A Muslim born in London explains exactly why he considered bombing the city in an interview with The Clarion Project.
“It’s because of the way I was brought up,” former extremist Sohail Ahmed said, explaining why he hated his city. “I was brought up believing that the West is at war with Islam, and because the West is at war with Islam, the West is therefore a legitimate target for attacks.”
“Growing up in London I was taught that I was living in enemy territory,” he added. “That everyone surrounding me was the enemy. That they were out to get me.”
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After 9/11 he says he bought into conspiracy theories that the U.S. carried out the attack for an excuse to invade Muslim countries, and he saw the Afghanistan and Iraq wars through that lens.
“I believed them, because it fitted with what I believed in, with what I had been taught,” he said, adding: “I understood [the wars] in a way that explained that actually, the reason why they were attacking these Muslim countries was simply because they were Muslim, because they wanted to kill Muslim people.”
A closeted gay man, Ahmed eventually began questioning Islam and abandoned his violent plans.
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