Countering Al-Qaeda in London: Police and Muslims in Partnerships (Columbia/Hurst) - Hardcover

Lambert, Robert

9780231702768: Countering Al-Qaeda in London: Police and Muslims in Partnerships (Columbia/Hurst)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231702760 ISBN 13: 9780231702768

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2013

Robert Lambert recounts the remarkable story of two peaceful, pioneering projects to reduce Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism in a major Western city. By partnering Muslim community groups with police forces in London, one project empowered Muslims to exile the Egyptian Sunni activist Abu Hamza and his violent hard-core supporters from Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. The other bolstered long-standing efforts by Brixton's Muslim community to challenge and diminish the influence of the violent extremists among them, notably the radical clerics Abu Qatada and Abdullah el Faisal.

These antiextremist projects set important paradigms for future community-based counterterrorism efforts, proving centralized government involvement is often less effective than direct, localized action, especially during times of war. Lambert explains how channeling genuine and reasonable Muslim grievances about Western foreign policy -- in ways that are familiar and acceptable to Western audiences and anathema to Al-Qaeda -- can create unparalleled outcomes throughout the world.

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About the Author:

Robert Lambert is an academic with police experience in counterterrorism. In the aftermath of 9/11, he established the Muslim Contact Unit to work empathetically and in partnership with London Muslims. In June 2008, he was awarded an MBE for his police service.

Review:

An important book. Robert Lambert makes an impassioned argument that law enforcement and government need to engage with militant but nonviolent Muslims. This factual narrative of two successful interventions needs to be broadcast widely in the current debate on countering 'violent extremism.'

(Marc Sageman, author of Understanding Terror Networks and Leaderless Jihad )

It is so encouraging to see a book published on this subject that draws on real experiences of working in the area rather than being based on theoretical speculation. By challenging the assumptions that centralized government-based and driven interventions are the only way to manage terrorist threats, and by focusing on and exploring community-based initiatives, Lambert opens up an important area for further evidence-based analysis and intervention.

(Max Taylor, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), University of St. Andrews)

Amidst populist Islam bashing and lopsided counterterrorism programs, RobertLambert's voice stands out as a lucid, out-of-the-box call for genuine community policing to prevent radicalization from turning into terrorist violence. His central argument that nonviolent ideology is not the conveyor belt to terrorism is now widely supported by academic research.

(Rik Coolsaet, Ghent University, author of Jihadi Terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge in Europe)

Robert Lambert's work is remarkable for its consistently thoughtful, de-escalatory, andgrounded approach. As a police officer, he built relationships with Muslims that allowed him to understand the complexity of what drives people to extreme measures. As a scholar, he has been a nuanced voice of moderation, with the added gravitas of direct experience. His work was and is groundbreaking, forging a path that more and more are bound to follow.

(Marie Breen-Smyth, codirector of the Centre for International Intervention, University of Surrey)

illuminating, wise and profound

(Daily Telegraph)

Countering Al-Qaeda in London should be required reading for policymakers, police and security agencies, and European and American citizens concerned about domestic security as well as religious pluralism and civil liberties. No one is more qualified than Robert Lambert, a former Scotland Yard police officer and university scholar, to write this incisive critical study.

(John L. Esposito, Georgetown University, author of The Future of Islam and Islamophobia and the Challenge of Pluralism in the Twenty-first Century )

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