Exposure - Jihad: A British Story.

Exposure - Jihad: A British Story. (ITV). By DeeyaKhan.

In Exposure - Jihad: A British Story, I investigate the roots of Islamic extremism in the UK, speaking to many reformed extremists as well as ordinary young Muslims to answer the burning question of why some young British Muslims join fanatical jihadi cults like ISIS. Why is the message of extremism and jihadism appealing to young Muslims in the UK and Europe?

For Exposure, I spent two years travelling the UK, interviewing British citizens, whose lives had been consumed by extremism.

One of these was a pivotal figure: Abu Muntasir. Now a reformed and moderate imam, he is tormented by his violent past. He has been described as one of the founding fathers of the British jihadi movement. He fought in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Burma, and organised arms shipments.

He told me: “I inspired and recruited. I trained, I raised funds, I sent people for training, I went and fought myself, and it wasn’t just for a one-off - 15 to 20 years.” He worked to radicalise thousands of young Muslims and encouraged many young men to fight abroad.

I learned that Abu Muntasir created a movement of other young extremists, holding meetings and study circles across the UK, and preaching an extreme form of anti-Western Islam, promoting jihad and the idea of martyrdom.Read the full story here, Watch Part One the video here.