COVID-19 vs the economy. COVID-19 vs mental health. COVID-19 vs hospital capacity. This, with some additions, is all we hear about in the news. But in the last few weeks, since lockdown in the UK began coming to a close, there has been an astronomical rise in extremism and terrorist attacks. Just yesterday, there was a terrible incident in France, where a teacher was beheaded after holding a class discussion about cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. This comes just a week or so after a terrorist plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer was uncovered and 13 men were arrested in the US. So what is the reason behind why this kind of thing has become more common now more than ever?
Well, the first reason that I think that this may be happening is that we are currently in a period of great uncertainty. Extremists feed off of this uncertainty because it allows them to make more of an impact - more uncertainty means more fear, and that is what they want. The UK's terrorist threat level is currently at 'Substantial'. This means that the chances of a terrorist attack happening are higher than normal. With all of this economic fear and uneasiness about going back into lockdown, it is not beyond our imagination that a terrorist attack could happen, especially since terrorism revolves around uncertainty and anxiety.
The bigger problem, though, is that people who were trapped in their houses during lockdown may have been especially vulnerable to radicalisation. Radicalisation is the process by which people are persuaded to adopt certain positions on social, political or religious issues. People can be radicalised at any age and it can be done by a single individual or a whole organisation. When the public hears the word 'radicalisation', they immediately associate it with the Middle East and the terrorist groups that exist or have existed, there. But there is also a local problem, and that is the ever-growing far-right groups that have been gaining traction in the UK. These groups are just as dangerous as the Middle Eastern groups and are treated as such. Radicalisation is a major issue at all times, but especially now when people have been at home for so long, and may be more vulnerable than normal.
With all of these extra dangers, the situation is even riskier due to the police's ability to contain and detect these kinds of issues being greatly hindered by the lockdown restrictions. The UK's main way of finding potential threats is by using 'Prevent'. This is a method by which referrals are made for possible terrorist attacks so the police can preemptively strike and shut down a future plot. In the first few months of lockdown, referrals to 'Prevent' fell by around 50%. This means that a great many plausible threats may have gone undetected. As well as this, due to everyone being home, the terrorist organisations have had the opportunity to exploit social media even more than normal. The police can only do so much, and the lockdown has given these organisations a chance to expand and gain a foothold in people's homes through their phones.
There are courses that you can do to become more aware of these threats, and at this time, where this kind of thing may be more likely than before, it is more important than ever that you are vigilant. So please stay safe, if you liked this week's post, leave a like and a comment, and share it with your friends.
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