Hello and welcome to Jihad and the World, a product of Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. Today's episode is entitled "Whip Hands and Bloody Rivers - Immigration Comes to Britain." Whip Hands and Bloody Rivers Mercurial, brilliant, eccentric, and legendarily controversial, Enoch Powell was a prominent figure in Britain until 1968. He served as a Member of Parliament for 18 years and was openly nationalist and conservative. Raised in a middle-class family in Birmingham, he excelled as a scholar at Cambridge, where he later taught classics. He had a distinguished military career and became one of the youngest brigadiers of his era. He couldn't fulfill his dream of becoming the viceroy of India because it had gained independence. As a result, he entered politics, where he made a significant impact. He delivered a speech in Birmingham on April 20, 1968, that shocked the nation. Using alarmist language that made international headlines and ended his political career, he warned Britain that soon "the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.” With a historical reference to Virgil, it became known as the “Rivers of Blood Speech.” Immediately, people tried to understand why he said what he did. Why would he gratuitously give fodder to his political rivals? Why did he refer to blacks as “wide-grinning pickaninnies”? Fluent in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, German, Italian, Urdu, and medieval Welsh, Powell could have used less derogatory words. Why did he give the speech on Hitler’s birthday? Many fellow Tories agreed with Powell's critique but not his word choice. His Legacy Today, few Tories would openly embrace Powell’s rhetoric. However, leaders of the anti-immigrant British National Party (BNP) have no such hesitation. The group’s Midlands leader said, "It has taken us 40 years to admit it. We shuffled into this nightmare we find ourselves in, where our traditions, history, and culture are being replaced far more quickly than Mr. Powell could even have dreamed of.” But many Britons have forgotten him. He was the MP from Wolverhampton, and many local college students have asked, "Enoch who? Yeah, I've heard of him. Who was he?" A British journalist snickered that for today’s generation, "Rivers of apathy" better describes politics. Others have compared him to American Senator Joseph McCarthy, the fiery scourge of communism of the early 1950s. McCarthy inflated the number of communists in the U.S. government. He disparaged the loyalty of American civil servants, some of whom had no connection to the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, he identified a significant, very real conspiracy that compromised national security. But a popular backlash made it difficult to accuse American officials of being communists, even if the charge was true. Today, in Britain, intellectuals and politicians do not want to be accused of McCarthy-like or Powell-like sentiments regarding immigration. They stay silent. The wrong words could end a career. Terror Central And what about Powell’s city of Birmingham? Outside the Maasha' Allah internet cafe, Mohammed Hussain raised his voice over the recorded Quranic verses blaring from the abaya shop two doors down. He was furious that Britain's latest terrorist attacker had amplified the stigma against his city. "Why do all the jihadis come to Birmingham?" he half-shouted, prompting a passing group of teenage girls in bright-colored headscarves to frown, then giggle. A few years ago, a Fox News terrorism commentator had to apologize for describing Birmingham as a "Muslim-only city" where non-Muslims "don't go." Nonetheless, Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city after London, has produced a disproportionate number of convicted Islamist militants, including some linked to the Sept. 11 attacks and last year's bombings in Brussels. So many Islamist militants have been born in Birmingham—or have passed through—that the Birmingham Mail once lamented the city's dubious distinction as "Terror Central." When a masked member of Shabab, the Somali extremist group, celebrated the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in a 2013 video, he identified Birmingham as the main source of its fighters. The man believed to have recruited the militant known as Jihadi John, the Islamic State executioner with a King's English accent, was from Birmingham, as was his closest associate. Other notable militants linked to the city's underground networks include Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who organized the 2015 Paris attacks, and Mohamed Abrini, a Belgian national involved in the 2016 Brussels attacks. After-school madrassas are increasingly sought by parents who want their children to study the Quran. Even state-funded schools often accommodate religious needs by allowing lunchtime prayer, shorter days during Ramadan, and optional headscarves. Mr. Choudary, now in prison after being convicted last year of encouraging support for Islamic State, has recently preached in Birmingham several times. His group would arrive in large vans on Coventry Road, an area associated with conservative Islam, to preach and distribute leaflets. "They turned religion into a gang-like thing, with thugs around him saying, 'Come join our gang,'" said Mr. Ashfaq, director of Kikit. Their message, he explained, was "you can be cool, you can become a gangster," a jihadi message. 2018 Britain had changed many times in the 50 years since 1968. The Beatles had long since disbanded, and many genres of music had come and gone. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters was still shredding the guitar and had been a political activist for years. By 2018, Britain was filled with technology that could not have been imagined 50 years earlier. The internet, cell phones, DVDs, biomedical technologies, and vape stores had long been staples for generations X, Y, and Z. Britain had become multicultural, which brought benefits. A visitor on a London street would likely note diversity in full bloom. An Afro-Caribbean takeout restaurant would be next to a salon hawking hair weaves and henna tattoos, which would be next to a Muslim bookstore. But the British were increasingly careful with some imagery. Athletic clubs and fashion houses had, for years, removed cross emblems from their uniforms and sporting clothes. from its crest on new sportswear after its website was. The Crusades trigger emotions for some Muslims. Years before, the Middlesex Crusaders cricket club changed its name to the Middlesex Panthers. Women’s issues, rarely discussed in Britain in 1968, were broadcast on television in 2018. The BBC One series “Casualty,” a medical drama, became the first mainstream drama on British TV to address female genital mutilation. Cringe comedy sparked some laughs. Satirists enjoyed mocking an all-women gang of suicide bombers in Mesopotamia. In 2017, the BBC featured "The Real Housewives of ISIS," a comedy sketch some see as “revolting” for trivializing British Jihadi brides. Others appreciated it as weaponized humor. Fashion in Britain reflected the country’s demographics. Large department stores sold hijabs. In 2017, London hosted an inaugural “Modest Fashion Week.” The smiling models strutted down the runway wearing clothes that, promoters promised, adhered to “Muslim values.” Critics, however, called this a medieval fashion show. The advertisements for women’s clothing on London’s buses were not as revealing or risqué as the bikinis or mini-skirts of 1968. In solidarity with British feminists, the Muslim mayor pulled and blocked “body-shaming ads.” He did. The appearance of British street toughs changed. The “mods and the rockers” of the early 1960s were long gone. Gangs, some white and some Asian, lingered in the streets of London. There was a new phenomenon of Sharia patrols in some cities. Religiously dressed young men demanded that passersby follow Islamic Sharia law. Some were filmed shouting, "This is a Muslim area.” Seventy years after the Nationality Act and 40 years after the “Rivers of Blood” speech, parts of Blackburn, Birmingham, Burnley, and Bradford have populations that are between 70% and 85% Muslim. Britain had changed. Is this important? What do you think? We want to hear from you. This concludes this episode from Jihad and the World. It does not represent the official position of the United States government. Thank you for listening. Until next time, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting.
