On the 22nd of March this year, London was subjected to a Terrorist Attack at the heart of the capital. But as we continue to absorb what happened, certain questions do need to be answered. Number one, why did it happen? And number two, what has the attack taught us?
The facts
First and foremost, let us look at what exactly happened. As reported in the Sun newspaper, an individual "murdered four people and injured at least 50" after he "mowed down pedestrians" on Westminster Bridge and then "stabbed" a police officer. In the immediate period following the attacks, the police declared that it was a terrorist attack.
The suspect himself was called Khalid Masood and was shot at the scene and later died. As the Telegraph newspaper stated, Masood used his Hyundai SUV to attack the members of public, crashed his car into the railings in front of Parliament Yard and stabbed unarmed police officer, Pc Keith Palmer.
Why did the terrorist attack happen?
What is important to state at the outset is that the police, as reported on the BBC, stated that there was no evidence found of links to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. In looking at his past, it is true that it has been slightly checkered. Fights in pubs, threats made against others and time spent in jail. But it still does not add up to committing a huge terror attack on innocent civilians.
In delving further, we may find some answers. Although not known exactly when, Masood did convert to Islam and in addition, spent time in Saudi Arabia as an English teacher. This behaviour is, as the BBC noted, "entirely consistent" with the journey of many converts to Islam, in that they work in the "Islamic world" in their attempts to "fully adopt the faith".
What is clear is that this was a lone-wolf attack. What is often the case with such behaviour is the problems that they face in Europe and the West, they turn to religion and become indoctrinated. A friend of Masood did state that "he used to read the Koran all the time". Whilst it is not entirely clear as of yet what exactly persuaded the attacker to take the lives of the innocent, what is true is that it is a similar journey, as the BBC noted, of many others who have taken that path.
What has the attack taught us?
In one way, it has shown that the attempts of IS et al are failing. Although the terrorist group may not have been directly behind it, the fact that large scale attacks have been replaced by such as we saw last week demonstrates that it is becoming harder and harder to cause harm. But it also shows that changes do need to be made. How a police officer guarding the House of Parliament was unarmed is beyond me. It is negligence on the highest level and it invited problems. If Pc Palmer had a gun, I am pretty sure he will still be alive. In addition, we must look further into society to identify exactly why we have disillusioned people in cities throughout the UK who become radicalised by terrorist groups such as IS.
We have to find out what is going wrong and how we can change it. All faiths and all sects should be satisfied with life in places such as London and not feel isolated from society.
What happened last week certainly was a tragedy. But we must learn why it happened in the first place, try to fix the problems that exist to ensure that it does not happen again.