Naomi / AOG
// We had this conversation recently, and that statement (that the internet was to blame not mosques) was demonstrated to be false. //
It was not demonstrated to be false. As usual, you just ignore anything that does not confirm your opinion. The Home Affairs Select Commission investigated the causes of Violent Radicalism and their repirt is linked here. It confirms that the internet and not mosques is mainly to blame. It puts the figure for radicalising in mosques at 1% - 2%. But I am sure you will just ignore those findings.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/1446/1446.pdf
// Religious institutions
32. Charles Farr told us that violent radicalisation in mosques or other religious institutions comprises “no more than 1% or 2%” of the total cases of radicalisation.59 Our witnesses tended to agree that there was very little threat from the mosques. Alyas Karmani, for example, argued that “mosques are completely disconnected from young at risk Muslims”.60 The Prevent Strategy states that community resistance has reduced the open operation of radical preachers and driven many to operate out of private homes or the internet. Consequently, while the Strategy cautions ongoing vigilance against potential threats, its focus on mosques is more as a tool to help in countering extremist ideology by presenting competing points of view.61
The internet
33. Many of our witnesses cited the internet as the main forum for radicalisation.62 Sir Norman Bettison, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead for Prevent, told us that “the internet does seem to feature in most, if not all, of the routes of radicalisation”.63 It was regarded as particularly dangerous as it was now one of the few unregulated spaces where radicalisation is able to take place. According to the Home Office, the internet “plays a role in terms of sustaining and reinforcing terrorist ideological messages and enabling individuals to find and communicate with like-minded individuals and groups”.64 This seemed to be contradicted by more recent Home Office-commissioned research, which concluded that the internet “does not appear to play a significant role in Al Qa’ida- influenced radicalisation”. 65 Even those witnesses who attributed a significant role to the internet tended to support that report’s conclusion that some element of face-to-face contact was generally essential to radicalisation taking place, including with regards to the extreme far right, but by definition this does not deal with the issue of self radicalisation which by its very nature takes place in isolation and concerns have been expressed about the impact of ‘Sheikh Google’ on individuals who may be vulnerable, but have not been identified as starting on a journey of self radicalisation. //