An appalling set of events has unfurled over London these past few weeks, London Bridge, Grenfell Tower, and now another atrocity in the senseless attack in Finsbury Park.
Warnings!
All of these occurrences are connected by one strand, all involve in some way the Muslim community. Grenfell Tower where Muslim residents died in the fire. London Bridge was carried out, not by soldiers of ISIS, but by some copycat group who had some misguided belief that their actions would make a difference. Yes, they had contact with militants and were obviously influenced by similar attacks around Europe, but it was violence with a determined opportunist edge to it that took very little planning.
Finsbury Park was NOT a Terrorist Attack, but it was equally opportunistic. It was a hate filled action by a lone perpetrator who seemed to have problems of frustration and inadequacy himself, which turned in the end to pure rage. No one else - we believe - was behind it. Terrorism is only so when it is planned and organised by some shady third party and then carried out under instruction, by those they define as followers, not leaders.
Attitudes!
By the very nature of where we are born gives us an attitude. We revel in being Cockneys, Scousers or Geordies - or at least we once did when our world was smaller. Immigration has been around since man first walked in search of better shelter, more food, and more opportunities.
For over 2000 years religion has been at the bottom of it all, the great Jewish diaspora, persecutions, and invasions, too numerous to mention. Catholic V Protestant, Muslim V Christians - we have lost count of the waves of immigrants that have swept across Britain. During that time and the subsequent generations they produced, did they define themselves as British or simply use it as an excuse to live in a place that is without persecution?
It will take generations to change perceptions - if they ever do - before we stop defining individuals by their religion first and their nationality a very close second. Hence, in the future, if we are to be fully integrated, there should be no British Jews, British Sikhs or British Muslims, just British Citizens. Your nationality should always define where you come from and the principles of the society you adhere too, not what deity you believe in. Or is it that minority groups define themselves by their religion first and nationality second? We have to change grass-roots mindsets if we are to all move forward - and the sooner the better!
