Britain is hub of Violent Islamism Worldwide, Says Centre for Social Cohesion's New Report

Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections

LONDON, July 5, 2010 -

    "Islamist Terrorism: The British Connections will become the
    indispensable reference for any future inquiry into British neo-Jihadi
    terrorism."

                 - Marc Sageman, M.D., Ph.D., author of Leaderless Jihad

    "It should inform the policies of any future British government with the
    resolve to tackle issues which concern most British people."

                 - Michael Burleigh, author of Blood and Rage: A Cultural
                   History of Terrorism

Five years after the 7/7 London bombings, al-Qaeda inspired terrorism
remains the UK's greatest national security threat. Islamist Terrorism: The
British Connections, a seminal new report by the Centre for Social Cohesion
(CSC), presents the first comprehensive overview of the UK's connections to
violent Islamism worldwide.

Islamist Terrorism profiles 127 Islamism-inspired terrorist convictions
and attacks in the UK, spanning the decade 1999 to 2009. It outlines the
links the individuals had to terrorist groups; their nationality and ethnic
origin; their age, hometown, occupation and education; which other radical
Islamists they were connected to; what legislation the government used to
jail them; and much more. The data is statistically analysed to show which
trends exist among those involved in Islamism-inspired terrorism.

The report also shows how Britain's links to violent Islamism are almost
two decades old - profiling almost 100 other offences committed abroad since
1993 connected to Britain, including terrorist convictions, terrorist
training, suicide attacks, and extraditions.

Executive summary
www.socialcohesion.co.uk/uploads/1278089320islamist_terrorism_preview.pdf

KEY TRENDS

Between 1999 and 2009, 124 individuals were convicted for
Islamism-related terrorism offences or committed suicide attacks in the UK.
Analysis of the combined total of 127 convictions or attacks - collectively
referred to as Islamism related offences (IROs) - shows:

    PROSCRIBED ORGANISATIONS:

    - 32% linked to proscribed organisations - 40 individuals (32%) who
    committed IROs had a direct link to one or more proscribed organisations;
    the two most prevalent being al-Muhajiroun (15%) and al-Qaeda (14.5%).

    - 7/8 major bomb plots linked to al-Qaeda - Seven of the UK's eight major
    bomb plot cells contained individual members with direct links to al-
    Qaeda: 7/7; the 'fertiliser bomb' cell; the 'dirty bomb' cell; the 'ricin
    bomb' cell; the 'shoe bomb' cell; Bilal Abdulla's Glasgow airport cell;
    and the transatlantic 'liquid bomb' cell. (Only the 21/7 cell lacked
    undisputed evidence of direct contact with any proscribed organisation).

    - Bomb plot cell members twice as likely to have links to al-Qaeda - Just
    under a third (30%, n=11) of the 37 total cell members involved in the
    major plots had direct links to al-Qaeda, compared to 14.5% of all
    individuals who committed IROs.

    TERRORIST TRAINING:

    - 31% attended terrorist training camps - Just under a third (31%) of all
    individuals who committed IROs had attended one or more terrorist
    training camps, the most common location being Pakistan. The majority
    (68%, n=26) of those who attended camps are British nationals.

    - 7/8 major bomb plot cells received terrorist training - Seven of the
    eight contained members who had attended terrorist training camps.

    - Bomb plot cell members more likely to have received terrorist training
    Half (51%, n=19) of the 37 cell members had attended camps, compared to
    31% of all individuals who committed IROs.

        - Most likely to be involved in bomb plots - 19 individuals (15%, all
    IROs) both attended training camps and had direct links to one or more
    proscribed organisations. Of these, over two thirds (68%, n=13) were
    involved in the major bomb plots.

    PAKISTANI LINKS:

    - Pakistani links to 75% of major UK bomb plots - Six of the eight plots
    contained individual members who had trained in Pakistan.

    -.Pakistani terrorist groups linked to UK bomb plots - Four
    senior members - 7/7, the 'fertiliser' and the 'dirty bomb' plots - were
    directly linked to one or more Pakistani based terrorist groups.

    - Most common location for terrorist training camps - 55%
    (n=21) of those who attended terrorist training camps trained in
    Pakistan.

    - Pakistani heritage - 28% of those who committed IROs have some
    Pakistani heritage, of whom at least 80% (n=29) were British nationals
    with Pakistani origins.

    AGE & GENDER:

    - 96% of IROs carried out by men - Only five women have been convicted,
    but none for violent acts.

    - 68% of IROs committed by those aged below 30 - Many of the remaining
    third were ideologues.

    EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT:

    - The most common level of education achieved was study for a higher
    education qualification (15%) - Including graduates and postgraduates, a
    minimum of 31% of those who committed IROs had at some point attended
    university or a higher education institute.

    - The most common status was unemployed (35%) - However, a total of 42%
    of IROs were perpetrated by individuals either in employment (32%, n=41)
    or full-time education (10%, n=13).

    NATIONALITY, ORIGIN & PLACE OF RESIDENCE:

    - 'Home-grown' terrorism threat - 69% of IROs were perpetrated by British
    citizens.

    - South-central Asia - Almost half (46%) of IROs were perpetrated by
    individuals of a South-central Asian origin of ancestry. The second and
    third most frequent regions of origin are Eastern Africa (16%) and
    Northern Africa (13%).

    - London was most common place of residence - 48% (n=61) of IROs were
    committed by individuals living in London. The next two most common
    regions were the West Midlands (13%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (9%).

    SENTENCES & LEGISLATION:

    - 60% of convictions were secured under anti-terrorism legislation -
    Three quarters of which were under the Terrorism Act 2000.

    - The most common sentence was between 13 months and four years - Given
    39 times (32%). Sentences totalling ten years or longer were given 25
    times (20%) and a life or indefinite sentence was given on 23 occasions
    (19%).

    - A minimum of 25 individuals successfully appealed their sentences;
    three had their sentences increased by the Court of Appeal; and a minimum
    of 29 were either refused leave to appeal or unsuccessfully appealed
    their conviction or sentence.

Notes

1. South-central Asia region includes Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and
Iran according to the UN world region classification.

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pressoffice at socialcohesion.co.uk