As King Charles III proclaimed his duty as Defender of the Faith, it is for each of us to be a defender of the faiths.
All the faiths, as indeed the King will also unofficially be. Indeed each of us to uphold the motto, “Regnum Defende” (Defence of the Realm). Terrorism and those inspired by it are officially according to the Security Services the number 1 threats to UK national security.
I write after paying my respects this September to the 9/11 memorial in New York; at the twin towers destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists.
Like you I too saw the recent community disturbances in Leicester, the final resting place of King Richard III – slain during the civil war between the War of the Roses – red against white.
Our interests are to keep our country safe and do our duty to report crime; safe from jihadis because we are special targets just as the Jewish community are, just as America is and Britain and it’s vaues are.
And that sometimes means in living cheek to jowl due to history and culture, and not turning the other cheek we are made aware of such dangerous extremist folk and it is our duty and responsibility as citizens of a country that has offered us such a peaceful home, to ensure we uphold its values.
We are from a community almost uniquely to benefit so much from being in the UK through our overachievement in education, the professions, public service - consider the numbers of NHS nurses and doctors alone of Indian origin. I myself a Barrister in the traditions of Indians such as Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (of whose Inn I am a member).
We have almost become a stereotype or caricature of the hard-working doctor, lawyer, accountant. It is because of our vested interest in Britain, being British, and indeed long memories of expulsion from Uganda due to fanaticism, that we must ensure we report jihadis, and extremists and at the same time reach out to such communities to help them who have not benefited from Britain and feel aggrieved enough to attack British values and turn on Britain with extremism, to help them become more integrated, uplift them as we have ourselves and showcase how despite being a minority, how much stronger we are for being British and upholding British values.
We have to be our Brother’s keeper, defender of not just our faith, but those whose faiths are being used by extremists to cause harm to Britain. Country first, faith second. Law above all else.
The bottom line, it is not for one community alone or law enforcement to stop Islamism, breeding of jihadis en route to Syria, another 7/7, fanaticism and fatwas, but to all of us, including those in the British Indian community who know through history and demography that community so well.
In Leicester where we see extremism festering, videos online of the next generation of Abu Hamzas, and we know now from 7/7 and 9/11 not to leave it too late.
