"Londonistan"

Here's an interesting thread from Dr Paul Stott from the Henry Jackson Society in response to a tweet from the Muslim Council of Britain's Miqdaad Versi:

• Miqdaad Versi: Seems like not a single Conservative MP (/gvt/potential PM candidates) has spoken out after the Trump quote-tweeting Katie Hopkins using the Islamophobic term "Londonistan" & attacking Sadiq Khan. Many say I should expect this. Yet I am so hurt & disappointed.
• Dr Paul Stott: The tweet below from the Muslim Council of Britain's Witchsmeller Pursuivant adds the term 'Londonistan' to the never ending list of things which are 'Islamophobic'. This thread unpacks what is happening here.
• The term 'Londonistan' originates in the 1990s. Foreign intelligence agencies were staggered that the UK were allowing so many Islamists and jihadists to settle here, and we were seemingly disinterested when the dangers were pointed out.
• The countries angered at the UK included liberal democracies such as France and Belgium, Arab dictatorships in Algeria and Egypt, and countries somewhere in between - notably Russia. France in particular used the word, amazed at the Franco-Algerian jihadists organising here.
• Many Islamists also delighted in Londonistan - Gilles Kepel found Abu Hamza, at the peak of his powers in Finsbury Park mosque, using the term with glee. It took until after 9/11 before the Franco-Algerians were taken seriously, and a few yrs after that before Abu Hamza was.
• In many ways the global jihad starts, not in Islamabad or Kabul, but in London, as Bin Laden's supporters from the Saudi religious awakening faxed out his declarations of jihad from the capital. The rest is history.
• And what was the Muslim Council of Britain doing? In my PhD, I went through their press releases in the pre-9/11 era. They were doing what they do now - complaining about language used to describe terrorism, declaring racism & lobbying newspapers and gov't to use different words.
• The MCB were superbly placed to have opposed Londonistan themselves, but instead declared it ridiculous to believe jihad could be declared by fax. One global war on terror later, Miqdaad and co have succeeded only in turning up their own volume.
• Newspaper editors should be wary of Katie Hopkins, a loose canon. But they should be even more wary of the Muslim Council of Britain, who seek less to fight extremism, but to censor how we may discuss it.
• Oh, and whatever else Donald Trump gets wrong, whilst others tip-toe around the issue, to have someone say clearly and openly Sadiq Khan is an awful Mayor, does us all a favour.