Great Britain is planning harsher laws against British Islamist radicals. UK Home Secretary Theresa May has announced the plans through the British media.
The announcement came after video footage of the beheading of American journalist James Foley in retribution for American air raids in Iraq sparked shock in Britain and elsewhere in the world. There are suspicions that the man who murdered the journalist was a British citizen.
The possible participation of a British citizen in the murder of the American journalist has strengthened concerns over the number of Islamists traveling from Britain to fight in other countries and then returning home with even more radical opinions. Authorities are attempting to identify the man involved, who speaks with a London accent in the video footage published by fighters with the radical Islamic State (IS) organization.
May writes in the British newspaper The Telegraph that at least 500 British citizens who have joined terrorist organizations have traveled to Iraq and Syria, where the IS organization has recently occupied extensive territory. She is drafting legislation to deter Islamic radicals in Britain from traveling to conflicts in foreign countries.
Powers to prevent extremist behavior will reportedly be proposed. These would include a ban on participating in any groups disseminating violence.
The Government intends to ask broadcasters, prisons, schools and universities to play a greater role in the fight against the radicalization of Muslims. More than 4 % of Britain’s 63 million inhabitants are Muslim.
