Lessons from Lockerbie

For the last 3 years, many of us have had the experience of standing in line at an airport, enduring and not enjoying the experience. We felt herded like cattle, searched, and treated with suspicion. We are told what liquids and other items we cannot take on board the plane. We are just relieved when we have arrived at our destination. Some of us may have wondered whether these precautions were necessary. This week the conviction of three British Muslims, showed us that these warnings are crucial.

Yesterday, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, were convicted in a retrial for planning to blow up passenger jets in suicide attacks. The plot, caught in its final stages, was to detonate liquid bombs on 7 airliners whilst flying from Britain to America. It could have killed 10,000 people, so would have exceeded the 3000 killed on 9/11.

It was alleged the plan was directed from Pakistan, by the Al Qaeda mastermind behind the July 7^th suicide bombings in London. Obtaining a conviction in this case was critical. An acquittal would have damaged the credibility of the government and security services, concerning their warnings about the dangers of the terrorist threat. Had the jury failed to convict these men, it would have been more difficult for us to take seriously security warnings. It would have been easier for Muslims to have claimed the government were simply scaremongering, and targeting their community.

It is three weeks since Scotland's Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, announced the release of Abdulbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. But the row concerning the circumstances of his release is still raging. Had the three men not been convicted, the anger over the Lockerbie release would have increased. It would have been seen as a further failure to deal firmly with terrorism.

The enormous surveillance operation involved with this latest case, cost about £40 million. Scotland Yard was under pressure to stop the investigation and has cost the aviation industry huge sums to increase security. One could argue that the terrorists have already achieved one of their objectives, by damaging our quality of life. This case has demonstrated the close links between the young British Muslim extremists, Al Qaeda and the terrorist organisations in Pakistan. It is significant that, although America has about 10 million Muslims, it does not have the same problem with ‘home grown’ Muslim radicalism. This may be because the Muslims in America feel more a part of mainstream life there, than is the case in Britain. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, stresses that the war in Afghanistan is being waged to make Britain safer. But there are others who argue that it is conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, which has radicalised some Muslims in Britain. Whatever is the truth, opposing foreign policy cannot be an excuse for terrorism.

Some want even stricter anti-terrorism laws and increased surveillance, to combat terrorism. But the real war is that against hearts and minds. Violence and terrorism are symptoms, albeit extreme, of a broken society. This will never change unless people change. Here in Britain we have a number of Mosques where the Imam leaders preach a message of hate and not love. This message targets young men who feel disaffected and separated from mainstream society. The majority of Muslims in Britain want to live a peaceful life. It is time for their voices to be more prominent. The media also has a responsibility, in focusing on the factors which bring our communities together and not divide us.

There was widespread anger about the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Al Megrahi is now back in Libya and there are questions being raised as to whether the Scottish Government was duped into releasing him on compassionate grounds. It is claimed that the medical evidence that he would live only three months is highly suspect. There is even talk of him writing a book. As for the three men convicted of the bomb plot this week, the taxpayer is going to bare the cost of looking after them in prison. Some argue that real justice has not actually been done. But the Bible says there is a ‘day of reckoning’ for everyone after death, even for those who seem to have been treated leniently for wrongs committed during their lifetime. Hebrews 9:27 “everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God”.