Rundown 2010: UK Shaken but not Stirred

With an election having taken place in May, 2010 should have been the year in which politics took center stage. Instead, the pressing issues of the day were largely ignored during the campaign period, as they have been for the last decade. Partly as a consequence, 2010 turned into the year in which politics spilled over into the streets.

Welfare cuts was, to some extent, an issue that the parties tackled, perhaps since they were inevitable. Still, students – the base of Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats – expressed their outrage at the university fees hike proposed by the coalition government (of which the Lib Dems are the junior partner). Unfortunately they were also whipped up into rioting throughout November and December by various socialist organizations – which appear to have remained off the radars of the authorities and media.

Since former University College London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had attempted to blow up an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, the year also began with perhaps some rather rhetorical questions about radicalization in the UK. In 2010 Islamist extremism and terrorism (attempted and actual) was more in evidence than ever before, except of course for 2005, the year of the 7/7 London attacks. In the last 12 months, members of the banned extremist organization Islam4UK were especially visible. Islamist infiltration in the UK is less easy to detect, of course, but the surface was scratched enough this year – especially by center-Right newspaper The Telegraph – for it to have been periodically exposed.

Reflecting on the last 12 months, it seems that if the authorities were shaken by Abdulmutallab's attempt to murder Americans, they were not all stirred to grasp the extent of the problem in the UK. Others were. 2010 also saw a rise in the number of anti-Islamist protests, held across the country, largely by the English Defence League movement – described by Prime Minister David Cameron as "terrible people."

December 2010 brought yet fresh embarrassment, with a virtual reply of December 2009. Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, a former student at the British city of Luton, carried out a suicide bombing in Stockholm, though killing only himself.

Considering how the year began and ended, I have paid special attention to radical Islam in Britain. Some events are more dramatic than others, though they no doubt tells us much about the current state of the country more broadly. I have, of course, also included other important events, such as the general election, as well as some that are much more minor, but which will hopefully give a more complete and a more nuanced picture of Great Britain today.

January:

The extremist group Islam4UK is banned. Former Islam4UK leader Anjem Choudary appears on BBC chat show the Daily Politics [video] following the ban, describing it as "a waste of time."

The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) calls for the Burka to be banned.

February:

Islamic preacher Abdullah Hakim Quick speaks at Kings College University, London. He has reportedly previously denounced the "filth" of Jews, and asserts the (sharia) death penalty for homosexuality.

The Telegraph reports that the governing Labour Party has been infiltrated by Islamic extremists: "The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) — which believes in jihad and sharia law, and wants to turn Britain and Europe into an Islamic state — has placed sympathizers in elected office and claims, correctly, to be able to achieve 'mass mobilization' of voters." (See October.)

March:

Geert Wilders screens Fitna in the House of Lords, at the invitation of Lord Pearson (UKIP) and Baronness Cox. Wilders tells the audience: "As you undoubtedly all know, better then I do, also in your country the mass immigration and Islamization has rapidly increased. This has put an enormous pressure on your British society. Look what is happening in for example Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford and here in London. British politicians who have forgotten about Winston Churchill have now taken the path of least resistance. They have given up. They have given in."

A group of "wannabe" Islamic militants calling themselves "The Blackburn Resistance" are convicted of terrorist offenses.

With an election set for early May, Britain's political parties begin campaigning. David Cameron unveils his "Big Society" theme for Britain.

April:

Respect Party candidate George Galloway is attacked by three Muslim men. According to his spokesman, "They were shouting 'kafir', which is very insulting, and that Mr Galloway deserved to die. They were very aggressive and then they lunged forward towards Mr Galloway. I would certainly consider it an attack." Galloway is a well-known pro-Palestinian campaigner often considered to be pro-Hamas (Galloway denies this accusation).

May:

David Cameron calls the anti-Islamist protest group the English Defence League "terrible people" and says they will be kept under review, and "if we needed to ban them, we would ban them or any groups which incite hatred."

A general election is held on May 6. The election results for the three major parties are:

Conservatives 307 seats.

Labour takes 258.

Liberal Democrats 57.

Several smaller parties, including the Democratic Unionist Party, the Scottish National Party, and Sinn Fein, also secure a number of MPs. The Greens Party wins its first seat. Caroline Lucas, a member of the European Parliament for the South East of England since 1999, and a former Oxfam advisor, becomes the Greens' first MP. The Times calls it "an historic victory".

With no party having an outright majority (over the other parties if their votes are combined), the result is a hung parliament. The Left-wing Lib Dems negotiate with both Labour and the Conservatives to see if they can make a deal to become a part of a coalition government.

