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The Tipton Legacy
By Barnie Choudhury,
Social Affairs reporter
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Social Affairs reporter Barnie Choudhury investigates fears that the case of the young Muslims who travelled from Tipton to Afghanistan may not have been an isolated incident.
Last month it was reported that three men from Tipton in the West Midlands were captured by American forces in Afghanistan. A fourth is believed to have travelled with them and is now thought to be missing.
It is raining heavily when I arrive in Tipton. I am wary and on the lookout. From what I have read in the papers this is a haven for Muslim terrorists. A gun-toting-Koran-carrying-fundamentalist on every corner. I had better be careful.
First stop the Baitul Mokrum Masjid, an end of terrace house which is a mosque, on Wellington Road. It is here that Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Ruhal Ahmed and Munir Ali went to worship.
I speak to Ala Uddin, the mosque's caretaker and person responsible for calling the faithful to prayer. He had to drag the four to Friday lunchtime prayers - the most important of the week. Religious zealots they were not, says Mr. Uddin.
So how did the four end up in Afghanistan and three of them at Camp X-ray in Cuba? Rumour and speculation are circulating wildly around this Black Country town.
One was going to get married, the others decided to follow. Another went for a computer course. They may have gone to give aid.
Talk to people, black, white, Asian, Muslims and non-Muslims and they are at pains to point out there is no terrorist cell in Tipton. They claim that young children are being paid to pose in Arab head dress and say they are anti-Western.
Another told me how he was offered £10,000 by one newspaper to get a photograph of a group of Asian youths weight training.
"I was watching TV, news and everything," says Ala Uddin. "In Pakistan there were hundreds and thousands of people saying come on, come on fight with us, fight for Islam, fight for the religion, fight against America. They (the four) went there. They must have been watching the crowds. They suddenly got dragged in and forced to fight in Afghanistan."
Mushtaq Ahmed is a close friend of the Rasul family. Shafiq Rasul is one of those being detained at Camp X-ray.
The Rasuls opened their door to the media. But they feel, according to Mr. Ahmed, betrayed by the press. He says only sound bites to fit a particular theory were ever used. So there will be no further audiences with the family.
Some of the papers published aerial photographs of the close proximity of the homes. They published addresses. The two may or may not be connected, but some of the families have received race hate mail. The police are investigating.
Mushtaq Ahmed has helped to set up the Justice for Shafiq campaign group. He has a theory that he wants the British government to investigate:
"You're dealing with the Pakistan authorities. They had an axe to grind with America and Britain as well. Whether their intelligence service was responsible, we want to discover the truth behind this. At that time in Afghanistan there were groups who were being paid to actually identify foreigners and actually capture them for rewards."
But police intelligence suggests another possible explanation. The four went over to Pakistan because they wanted to see the war first hand. They then got in over their heads.
The police believe there are at most twenty young men with a passionate interest in Islam. But the Area Commander for Tipton, Chief Superintendent Bruce Gilbert, says it would take a quantum leap to suggest they were terrorists.
Mr Gilbert believes there ARE disaffected Muslim youths. He has a warning. If disaffected young men will travel to Afghanistan from Tipton then it is likely the same thing is happening elsewhere, like Oldham and Bradford:
Bruce Gilbert: "We're lucky that relationships are relatively good in Tipton and yet we still have problems. In other areas where there are even more difficulties and the strains and stresses more evident then the same difficulties will occur."
Barnie Choudhury: "What should the authorities do?"
Bruce Gilbert: "First of all taking notice, then finding out why are they so alienated and disaffected. Is it a question of education? Is it a question of access to jobs? Is it a question of being taken their part in society? And from our point in policing are we in touch with what's going on?"
For my part I felt perfectly safe. I never did meet that gun-toting-Arab-head-dress wearing-Koran-carrying youth.
The people of Tipton tell me they are getting fed up with being under a media siege.
The speculation will continue. But the fact is that no one really knows why three men from Tipton ended up being held prisoner in Cuba. Neither will we really know until we hear directly from their mouths, without the pressure of jail or the media spotlight.
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Prisoners held at Camp X-Ray in Cuba |
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U. S. soldiers guarding Camp X-Ray |
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The Tipton Taliban? Shafiq Rasul (left) and Ruhal Ahmed (right) |
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