UK: Young women 'targeted by extremists'

UK: Young women 'targeted by extremists'


Via BBC (h/t LibertyPhile):


A growing number of young Muslim women are being radicalised by extremists while studying at UK universities, according to a Muslim women's group.


As one Islamic student group denies it is a problem, BBC News examines how widespread on-campus radicalisation is and why young women in particular are targets.


''I didn't have a plan and I didn't know how I was going to do it. But I had so much anger inside me. I wanted to be heard.

''I thought I could do that through violence, by becoming the country's first female suicide bomber.''





When Sadia started university, like most students, she was eager to make new friends and to fit in, so she joined the Islamic society.


Sadia, 22, (whose name has been changed to protect her identity), was befriended by a group of Muslim girls that she met at the events.


''They seemed to know a lot about Islam. As I grew closer to them, they would give me books to read to help me learn more about my religion," she said.


Sadia was shown videos of Muslims allegedly "suffering because of the West", which led to her becoming radicalised.


"It made me think violence was acceptable. It made me want to become a suicide bomber.

''I thought if I became the first British woman to do it then that would make the Western world listen."

Shaista Gohir, a consultant for Prevent, the government's anti-terror programme and head of the Muslim Women's Network UK (MWN-UK), said increasing numbers of Muslim women were being targeted at British universities.

''I have come across ample anecdotal evidence through my work, to suggest a growing problem of women being drawn into violent extremism.

''While it is mostly men who are targeted, women are also now being recruited by extremist groups.''


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