THE WHISTLEBLOWERS

YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR PIERS Morgan asked me on ITV’s Good Morning Britain whether I thought the “Muslim community” are doing enough to stop terrorism.

“There is no Muslim community,” was part of my reply.

We are diverse peoples and individuals. I am a Shia Muslim. We have our hardliners but almost no Shias have been involved in suicide bomb missions.

Ahmadis, another minority Muslim sect, are also totally peaceful.

The main agents of mass destruction are those who follow Wahhabism – Saudi Arabia’s pernicious version of Islam – and extreme Deobandis.

Hammad Munshi, who at 16 became the youngest ever convicted British terrorist, and Mohammad Siddique Khan, leader of the London bombers, both came from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, where ultra-conservative Deobandis control the mosques.

These facts matter. I have more in common with Yorkshire birdwatchers than these Allah followers.

So I ask you please not to lazily clutch this notion of “community”. It’s a colonial leftover.

What was done in Manchester was an outrage. I prayed, wept and cursed the cold killer. Like many blameless Muslims, I felt guilt, shame and fear too.

The terror level is at critical. Questions need to be asked about government anti-terror policies since the 9/11 attacks in the US.

They are not working. Firstly, because the sponsor of this violence is Saudi Arabia, which remains our bestest ally.

Next, conservative Muslim families have too long been in denial about what is going on in their homes and mosques. Tiny girls in headscarves, intolerant religious schools, irrational beliefs and self-segregation have no place in Britain.

Finally, the government Prevent programme must be dumped. Most Muslims, educators, social workers and parents I have talked to feel this intervention to divert young children away from radical ideas is counter-productive, the brand toxic. Manchester is a wake-up call. The police and security services need cooperation from good Muslim citizens and the government must make bold, brave policy changes.