Gordon Brown formally resigns as Prime Minister. In his resignation speech he says that "Above all, it was a privilege to serve. And yes, I loved the job not for its prestige, its titles and its ceremony - which I do not love at all. No, I loved the job for its potential to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just – truly a greater Britain."

David Cameron announces that the Conservatives and Lib Dems will form a coalition government. The press dubs it the "Con-Dem" government.

Roshonara Choudhry, 21, attacks Labour MP Stephen Timms in his surgery. She stabs him repeatedly in the stomach, apparently as "punishment" for his voting in favor of the invasion of Iraq.

Minister for Security, Baroness Neville-Jones gives her first television interview to the Islam Channel [video] – the station had been previously accused of advocating marital rape and backing extremist Islamist organizations.

The Home Secretary announces a cut of ten million pounds to the counter-terrorism budget.

June:

The press reports that radical Indian preacher Zakir Naik will speak in London and Sheffield. Naik has said of Osama bin Laden that "if he is terrorizing America the terrorist[…] I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist[…] If [bin Laden's] terrorizing a terrorist he's following Islam" [video].

Charles Farr, Whitehall's top security adviser, meets with Dr. Naik's representatives, assuring them that he will "put himself on the line" if necessary, since he believes that "to exclude Dr. Naik would be wrong."

Home Secretary Theresa May bans Dr. Naik from entering Britain.

Douglas Murray notes in The Telegraph that the chair and vice chair of the Conservative Party's Conservative Muslim Forum had earlier presented a check for 5,000 pounds to al-Khair, one of the charities hosting Naik, at the launch of Iqra TV, another sponsor of the Indian preacher's "peace conference." This, Murray suggests, shows that "groups like the Conservative Muslim Forum within political parties are not merely an embarrassment, but a liability."

July:

David Cameron visits the predominantly Muslim nation of Turkey, with 70 million citizens. Standing with the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, he lambastes "protectionists" and the "prejudiced [who] willfully misunderstand Islam" for preventing Turkey's bid for EU membership. Cameron describes himself as Turkey's "strongest possible advocate for EU membership", which would allow Turkey's citizens to live and work in Britain. He also verbally attacks Israel. He suggests that it is responsible for turning Gaza (which also borders Egypt) into "a prison camp." American conservatives express their dismay.

September:

Aide to the pope, Cardinal Walter Kasper, 77, provokes a minor storm in the British press after he appears to criticize multiculturalism in the UK in an interview with the German magazine Focus. He tells the magazine that arriving in Britain is like stepping off a plane into a "third world country." He also complains of an "aggressive new atheism" infecting the country.

A newly-formed group calling itself "Muslims Against Crusades" demonstrates outside the US embassy in London, burning the American flag. Anjem Choudary (see January) addresses the crowd.

October:

The coalition government announces cuts in welfare benefits.

A National Security Strategy report says that terrorism, cyber attacks, inter-state conflicts and natural disasters pose the biggest security threats to the UK.

Significant cuts are announced for the armed forces. Hilary Clinton says the US is worried by the scale of the defense cuts.

An Afghan Taliban leader tells Sky News that, "We will attack Britain […]. We have trustworthy people who will listen to us and are waiting for our orders."

California state senate candidate Rabbi Nachum Shifren speaks at an English Defence League rally outside the Israeli embassy, after encouraging British Jews to support the grassroots movement. Speaking to the crowd, he says: "History will be recorded that on this day, read by our children for eternity, one group lit the spark to liberate us from the oppressors of our two governments and the leftist, fifth column, quisling press, and that it was the EDL which started the liberation of England from evil."

A bomb is sent from Yemen, by an al-Qaeda operative, and destined for US synagogues. There is speculation that it has been timed to explode over Britain. Cameron says that the UK is cooperating with the US, and that this cooperation, and the modernity of the two nation states, is a strength in the war against terrorism [video].

It emerges that the coalition government will agree to a 2.9 per increase in the EU budget, resulting in British tax payers contributing at least 435 million British pounds sterling (nearly 700 million US dollars). Lord Tebbit says that "he [Cameron] would do better to go down fighting [against EU demands] than to surrender in some Vichy-style arrangement, pretending to hold on to sovereignty by agreeing to what Europe demands." The Conservatives hail the 2.9 percent increase as a success, since a six percent increase had been proposed.

Lutfur Rahman is elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, a position that comes with a budget of more than one billion British pounds (more than 1.5 billion US dollars). He is alleged to have close ties to the Islamic Forum of Europe (see February), an Islamist organization that aims to reestablish the Caliphate. A senior Labour official for Tower Hamlets says that "It really is Britain's Islamic republic now."

