The attackers who committed the sickening and barbaric murder in Woolwich yesterday have got what they wanted; the beheading of a British soldier, personal infamy with their faces on every front page, and inflamed community tensions.
As several mosques are attacked up and down Britain and the internet swells with anti-Islamic prejudice the hate that lies in the hearts of those two men has spread like a virus – or reawakened. If that was the plan we’ve played right into their bloody hands.
Some will fear that the threatening atmosphere that preceded 9/11 and 7/7 will once again descend upon all peace-loving Muslims and, to an extent, other people of color.
It is hard to honor the memory of the victim while the shrill noise of Islamophobia drowns out reflection and righteous anger at the horrific act spurts out in all the wrong directions.
Calling for calm requires more than simply uttering the words “I call for calm”. It demands a heartfelt appeal for sense. A hard task in difficult circumstances but one that is necessary to prevent the hate-mongers and the Right-wing seizing the agenda and the airwaves of morning talkshows.
Yesterday our politicians busied themselves with backroom crisis management but failed abysmally to lead and address the crisis of emotions sparked by this unspeakable act of murder.
Many of the lower political orders carried on with their daily appointments without stopping to comment, as if nothing had happened. An act has far-reaching reverberations and could well change Britain forever passed them by.
Meanwhile Muslim leaders were left to their own devises to state the obvious, that the overwhelming majority of Muslims utterly condemn the murder. Our political leaders should be saying that that is a given. Of course Muslims condemn this. Didn’t we hear them say just that after 9/11 and 7/7?
As long as public discourse remains stuck in the same groove as 12 years ago how can there be a rational debate about radical political Islam? How can we explore the deep anger caused by illegal Western wars conducted in Muslim nations without fearing accusations of somehow justifying the unjustifiable actions of terrorists?
The immediate aftermath of a horrific act is always the wrong time to ask these questions and the right time for the prejudiced and racist to shout loudly. The right time for free speech and the wrong time for intelligent debate.
Yet the wars waged by the West, the unreported but devastatingly bloody drone attacks, and the corrupted brand of religion it has given birth to, have to be confronted if we are not just buying time before the next atrocity.
Woolwich can never be justified, maybe it cannot be explained, but it can be explored. We may not be able to reason with the brainwashed but we can eradicate the reasons for the propaganda fed to the disenfranchised youth.
Charles Kennedy was the only British political leader to call Iraq an illegal war. It was then as still is today. Afghanistan was sold as a peace-keeping reconstruction mission but quickly became a fighting force by stealth at the behest of America. And the war being fought across the Sahal in Africa and Somalia continues to take innocent lives daily.
Vulnerable, angry men like those who committed the horror in Woolwich may find another reason to commit murder, of course. But we have to search for solutions for peace, not just here but abroad.
The international dimension of war and its’ interface with faith cannot be brushed under the carpet or driven underground for long. Facing the issues head-on is the only way.
By Lester Holloway @brolezholloway
