‘An effort to target backbone of political Britain’
YESTERDAY’S TERROR attack was a predetermined effort to target the “backbone of political Britain”, a leading academic from Yorkshire has warned.
Dr Afshin Shahi, the director of the Bradford University-based Centre for the Study of Political Islam, has said it is to early to draw any firm conclusions about the perpetrators behind what happened at Westminster, but added there are “definite similarities” to other ISIS led attacks in recent months.
“It was only in December when we saw a very similar attack in Berlin,” he said. “What is important to highlight is that this attack did not only target a public place. It targeted a political symbol. One of the most important political symbols in this country. It was not only about creating maximum terror. This was about sending out a political message.”
And while the attack may have seemed sudden, he said, it was clear this has been strategically planned, potentially for many months.
“Targeting this beacon of democracy indicates this was not a sudden decision,” he said. “There was proper planning behind this. I believe the attacker would have chosen this particular location with a lot of thought and preparation behind this. What we have seen is indiscriminate violence.
“The attacker wasn’t interested in creating maximum fear and maximum carnage but he wanted to specifically target what makes the political backbone of Britain by targeting the Houses of Parliament.”
With political tension ongoing in the Middle East, and a large number of British residents travelling abroad in recent months and years to join organisations like ISIS, a global approach is needed to find a solution, he added.
“Radicalisation is increasingly becoming an issue. Unfortunately, I do not think it’s a matter of if, but when, we will see more attacks. This is a global problem and it requires a global solution.”