information to sell you advertising. Unlike some publications, our content does not hide behind a paywall. Yet servers, images, newsletters and editorial staff cost money.

We are running a crowdfunding campaign to reach 1,001 monthly donors. Remember, we are a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the US and all donations are tax-deductible. Please donate and ask your friends to do so as well.

Support Fair Observer
We Need Your Consent
We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Learn more about how we use cookies or edit your cookie preferences. Privacy Policy. My Options I Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Edit Cookie Preferences

The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.

As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media.

 
Edit Cookie Preferences

The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.

As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media.

 

Necessary
Always Enabled

These cookies essential for the website to function.

Analytics

These cookies track our website’s performance and also help us to continuously improve the experience we provide to you.

Performance
Uncategorized

This cookie consists of the word “yes” to enable us to remember your acceptance of the site cookie notification, and prevents it from displaying to you in future.

Preferences
Save & Accept