Hi Elisabeth Thanks for you very interesting question about what prompts Pakistani originating Muslims to adopt terrorist behaviour/action, unlike the Indian originating Muslims in London.
The question is complex and I do not claim certainty about my interpretation below. However, it is an issue that has come up among my academic colleagues. LINKAGES: Muslims of Pakistani origin. Pakistani originating young Muslims have considerable contact with the 'Pakistani homeland' in a variety of ways. By close contact with mosques in London, they have had teachings from mullahs who have come over directly from Pakistan to inculcate religious values. Unfortunately, these teachers are not literate in English and their whole world-view is a fairly narrow one, untouched by Western thought and automatically hostile to such values, to the point of distrusting British education in schools and the legal system etc. I shudder when young Muslims here express a strong desire for Sharia law etc in the UK. Many of the parents feel the need to send their children to Pakistan for a 'good' education steeped in Islamic values and this impinges on their lives on their return to the UK. Those who do not go to Pakistan, may engage little in mainstream life in a place like London and even if they do initially, (socialising, drinking etc) tend to get back to 'true' Muslim values in later life. This has surprised me as I have seen this happen so much among students. Girls who wore western dress suddenly switch to muslim dress etc. and men wearing Western gear like jeans tee shirts etc, switch overnight to Islamic dress and wear beards to the point where I have failed to recognize them! However, I have seen some of this this taking place in the USA too. Interestingly, Islam has proven to be very attractive to English women who convert. White males also do so as well as West Indian men in small numbers. Some such converts tend to be intensely religious and even ready for jihad, suicide bombing etc. Apart from the mosques where intense discussion takes place among worshippers, British universities and colleges have become strong sites for such discussion about Muslim matters. It is worth noting that when a new migrant gets to the States, he can claim almost immediately, that he is American because the USA permits and encourages this. In the UK it is different. Minorities do stay within their original identity more substantially even if they call themselves Brits. Integration is the term used even when such integration emphasises the original cultural background, to the detriment of real integration, into the new community. This aspect is now being questioned much more as there has been an element of failure among some quarters to engage socially into British society even if not economically. Pakistani association is also linked to the more fundamentalist areas around Pakistan including Afghanistan. Taliban and fundamentalist influence, for example, is real in Pakistan and inevitably has an influence on those from the UK who are alienated and seek solace in radical/fundamentalist thinking on their visits to the region. This also relates to those who seek military training available to jihadists influenced by Al Qaeda etc. Alienated Muslim youth from the UK and elsewhere are a godsend to the likes of bin Laden and his minnions. Muslims of Indian origin In contrast, the Indian Muslim differs in significant ways. In general, I would think he is Indian first and Muslim second in a secular India. He is, I think also, more integrated in Indian society and has lots of examples of high profile successful Muslims in India. Of course, we know that there are more Muslims in India than there are in Pakistan. On the whole, those from India do not see Muslim Pakistan as a homeland. This in turn means that contact with radical elements in Pakistan would be minimal. Translated to the UK scene, the Indian has generally been more educationally and economically successful and more integrated than the Pakistani originating Muslim. Material success ameliorates against the call for radicalisation and any jihadist thoughts for those Muslims of Indian origin. Nevertheless, geographical friendship patterns in London may bring Indian and Pakistani Muslims close together. A small point to note is that Indian children were also sent to India for a 'good' education but there is less of this now. Indian children, and especially those from East African backgrounds excel at education and in the professions as do the Chinese and many Africans, but not those of Afro-Caribbean background. Faith Schools Britain and especially Blair, have supported faith schools to which I am strongly opposed. There is a historical issue associated with faith schools like Church of England, Catholic, Jewish and now, Muslim, Sikh schools etc. I believe that this is disastrous towards proper integration but many claim the opposite view which I can't go into here. Recent events: The first attack on the tube , 7/7, was largely unexpected. However, there had been many rumblings of discontent with the Government. As a whole, Britain was opposed to the war against Iraq as most thought there was no justification. The Muslims, on the whole were pretty uncomfortable about a Muslim country becoming devastated by American and British forces even though there was probably widespread acceptance that Sadaam Hussein had to be dislodged/eliminated. When 7/7 occured, it became clear fairly soon what the motive was for the attack. On video, the bombers indicated that just as Britain was at war with Iraq, they were at war with Britain. In the recent foiled attack on planes between Britain and America, was fairly clear to most people here. The radical Muslims were enraged by what they saw as Blair's clear determination to allow Israel to pursue their attack on Hizbullha despite the deaths of thousands of Lebanese children, women and men. The pictures on TV were devastating and I for one anticipated a grand attack on Britain orchestrated by Al Qaeda. Indeed, this was forecast by the Al Quaeda leadership. All the indications are that there will be more attempts. No surveilance can provide 100% security anywhere. We therefore live in considerable fear about a likely successful attack. The Muslim leadership in the UK including menbers of Parliament and members of the Lords sent an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing their grave concerns that the lives of many were put at risk through current British Foreign Policy in the Middle East. However, Blair and some of his Ministers are dismissive of the link. I hope some of my thoughts are helpful to you. As usual, I tend to tap away immediately to a question because I know I will never do it if I delay a reply! Inevitably there will be less thought in a quick reply but one can always respond to further questions if necessary. Kind regards Cornel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elisabeth Carvalho" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <[email protected]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, August 13, 2006 4:34 AM Subject: Perspective on Indian and Pakistani Muslims in UK/ to Dr Cornel > Dear Cornel, > > I am gathering some information for a project and I > was wondering if you could share with us your personal > perspective on the assimilation of the Indian and > Pakistani Muslims in the UK. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
