Londonistan (term)

Londonistan is a pejorative sobriquet in use by parts of the media referring to the British capital of London and the British Government's tolerance of the presence of various Islamist groups in London and other major cities of Britain as long as they carry out their controversial agendas, ideologies or terror campaigns outside of Britain.

The word is a portmanteau of the British capital and the Sanskrit suffix -stan, meaning "land" (used by several countries in South and Central Asia). The term has been used in a number of publications, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Weekly Standard, and in the 2006 book Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within.

Origin of the term

According to Omar Nasiri

The mid- to late 1990s were the years when Britain's capital earned the sobriquet of `Londonistan,` a title provided by French officials infuriated at the growing presence of Islamist radicals in London and the failure of British authorities to do anything about it. Raids in France and Belgium had produced phone and fax numbers linked to the United Kingdom, and names of suspects were passed on. Some French officials believe that if more had been done by Britain at the time, the network behind the summer of 1995 bombings might have been broken up and the attacks prevented.

The bombings and attempted bombings, mostly in Paris, in summer and autumn of 1995 by Armed Islamic Group (GIA), killed eight and injured more than 100.

According to critics, Britain's "deep tradition of civil liberties and protection of political activists" led to the country becoming "a crossroads for would-be terrorists" for a decade after the mid 1990s. The Islamists used London "as a home base" to "raise money, recruit members and draw inspiration from the militant messages." The British government's perceived unwillingness to prosecute or extradite terrorist suspects provoked tensions with countries in which attacks occurred. Allegations of a British policy of appeasement of Islamists were made and denied.

Late 1980s onwards

The presence of active Islamists in London began to cause tensions with Middle Eastern, European, Pakistan and the United States governments, who view many of these groups as terrorists.

Foreign governments were particularly angered when the head of Al-Muhajiroun, Omar Bakri Muhammad, claimed he lived in the UK under a "covenant of security", whereby he was left alone by the authorities so long as he did not sanction attacks on British soil. The British government denied the claim. Some suspects of the 1995 attacks on Paris have fled to the United Kingdom; Rachid Ramda was eventually put into French custody on the 1 December 2005, after ten years of permanent request by French judges. Several non-British major newspapers have echoed the claim that the UK intentionally tolerates radical Muslims and hinders extradition of suspects in order to buy peace from terrorists.

Following September 11, 2001

The activities of London-based Islamists came under greater scrutiny after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which brought home the vulnerability of Western countries to large-scale terror attacks. Subsequently, the British government arrested a number of key Islamist leaders, including Abu Hamza al-Masri, the imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque, regarded as a base for Islamic extremists. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 allowed terrorist suspects to be detained indefinitely without charge. In 2004, the Law Lords ruled that this violated European law, but it was replaced with the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, containing similar powers. Many Islamists may have left the UK to avoid internment,^{[citation needed]} while others went home after domestic political reform, such as Ali Salman, who returned to Bahrain to help found the country’s biggest opposition party, Al Wefaq.

According to the New York Times, there were "seven or eight major plots" to attack civilian targets in Britain disrupted by police or intelligence officials.

Examples of usage in the Arabic press

• at Ash-Sharq al-Awsat, 22 August 2005
• at Al-Arabiya, 17 October 2010

See also

• Islamism in London
• -stan
• Eurabia
• Islam in the United Kingdom
• Londonstani
• 7 July 2005 London bombings
• 21 July 2005 London bombings
• Bahrain Freedom Movement
• Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London in 2006
• Stop the Islamification of Europe - Political group

External links

• Sean O'Neill Why France lived in fear of 'Londonistan', Daily Telegraph
• London Review of Books’ In the Streets of Londonistan
• New Statesman’s Why the French call us Londonistan
• Stephen Ulph on Londonistan for Global Terrorism Analysis