Update on the Woolwich Jihadis

Ever since two jihadis killed and attempted to behead an off-duty British soldier in Woolwich, London, two days ago, details of the attack have been emerging slowly -details that paint quite a different picture to some of the early speculation, including Sharaabtoon's first analysis.

The characterization of the attackers as jihadis is still certain. Notably, it has been established that the attacker seen speaking in an amateur video taken at the scene (named as Michael Adebolajo) made an explicit reference to the Ninth Sura (chapter) of the Quran, known as the "at-Tawba" (سورة التوبة) -"the Repentance". Adebolajo stated: "we are forced in the Quran in Sura at-Tawba through many, many ayah [verses] throughout the Quran that we must fight them as they fight us, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." The "them" can be taken to refer to those Adebolajo considered the 'enemies of Islam' -which, in context, seems to mean British soldiers.

The at-Tawba includes the so-called "sword verse", which has frequently been cited by jihadis to justify their actions: it states: "Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (فَإِذَا ٱنسَلَخَ ٱلۡأَشۡہُرُ ٱلۡحُرُمُ فَٱقۡتُلُواْ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ حَيۡثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمۡ وَخُذُوهُمۡ وَٱحۡصُرُوهُمۡ وَٱقۡعُدُواْ لَهُمۡ ڪُلَّ مَرۡصَدٍ۬‌ۚ فَإِن تَابُواْ وَأَقَامُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُاْ ٱلزَّڪَوٰةَ فَخَلُّواْ سَبِيلَهُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬). Many Islamic scholars interpret this verse to refer only to a specific group of "idolaters" at a particular time, but most jihadis take it as an instruction to wage unending war against non-Muslims across the world.

However, the kind of radicalization the attackers seem to have gone through now appears to be quite different to Sharaabtoon's first post. Although both the attackers (the other being named as Michael Adebowale) are indeed of Nigerian origin (though born in the UK), they are believed to both come from Christian backgrounds and have converted to Islam as youths. Significantly, Adebolajo seems to have come under the influence of two radical Islamist leaders early on. The first is Omar Bakri Muhammad, a militant leader whose UK-based organisation Al-Muhajiroun (المهاجرون‎ -"the Emigrants") was banned as a terrorist group in 2005, causing him to live in exile in Lebanon since then. Bakri says Adebolajo attended his lectures around ten years ago, describing him as "very shy". The other is Anjem Choudary, spokesman for the radical Islamist "Islam4UK" until it was banned 2010. Islam4UK was known for its attempts to protest against the funeral processions of British soldiers killed in the Middle East.It has been established that Adelbolajo attended one of Choudary's protests in 2007.

The significance of these two figures, one Syrian-born and one of South Asian ancestral origin, is that they acted as the gateway to Islam for at least one of the two Michaels. This means that the kind of Islam that Adebolajo was converted into was not only a jihadist form, but also one which culturally was more closely linked with the Middle East and South Asia than it was to the Islam of the two men's country of ancestral origin (Nigeria). This indicates that any connection or particular identification with the aims or grievances of Nigerian jihadis (such as Boko Haram) is actually highly unlikely. In terms of the substance of their beliefs and the 'Islamic' causes they sympathise with, the two Michaels would likely both be much closer to the jihadis of Syria's al-Nusra Front, or Pakistan's Lashkar-eTaiba. This would explain the reported references Adebowale made to Afghanistan at the scene of the attack in Woolwich, and their selection of a British soldier as a target. Rather than being a product of the jihadism of their ancestor's country, these men were  converts to a more globalized jihadi mindset. An indication of this is the reported fact that one of the men had previously been prevented form flying to Somalia, because he was suspected of intending to join up with al Shabaab (al Qaeda's regional branch) there. What really mattered to these men was killing in the name of jihad, not the particular country it was taking place in.

This makes what these two jihadi Michaels represent all the more worrying to Western security services: converted from non-traditional backgrounds by radical preachers based in the West, made to identify with conflicts they had no personal association with, and willing and (despite being known to the authorities as extremists) able to independently plan and commit an attack that struck fear into the heart of a nation.

They are the "do-it-yourself" jihadis -the UK's equivalent of the Boston bombers. They are determined, deadly, and extremely difficult to catch before they strike.