Convictions.

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Independent

Evening Standard


So three British Muslim males have been found guilty of trying to blow up planes. It's so incredibly depressing, coming right on the anniversary of the 11th September attacks. Why did they do it? What did they think they were going to accomplish?

In court, they have claimed that they were going to merely frighten people, rather than murder them, but that seems a bit far fetched, given the videos they filmed of themselves. They almost sound like gang members, "Don't mess with the muslims"... Yet from fear of being convicted, they lack the ability to proclaim this once again to the jury, and pretend that it's all a big misunderstanding.

One of the convicted men, Sarwar, said he suffered low self-esteem and thought he was "useless," after failing at University. A sad case of a vulnerable person lacking confidence and being taken advantage of?

At least I haven't heard any reactions along the lines of "Why aren't muslims doing more to stop this", as if we are all MI5 agents who can track down terrorists. These people don't go around shouting out their intentions at the local mosque to a baying mob, contrary to what some people obviously believe. Not that I have noticed anyway.

At the same time, we have people from the "English Defence League and Stop the Islamisation of Europe " marching to proclaim that they will not let their beloved England be taken over and turned into a muslim country. Do these people really believe this? I wonder if any of them have even ever spoken to a muslim in this country before. Maybe they are too busy watching the trial of these three young men on TV.

In the last few weeks, an elderly man was beaten to death outside a mosque not far from me. Another man was stabbed at another. Is it just coincidental, or the start of something worse? Difficult to stay optimistic, in times like these.