Police discover children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism

This article is from the (website for the) British Newspaper The Telegraph. Once again, we see the reality of the "Religion of Peace"


Police discover children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism

Children in Britain as young as seven have been identified by police as being groomed for terrorism, with some already talking about become suicide bombers.

Nick Britten
Published: 12:57PM GMT 10 Jan 2010

Around 10 primary school pupils, aged between seven and 10, have been referred to a Government scheme to help combat the radicalisation of youngsters.

One child was referred to the Channel Project, a national programme run by the police and Government, after shocking his teachers by writing on a school book: “I want to be a suicide bomber.”

The Channel Project was set up in the wake of the 7th July terrorist attacks in London.

It is operated by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers, and works with schools, Muslim communities, youth workers and social workers.

Teachers and parents are asked to look out for warning signs and police officers work alongside Muslim communities to identify impressionable children who are at risk of radicalisation or who have shown an interest in extremist material, either on the internet or in books.

In June 2008 the project had identified 10 children at risk of being turned to violence. By March last year that figure had increased to 200.

Currently around 230 young people, mostly men aged between 15-24, have been identified, many of them by their parents because they suddenly changed from wearing Western clothes to strict Islamic dress, or began expressing devout Islamic views.

The British Government has denied claims that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian charged with trying to set off a bomb on a US-bound plane on Christmas Day, was radicalised and recruited by al-Qaeda whilst a student in London.

Files found by detectives are alleged to have shown that Abdulmutallab, 23, had ties to known Islamic radicals while an undergraduate at University College London between 2005 and 2008, where he was president of the Islamic Society.

Craig Denholm, Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey police, who oversees the project, said: “For people to be identified there have to be distinct changes in behaviour and warning signs.

“We assess each one on its own merits.” He said there was a “very small” number of seven, eight, and nine-year-olds involved.

Tactics used to turn youngsters away from extremism and integrate them into mainstream society include football coaching and outdoor adventure courses.