Opinion: Why is the Islamic religion the new elephant in the room?

During the last General Election campaign, it was estimated that there were something like 3,000 radical Islamic followers at large in the UK as a whole. Here we are at the end of another round of Elections just two years later, and that figure has risen to in excess of 24,000. As was shown by the horrific attacks in Manchester three weeks ago, and then London on Saturday night, it is not the ones that are seen and know, high up there on the radar that are the worry; it is the individuals who work alone that are the real hidden problem.

By the very nature of radical groups from Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and above all ISIS, the ultimate aim is to spread terror and the fear of terror, for it is not their aim to promote any form of peaceful co-existence between religious factions. As has been seen in the Middle-East and a hundred acts of indiscriminate violence in between, the ultimate aim is to divide and conquer, to establish not just a Caliphate State, but a Caliphate World! The only thing stopping them is the efforts of police and intelligence services from around the world

The Manchester and London atrocities were a long time coming and should surprise no one. Only by stealth and vigilance and a strong localised network of contacts can we hope to contain this menace which is undoubtedly down to the ceaseless efforts by those who have the safety of this country in their charge.

There is an unwritten law amongst intelligence agencies that information shared between them is sacrosanct, just not to be shared by anyone. It undermines efforts further when the New York Post sees fit to release the name of the Manchester’s suicide bomber even as investigations are in their early stages. No such mistake has been made this time, the information is closely guarded. One can even feel the beating pulse of the Republican Party and the slippery hands of Donald J Trump behind the move to release the names, but how does one prove it, without starting an international incident?

Islam is not a radical religion; it is based on the dictates and views of tolerance and an almost ‘lassie faire’ attitude of understanding for our fellow man. This is Islam; Islam is not radicalisation, whose forces seek the overthrow of the world-order, as if they had all read Marx, ‘Das Capital’ believing that change cannot be brought about unless it is through true chaos. There is no talking to them because they have been instilled with years of indoctrination in the belief that there is only one way, and that is theirs.

We have now lost 32 innocents in less than three months, all of them at the hands of attackers who were off the intelligence radar, and how many are out there planning still? But does this say more about the ineptitude of our undercover sources or the increasing stealth of the perpetrators? The United Kingdom has to wake up to the real threats that we are confronted with, not just immediately, but stretching far into the future. Firstly we have to force respected Muslim leaders to say and do more, not to remain silent in the face of the very thing they purport to hate. We have to bring in stringent measures to protect and serve our people better. Integration is essential, talking is essential, trust is essential, for it is going to take generations before this evil is eradicated if it ever will be?