Skipper

Like most concerned people I've been trying to find the common thread to help explain the bombings and have mostly failed. Only one of the bombers seems to fit the mould of the atomised, aimless youth open to suggestion for a meaning to his life: Hasib Hussain. The other two, Mohammad Khan and Shehzad Tanweer seemed to be secure and successful young men. So maybe it was their families? No, they all seem well regarded in their communities and devastated by the extreme actions of their offspring. Was it their mosques? Here there is probably a connection but so far it seems the mosques of Dewsbury, at least, were known for being moderate not radical with no signs of anything like the hook handed, bloodcurdling cleric, Abu Hamza, so beloved of the tabloids and wanted in the USA.

Closer reading of the backgrounds however, does reveal another constant: visits to Pakistan. Tanweer and Hussain both visited for some weeks and returned, studiously god- fearing. As the parent of a 23 yearold I might be a bit surprised if a similar thing happened-but I'm not muslim. It seems Pakistani muslim families often send their young back home for a bit of 'firming up', some discipline to help them cope with life in the sinful west. In the case of Hussain, his family was pleased as the once aimless, unemployed youth now had more of a purpose; and who is going to argue with a religious one? Plenty, from now on, is the answer. Yet families did not find any evidence of that key word:'brainwashing'; in the case of Tanweer there was not even any sign of attendance at training camps.

The only possible evidence of such 'processing' is offered in today's Guardian: the Hamara youth club in Lodge Lane, Beeston Leeds. Here. it seems young people visited at all hours and fears of 'radicalising and recruiting young muslim men'. Maybe this is the connection that explains the great mystery of how a small group of apparently normal, Anglicised Asian young men, turned their backs on the values of their home country and effectively declared war on it. Police have sealed off the youth club and are investigating. As far as I can see, this is the only hope so far of any proper explanation.