Frank Thoughts on Islamist Extremism

On a recent trip to Israel, I had lunch with Matt Beynon Rees, the former Jerusalem bureau chief for Time Magazine. A Jerusalem resident for over a decade, the Welsh-born writer has left the world of journalism to pen a new series of detective novels set in the Palestinian territories. His protagonist is a reluctant but determined Palestinian teacher-turned-detective named Omar Yussef, who debuted in The Collaborator of Bethlehem (Soho Press, 2007).

I met Rees at a crowded café on Emek Refaim, a bustling street in West Jerusalem. Our conversation took place just after the terrorist incidents in London and Glasgow.

When I noted how safe and peaceful it all seemed that day in Jerusalem, Rees pointed out that a few years ago this very street, filled with young families, was targeted by Palestinian suicide bombers. One blew up a café not 100 feet from where we were sitting, killing several people including a visiting American doctor.

We then entered into a wide-ranging conversation about terrorism and Islamist extremism in Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his new novel.

The threat of terrorism is more common in Israel than it is in Britain, Rees observed, but the Israelis have means at their disposal to reduce the threat that the British and other Europeans don't have.

There hasn't been a successful suicide bombing in Israel in years, and this is largely due to the actions of Israel's security apparatus and the controversial separation barrier. The IDF has clamped down on the territories with a heavy military presence, Rees noted, including the slicing up of the West Bank with checkpoints and midnight raids to arrest suspected militants.

Because the Palestinian territories are geographically separated from Israel, these kinds of responses are possible. The extreme hardships they create for ordinary Palestinians could increase the support for anti-Israel violence in the long run if the conflict is not resolved. But for now, the strong security measures are working: the number of successful terrorist incidents has been reduced dramatically, to the point that traveling in Israel is quite safe and tourism is on the rise.

As recent events have made clear, small but significant terrorist cells bent on extreme violence are deeply embedded within some Muslim communities in Britain and on the Continent. But, Rees noted, an Israeli-style military/security approach cannot be used there. As he put it, "you can't invade Bradford or Lester" to go after Islamist radicals.

The British journalist-come-novelist pointed out that there are about 3 million Muslims living in the UK, and then he made a provocative assertion. "I do believe," he told me, "that there are hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Britain who think the UK is a terrible place that should be punished for what they're doing in Iraq."

After 7/7--the London subway bombings of July 7, 2005 perpetrated by British-born Muslims--it was commonly heard in the British media that the vast majority of British Muslims rejected such violence. But Rees is skeptical. "Where's the data?" he asks. "Do we really know this, or is it just political correctness? The British media answered the question before they asked it. They didn't want to know the answer" as to how many British Muslims are genuinely hostile to their host (or birth) country. On the other hand, said Rees, a recent survey of Muslims in the UK indicated that a small majority (just over 50%) had "very negative views of Britain.

Rees commented that the dangers posed by Islamist radicalism are far greater in Europe than in the United States. In the US, the pressure to assimilate into the culture and become "American" has no European parallel. American Muslims are not socially alienated as a group as they often are in Europe, where both prejudice and the cherished value of "multiculturalism" encourage immigrants of different religious or ethnic backgrounds to remain separate and distinct from the broader society. European multiculturalism, suggested Rees, "allows Muslim groups to live in London as they did in Lahore"--to the great benefit of radical Islamists who prey on alienated Muslim Brits.

Rees has created his Palestinian detective series as a means to share the knowledge and experience he gained covering Israel, Palestine, and the broader Middle East for the past 11 years as a reporter, while also telling an entertaining story. Many of the incidents in The Collaborator of Bethlehem actually took place, and some of the characters, including the novel's Muslim Palestinian hero, are based on real Palestinians Rees has come to know.

In the novel, Rees chose to focus not on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict per se, but on the internal nuances and the factional and clan struggles within Palestinian society. Omar Yussef must weave his way through this complex setting, which makes for an informative and compelling read.

I asked Rees why the Israelis play only a small and tangential role in his debut novel. "The occupation underlies all of the problems in the West Bank," he told me, "but the day-to-day problems are among the Palestinians themselves."

The novel's message parallels the point that Rees made to me in the Jerusalem café. Speaking on the heels of the London and Glasgow terrorist incidents, he suggested that there needs to be more introspection and self-criticism in the Muslim world and in the Muslim communities in Europe.

"Muslims need to take more responsibility" for those violent acts that emanate from their own communities. "They can't blame everything on outsiders, or on Iraq or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."