It was a shock to Americans to learn that the Oklahoma bomber was not some foreign terrorist, but a fellow-citizen. A similar reaction has gripped Britons upon learning that the London bombings were carried out by our compatriots.
Like most Britons, I was shocked that the London bombers were British-born — but not entirely surprised. It is not the first time that British Muslims have engaged in jihad or sacrificed their lives in what are called ‘martyrdom operations’ — two did so in Tel Aviv; the innovation is that the London bombers did it in the UK, against their fellow-Britons. What drives young Britons to attack their compatriots?
The Ummah
To understand this, we must recognise that people in all religions — including Muslims — have transnational confessional allegiances. Muslims belong to the Ummah – the global Islamic community. In the Declaration of Medina, effectively the constitution of the Islamic city-state, Muhammad stated that the Meccan migrants and the people of Yathrib (Medina) together ‘constitute one nation (Ummah) in distinction from the rest of the people.’ This Ummah is the primary community to which Muslims in Britain belong.
