Author: Farrukh Dhondy
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 5, 2001
There is growing anxiety in Britain
about what Bush, Blair, Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the leader of
the Taliban, are all agreed is a war. Bush and Blair say it's a war against
terrorism and consequently a war against the Afghan State which shelters
it. Osama writes an open letter contending that it's a war between Islam
and Christianity and Omar declares it be a holy war though he is not specific
about the religion against which it is being fought.
Some Brits are of the opinion that
since war hasn't been declared, as Churchill declared it, then it isn't
a war. Others are of the opinion that a war can only be defined as one
army fighting another and Al-Qaida doesn't constitute an army and American
and British bombardment from the air is not terribly chivalrous and so
doesn't count. The Northern Alliance and the Taliban, facing each other
as armies are not taken into account. The definition seems to matter for
an unforeseen reason.
It is reported that several hundred
British youths have made their way and are even now making their way to
Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban against America and Britain.
According to an Act passed in 1351, it is high treason to give comfort
to the enemies of the Queen and fighting British soldiers anywhere in the
world would qualify. The government has consequently issued a circular
to the effect that if British citizens who have fought on the side of the
Taliban attempt to return to Britain they will be put on trial for high
treason.
It any of these traitors survive,
my guess is they will try and get back into Britain rather than flourish
in Afghanistan, Pakistan or some other delightful Islamic society. They'll
take their chances. Britain is a country in which some freedom lovers are
bound to side with them and argue that trials for treason are outdated
or even that these young men are entitled to fight for their beliefs and
should now be allowed to return to civilian life.
A TV producer of my acquaintance
tracked down eight or ten of these young men who were preparing to make
the journey and proposed that he'd make a documentary about them. At first
some of them agreed to be filmed. They had second thoughts when the treason
argument hit the press but still said they'd appear if their faces were
disguised and names changed. They must have been thinking about hedging
their bets - martyrdom in paradise or, failing that, a council flat in
Dewsbury. The commissioning editor at the TV channel to which the programme
was put refused it, not on the grounds that it wouldn't make interesting
or important observational TV, but because she didn't want to be implicated
in the apprehension and trial of the traitors. I don't suppose she believes
in treason.
There begins to be something of
an active backlash in Britain against the groups, one of them calling itself
Al-Mahajiroun, who distribute the recruitment literature and boast that
they have sent people to Kashmir and Afghanistan to fight on the side of
the Taliban, the Jaish-e-Muhammad and other groups.
They have so far enjoyed the protection
of the British police who ensure that they have the freedom to distribute
their poison outside mosques. I am of the opinion that the British state
ought to give them free one way tickets to Afghanistan out of the defence
budget if they ask for them. In Luton, these pamphleteers were severely
beaten by Muslim youths who asked them to move on and to stop giving Islam
a bad name.
It may have nothing to do with this
war or not-war, but this week David Blunkett, the home secretary, has put
forward plans for testing new immigrants to Britain on their competence
in English and to give them instruction in British citizenship.
The Indians and Pakistanis with
whom I have discussed the proposals seem satisfied that this measure is
not aimed at us, but has been brought in to ensure that ex-Balkans asylum
seekers learn the language. But still, once the measure is in, the government
won't make a distinction and everyone will receive the instruction and
be put through the test.
