Jihadi John controversy: Former Muslim soldier calls for more integration in British cities12:30, 28 February 2015 By Josh LaytonZeeshan Hashmi, whose brother Jabron was first British Muslim soldier killed in Afghanistan, spoke out against "fantasies of Islamic State"(Clicky for piccy!)Jabron Hashmi
A former soldier whose brother became the first Muslim serviceman to die while fighting for the British Army in Afghanistan said extremist hatred was being fuelled by a failure to integrate communities in British cities.
Zeeshan Hashmi, from Small Heath, labelled jihadi terror groups a “curse on humanity” and called on immigrant communities to appreciate what they have in Britain and to stop fantasising that “Islamic state the ideal and sharia the answer”.
The 36 year-old spoke out following the unmasking of Islamic State serial killer ‘Jihadi John’ as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi.
Zeeshan’s brother Jabron was just 24 years-old when he died on July 1 2006 – just six days shy of the first anniversary of 7/7 bombings in London.
More than 400 mourners attended his funeral at the Ghankol Sharif Mosque and they received help from far and wide, but the family were also targeted by death threats.
They live only a few metres down the road from some of the plotters who planned to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier.
He said: “Someone who kills non-combatants, humanitarians and journalists in the name of religion is not only delusional but a curse on humanity.
“The history of Islam is tainted with false prophets and caliphs, so there is nothing new with the self-proclamation of Isil and its corrupt leaders. However, in Islam, the right to judge another human belongs strictly to God.
“Anyone taking it upon themselves to pass that judgement can only be blasphemous.
“A troublesome past can never be used as justification for such heinous crimes.”
Zeeshan, who was in the Intelligence Corps, attached to the Royal Signals, completed two tours of Afghanistan and one of Kosovo before leaving the Army to study Arabic as part of an Oriental Studies degree at Cambridge.
Jabron, who had also joined up, stayed on and was killed in a rocket attack on July 1, 2006.
His mother did not know he was serving the country as the brothers had made a pact to stop her worrying by telling her they were in Germany while on tours.
The Birmingham Mail reported on Jabron’s funeral.
But far from acting as a stand against terror, Zeeshan told how the Lance Corporal’s death “inspired” jihadis.
Zeeshan said: “We received support from far and wide – and we also started receiving threats from the local community. Some said my brother was a traitor.
“People would drive by, slowly pointing out where we lived and saying: ‘That is where the British soldier came from.’ Friends warned us to be careful.
“The timeline is important. Jabron was killed almost exactly a year after the 7/7 bombings in London, which had increased fear of home-grown fanatics in Britain.
“Only seven months after he died, the police managed to foil an attempt by predominantly British Pakistanis to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier.
“Some of the men convicted lived a few metres down the road from my mother’s house.
“If anything, Jabron’s death inspired them. Everything became more polarised.”
The family moved to Small Heath from Peshawar, Pakistan, in November 1994.
The brothers' father Ishtiaq had spent 13 years working in England in the 50s and 60s before moving home for an arranged marriage.
Zeeshan said: “He remained a British citizen, though, which meant Jabron and I and our three sisters were British citizens too. Where we came from, that was like winning the lottery.
“Our father moved us to Britain to give us every chance in life, but at great sacrifice: my mother wasn’t allowed to join us until seven years later.
“When we moved here, however, we were amazed at the relationship between the British Pakistani community and other segments of British society: it seemed to be very much us and them. It was bizarre.
“Every Saturday I went to Birmingham Central Library, where followers of the radical preacher Anjem Choudary and the (now banned) organisation Al-Muhajiroun were pointing at people, calling them “kaffirs” and saying they would go to hell.
“We moved into what was essentially a Pakistani ghetto.
“Frankly, we spoke better English than a lot of our neighbours. Having attended private schools in Pakistan and knowing how hard our parents had to work to send us there, it came as a huge shock to see in Birmingham that although these children had access to a first rate education, they seemed somehow ungrateful.
“Jabron was bullied for being the new boy and for coming from a different culture. He was the type who would take one or two hits but then stand up for himself.
“We had both always dreamed of being in the military and I swore my allegiance to the Queen on December 19 2000, when I joined the Royal Artillery.
“The political landscape was very different then – or maybe I was more naive.
“When I was undergoing my basic training, a couple of guys who didn’t like the colour of my skin would try to trip me up on assault courses. But I told them to back off and they did. Either you take it lying down and become a victim, or you stand up for yourself.”
Zeeshan was the only full-time British serviceman speaking Pashto and was deployed to Afghanistan with military intelligence soon after the 9/11 attacks.
The brothers stood up to training ground bullies and the Taliban believing they were building bridges.
But today more British Muslims are fighting for jihadi groups in Syria than are in the British Army.
Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood has estimated at least 1,500 young men have gone to wage jihad since 2011 – more than twice the number serving the UK.
But Zeeshan believes divides on civvy street are the real problem.
He said: “Catchment areas dominated by Pakistani families create schools filled with Pakistani pupils. You can’t expect a child attending one to suddenly, at the age of 16, realise Britain is actually a pretty diverse place.
“By that point they have already become brainwashed. Integration needs to happen right from the start; it needs to happen in communities.”
But the former serviceman also called on the immigrant communities themselves to take some responsibility.
He said: “Within them are some who, despite being born here, inhabit a fantasy world where an Islamic state is the ideal and sharia the answer.
“They don’t appreciate what they have in Britain.
“What zealots like Jihadi John preach is a huge hypocrisy.
“For my family, however, embracing British society and its values has always been easy.
“The UK is a just and tolerant place, we have equal rights and we protect our elderly.
“These are Islamic principles, too, which my brother and I were deeply proud of.
“This is what my brother fought for – not his colour, creed or religion.
“Men of words are quite different from men of action. Jabron was always one of the latter.
“He wanted to make a change in his own way.”
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