Countering Al Qaeda in London
Published on 1. September 2011
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-84904-166-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book presents an inside account of two pioneering projects in London where Muslim community groups worked in partnership with police to reduce the influence of al-Qaida-inspired terrorism. One project in North London empowered London Muslims to remove Abu Hamza and his violent hard-core supporters from Finsbury Park Mosque while the other project bolstered long-term efforts by London Muslims in Brixton to challenge and reduce the influence of al-Qaida inspired violent extremists including Abu Qatada and Abdullah el Faisal. Significantly, both projects pre-date government funded Prevent projects and differ from them in being based on partnership, trust and voluntary civic duty as opposed to payment and control. The two projects serve as exemplars for future community based counter-terrorism projects that recognise the hand of central government can often be counter-productive when countering al-Qaida influence: not least when the UK is waging war in Muslim countries. Flagship Prevent projects and their backers reject this analysis and argue that the work of police in these projects was itself counter-productive by empowering Muslim groups they claim are extremist or radical. The book offers a comprehensive defence to these charges and concludes that success was achieved by channelling genuine and reasonable Muslim grievances about UK foreign policy in the Muslim world in ways that are familiar and acceptable to Londoners and anathema to al-Qaeda.
Reviews / Votes
'Lambert's work is remarkable for his consistently thoughtful, de-escalatory and grounded approach. As a police officer, he built relationships with Muslims which allowed him to understand the complexity of what drives people to extreme measures. As a scholar he has been a nuanced voice of moderation, with the added gravitas of direct experience. His work was and is groundbreaking, forging a path that more and more are bound to follow.' * Professor Marie Breen-Smyth, Co-Director of the Centre for International Intervention, University of Surrey * 'Countering Al-Qaeda in London should be required reading for policymakers, police and security agencies, and European and American citizens concerned about domestic security as well as religious pluralism and civil liberties. No one more qualified than Robert Lambert, a former Scotland Yard senior police official and today a university scholar, to write this incisive and incisive critical study.' * Professor John L Esposito, Georgetown University, and author of The Future of Islam and Islamophobia and the Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 221 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84904-166-9 (9781849041669)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Robert Lambert is an academic with a police career in counter-terrorism. Post 9/11 he and a colleague were concerned that the war on terror was a counter-productive response to al-Qaeda that alienated Muslims and they established the Muslim Contact Unit that instead worked empathetically and in partnership with London Muslims. For the bulk of his police service (1977-2007) Lambert worked in counter-terrorism. In June 2008 he was awarded an MBE for his police service.