Author: Abul Taher
Publication: Dailymail.co.uk
Date: October 16, 2011
URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049646/The-middle-class-terrorists-More-60pc-suspects-educated-comfortable-backgrounds-says-secret-M15-file.html
Two-thirds of British terror suspects are
from middle-class backgrounds and those who become suicide bombers are often
highly educated, a classified MI5 document reveals.
The paper, marked 'Secret: UK Eyes Only',
also debunks the myths that terrorists and suicide bombers are 'loners' and
'psychopaths'.
Instead, the security service says that 90
per cent of them can be categorised as 'sociable' and have a high number of
friends.
The 200-page document, titled Radicalisation
Of Muslims In The United Kingdom - A Developed Understanding, was found by
a Mail on Sunday reporter in the abandoned residence of the British ambassador
in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The research paper, which was intended to
be read by only MI5 agents and officers, was produced after studying 90 terror
suspects investigated by the security service.
While some of the information in the document
comes from the interrogation of suspects, other data came from surveillance
by spies and informants.
The report gives a rare glimpse into how security
service agents view Islamic extremists, and what MI5 believes are the main
causes of Muslims becoming radicalised.
While the report says that Western foreign
policy and the perception that 'Islam is under siege' plays a role, they are
not the main cause.
Instead, the four causes of radicalisation
are:
* 'Trauma', such as the death of a loved one:
Ten per cent of terror suspects became radicalised after a life trauma, says
the report.
* 'Migration': A third of all extremists 'migrated
to Britain alone'.
* 'Criminal activity': Two-thirds of the sample
had criminal records.
* 'Prison': Muslim prisoners who are not religious
are often radicalised in prison. The report identified 60 known Islamist extremists
operating in British jails.
The study says that the 'mean age' at which
a Muslim becomes radicalised is 21.6 years, while anyone between the ages
of 16 and 32 is regarded as vulnerable.
The report added: 'Where data is available,
two-thirds came from middle or upper-middle-class backgrounds, showing there
is no simplistic relationship between poverty and involvement in Islamist
extremism.'
The study also found that half of the suspects
it surveyed were married and some had children.
'This indicates that having commitments to
a spouse and children did not necessarily restrain these individuals from
becoming involved in activity that may have resulted in lengthy imprisonment,
if not death.'
The report adds: 'The vast majority (90 per
cent of those on whom we have data) are described as sociable, with a number
of friends. Our data thus tends to contradict commonly held stereotypes of
terrorists being "mad", psychopathic or evil.
'It also challenges the theory that individuals
who turn to radical or extremist networks are those who are unable to make
friends in normal life.'
Professor Anthony Glees, a terrorism expert
at Buckingham University, said: 'I am glad MI5 are privately accepting that
terror suspects were sociable creatures because for a long time they gave
the impression that terrorists and suicide bombers are lone wolves.
'It is also encouraging that they believe
most terror suspects come from middle-class backgrounds. Traditionally, there
was a belief among the spooks and police that terrorists were caused by poverty.'
The Home Office, which speaks of behalf of
MI5, declined to comment.
