The ‘British jihad’ and the curves of religious violence

Abstract

In exploring anti-civilian violence and alleged plots undertaken in the UK by small groups often termed ‘salafi-jihadi’ and popularly called ‘terrorists’, this essay attempts to present alternative routes of analysis. The violent events or (alleged) plots seen recently in the UK present a political and sociological form that is different from state-centric or transnational migrant politics, including political Islam and communitarian Muslim identity politics. The discussion of events in the UK extends to an analysis of a systematic pattern of association between small groups in the UK and Pakistani militias operating in Kashmir. The origins and ideologies of the militias are explored and the dynamics of the militia movements in relation to UK events are considered.