The Political Class Has Created This Terror in Our Midst

Muslim women demonstrate in favour of Sharia law

DAILY EXPRESS: THE cold-blooded murder of American journalist James Foley has once more exposed the pitiless barbarity of Islamic extremism.

What makes this atrocity all the more shocking is that it was apparently perpetrated by one of our own citizens, probably a fanatic from London.

For all its cruelty this killing is just part of a pattern of butchery and violence carried out by British-born jihadists. It has been estimated that about 1,000 British Muslims have fought for the Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq, while more than 4,000 joined the cause of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In a chilling statistic that reflects the murderous disdain for patriotism among followers of radical Islam, there are thought to be more British Muslims in the Islamic State terror network than in our Armed Forces.

Politicians from all sides have fiercely condemned the murder of James Foley, attacking the ideology of extremism that fuels such lethal savagery. Yet our political and civic leaders also bear a terrible responsibility for the phenomenon of British jihadism. Their dangerously misguided, destructive policies have helped create this monster.

The fact is that extremism has flourished in a climate formed by the twin strategies of mass immigration and multiculturalism. Open borders have led to a phenomenal expansion in Britain's Muslim population to almost three million, many of the new arrivals hailing from parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where Islamic sectarianism is rife.

At the same time the dogma of cultural diversity has become one of the central obsessions of the state. We are constantly told that we must celebrate the vibrant enrichment of our society. But, by its emphasis on cultural differences and its loathing for traditional British values the doctrine of diversity has been a catastrophe for Britain.

In place of integration it has promoted division and separatism. We are a land increasingly without a mutual sense of belonging or shared national identity. It is little wonder that, according to one recent survey, 26 per cent of Muslims here said they feel no loyalty to Britain. Read on and comment » | Leo McKinstry | Fridaay, Augusts 22, 2014