As a convicted radical extremist Muslim cleric returns to Jamaica to preach violence, the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica thinks Jamaica may become the next hotspot for Islamic extremism.
A diplomatic cable released last week by the whistle-blower website Wikileaks suggests state officials are concerned over the likelihood of Jamaica becoming a haven for Islamic extremists. This concern is exasperated by the return of Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical Imam convicted of preaching violence to his followers.
A diplomatic cable labeled “SECRET//NO FORN” exposed by the group Wikileaks, on August 30, reveals Isiah Parnell, Charge d’Affiares of the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, is troubled by the increasing probability for Jamaican youth to turn to extremist views.
“Jamaica has a significant penchant for violence, frequently gang related, and often exported to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom,” Mr. Parnell explains in the cable, “Some perpetrators appear to be in search of the sense of security and strength offered by gang membership, or perhaps to fill the void of an absent father figure.”
The reappearance of Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal in Jamaica raises concerns for the U.S. and Jamaican governments because of Jamaica’s heavy reliance on the U.S. dominated tourism industry.
Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born Muslim convert convicted of three counts of “soliciting the murder of Americans, Christians, Jews, and Hindus” and two counts of “stirring up racial tension” at the Brixton Mosque in the United Kingdom, returned to Jamaica after multiple deportations from the U.K., Botswana, and Kenya, for preaching the same sermons.
Sheik el-Faisal, who arrived in 2010, has urged his followers to mobilize their children to become jihadi soldiers, and has been banned by the Islamic Council of Jamaica from preaching in their mosques, but this has not stopped him from trying to open his own.
“Although not widely known, Jamaicans have been involved in some the worst or potentially devastating acts of terrorism of the last decade,” Mr. Parnell continued.
Indeed, Mr. Parnell does make an arguably strong case for his assessment in the cable: In December of 2001, a British man of Jamaican descent attempted to detonate a bomb concealed in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami; Lee Boyd Malvo, born in Jamaica, helped kill 10 people and injure 3 others during the Washington D.C. sniper shooting of 2002; Germaine Lindsey, one of the London Metro suicide-bombers that killed 52 people in 2005, was also born in Jamaica.
This is a pertinent issue for both countries because of the symbiotic tourism industry in Jamaica. Tourism, and dependent services, make up nearly 25% of Jamaica’s shaky economy, according to the World Traveling & Tourism Commission, with the majority of those tourist being Americans.
Plausibly, home-grown Jamaican terrorists, facilitated by the return of el-Faisal and the poor quality of the economy, could easily harm Americans, and their allies, traveling to Jamaican resorts, without the need to travel the United States itself.
Although Jamaica is not, at the moment, nor has it been, an Islamic hotspot, let alone a haven for extremists, Mr. Parnell argues the potential for extremism could easily be rooted in Jamaica’s wayward impoverished youth.
A diplomatic cable labeled “SECRET//NO FORN” exposed by the group Wikileaks, on August 30, reveals Isiah Parnell, Charge d’Affiares of the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, is troubled by the increasing probability for Jamaican youth to turn to extremist views.
“Jamaica has a significant penchant for violence, frequently gang related, and often exported to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom,” Mr. Parnell explains in the cable, “Some perpetrators appear to be in search of the sense of security and strength offered by gang membership, or perhaps to fill the void of an absent father figure.”
The reappearance of Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal in Jamaica raises concerns for the U.S. and Jamaican governments because of Jamaica’s heavy reliance on the U.S. dominated tourism industry.
Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born Muslim convert convicted of three counts of “soliciting the murder of Americans, Christians, Jews, and Hindus” and two counts of “stirring up racial tension” at the Brixton Mosque in the United Kingdom, returned to Jamaica after multiple deportations from the U.K., Botswana, and Kenya, for preaching the same sermons.
Sheik el-Faisal, who arrived in 2010, has urged his followers to mobilize their children to become jihadi soldiers, and has been banned by the Islamic Council of Jamaica from preaching in their mosques, but this has not stopped him from trying to open his own.
“Although not widely known, Jamaicans have been involved in some the worst or potentially devastating acts of terrorism of the last decade,” Mr. Parnell continued.
Indeed, Mr. Parnell does make an arguably strong case for his assessment in the cable: In December of 2001, a British man of Jamaican descent attempted to detonate a bomb concealed in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami; Lee Boyd Malvo, born in Jamaica, helped kill 10 people and injure 3 others during the Washington D.C. sniper shooting of 2002; Germaine Lindsey, one of the London Metro suicide-bombers that killed 52 people in 2005, was also born in Jamaica.
This is a pertinent issue for both countries because of the symbiotic tourism industry in Jamaica. Tourism, and dependent services, make up nearly 25% of Jamaica’s shaky economy, according to the World Traveling & Tourism Commission, with the majority of those tourist being Americans.
Plausibly, home-grown Jamaican terrorists, facilitated by the return of el-Faisal and the poor quality of the economy, could easily harm Americans, and their allies, traveling to Jamaican resorts, without the need to travel the United States itself.
Although Jamaica is not, at the moment, nor has it been, an Islamic hotspot, let alone a haven for extremists, Mr. Parnell argues the potential for extremism could easily be rooted in Jamaica’s wayward impoverished youth.
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