Teachers are revealed to be reporting children as young as three years old for racism, as required by the Race Relations Act 2000. According to Munira Mirza, a senior advisor to London Mayor Boris Johnson, "Teachers are now required to report incidents of racist abuse among children as young as three to local authorities, resulting in a massive increase of cases and reinforcing the perception that we need an army of experts to manage race relations from cradle to grave."

November:

Muslims Against Crusades disrupt Poppy Day commemorations, during which soldiers, families of deceased soldiers, politicians, etc., gather together to honor the bravery and sacrifices of the armed forces in defending Britain. Muslim Against Crusades burn a large poppy, chant (including throughout the minute silence for the deceased) "Allahu Akbar", "British soldiers burn in Hell" and "your dead are in fire, and our dead are in paradise" [video].

Approximately 50,000 students protest in London against the government's proposed fees hike for universities in England. The Conservative Party headquarters is attacked by a large mob. Windows are smashed, ceiling fixtures are ripped out. Walls are sprayed with graffiti. A number of students penetrate the building and make their way to the roof, where they continue to demonstrate. According to The Daily Mail "Militants from far-Left groups whipped up a mix of middle-class students and younger college and school pupils into a frenzy."

Maulana Fazlur Rehman the pro-Taliban leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl is reported to have arrived in London. He will speak at the House of Lords on the issue of Kashmir. Ansar Burney, minister of human rights under Pervez Musharraf, calls for Fazlur Rehman to be banned from the UK because of his "nefarious and extremist political background, and known links with the Pakistani Taliban." Burney alleges that Fazlur Rehman is "an ideological mentor to the Taliban."

December:

Anjem Choudary (former leader of the banned Islam4UK organization) gets his own episode on Channel 4 TV. (In October Choudary told CNN that "I am in the camp of the Muslims; at the current time that is headed by sheikh Osama in Laden" [video])

Incited by socialist organizations, student/Leftist riots continue. Leftists/students attack the police with batons, metal poles, and metal fencing [video], deface the Cenotaph and urinate on a statue of Winston Churchill. During one riot, a mob makes its way to the busy shopping area of Regent Street where they attack the car carrying Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The attackers shout "whose streets? Our streets!" and "off with their heads!" [video]. The Socialist Workers Party calls for a "wider revolt" [pdf]. Revolution calls for a "revolutionary party that bases itself on the most militant sections of workers, young people, students and oppressed peoples and organizes them in such a way that can actually spark the overthrow of the capitalist system" [pdf].

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, the suicide bomber that had tried to commit mass murder in Stockholm on December 11, is revealed to have studied in the English city of Luton. David Cameron says that Britain has not done enough to combat Islamic extremism and that it will do more.

Twelve Muslim men are arrested across the UK, accused of plotting to set off a number of bombs in a coordinated, large-scale attack. Reportedly the men are between 17 and 28 years old, British, largely of Bangladeshi origin. They are reportedly influenced by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Anwar al-Awlaki based in Yemen.

Wikileaks reveals that, according to one survey, approximately a third of Muslim students say that killing in the name of Islam is justified. Forty percent want Muslims to live under sharia law, and 54 percent want a Muslim party to represent their views in the British parliament.

Tommy Robinson, leader of the English Defence League (EDL), alleges a campaign of police intimidation, including "approaching criminals in prison, and offering them deals" to accuse him of being involved in criminal activity [video].

Guramit Singh, an unofficial spokesman for the EDL is arrested "on suspicion of intentionally causing religiously aggravated harassment alarm or distress" for a speech he made in Peterborough on December 11. During the speech, he describes Islam as a "threat" and Islam's prophet as a "pedaphilic pirate" comparable to Adolf Hitler [video].

Abu Rumaysah, formerly of Islam4UK, launches a "Christmas is Evil" campaign. Posters with an image of the Star of Bethlehem over a Christmas tree and with the caption "the evils of Christmas" are displayed across London. The campaign claims that Christmas is responsible for rape, pedophilia, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, debt, exploitation, night clubs, drugs, alcohol, paganism, etc. The campaign also encourages British people to adopt Islam, and describes the religion as "the way forward for Britain." Lutfur Rahman, mayor of Tower Hamlets (see February and October), says that "The messages on these posters are offensive and do not reflect the views of the Council or the vast majority of residents."

Pope Benedict delivers Christmas Eve message on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day program. The Daily Mail calls it "a huge coup" for the BBC.

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Rundown 2010: UK Shaken but not Stirred

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