I won’t be the first person to link to this terrifying interview with a British jihadist. I promise, this interview will leave you open-mouthed with dread and amazement. This young man, from his comfortable home in Manchester, summarily revokes the right (or the expectation) of a British citizen to walk the streets (ride the trains and buses) without being randomly selected for death or mutilation by another British citizen.
In which I try, after 25 years of blogging, to drop my ironic stance a bit.
Personally, I think he comes across as a rather cross young man who is saying all the things that he knows will get right up the man’s nose. But I just can’t take him seriously. He’s got a bit of an ego, he’s all for martyrdom (but not just yet), he’s all for leaving the country (but not just yet), he’s going to get married to the woman his mother has selected for him (and then send her on a martyrdom mission).
I’m sure I was like that when I was a kid. I don’t think you have much idea of notions of national identity, you just want to lash out at those who oppress you. As you get older, you wise up.
He sounds like a rich snotty punk to me. I’ve heard worse.
Oh, and his big fat ego: ‘Once I get my passport back, I definitely see myself becoming a face for Islam in the future, something Muslims have been lacking for a very long time.’
Ha, ha.