Fear, Disbelief in Terror Suspects' Neighborhoods

LONDON, Aug. 13, 2006 — -- As neighbors and friends of the young men arrested for allegedly plotting to target air liners over America express disbelief, British authorities insist that not only are the young men very dangerous, but hundreds more are at large planning more deadly terrorist attacks.

Most of those arrested lived in tight-knit Pakistani communities that are extremely skeptical of the media and government. Most people in such areas, when asked about the arrests and what they know about the suspects, are quick to voice critical views on U.K. foreign policy and the war in southern Lebanon. Dozens of neighbors and acquaintances insist that the arrests are a smoke screen to divert attention from the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon.

The neighborhood in Birmingham, England where suspect Tayib Rauf was arrested is a community steeped in traditions and ideas of decades ago. Conspiracy theories abound and a longing to preserve a long ago culture is very strong.

A Pakistani shopkeeper a few doors down from the site of Rauf's arrest was installing a closed-circuit security camera outside his shop recently, amid fear of reprisals for the alleged terror plot. He and his two brothers run the shop and say they are horrified that someone living so close to them was accused of planning terrorist attacks and are now afraid of becoming targets of accusations by others. In particular, they are afraid of reprisals by the British National Party, a white supremacist party that has been involved in race riots in the U.K.

One young neighbor of Rauf does not believe he could have done anything wrong. He said his young nieces and nephews were taught the Koran by Rauf's sister Sumaya. Like many of the young men in this community, Rauf's young neighbor returned to Pakistan to find a bride through an arranged marriage. He expressed his revulsion for the British way of drinking and clubbing.

One suspect, Assad Sarwar, was arrested in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He is a British-born citizen of Pakistani descent. A neighbor who wanted to be identified as Curtis said that he had worked with Sarwar three years ago at the High Wycombe Town Center. He described Sarwar as a quiet young man who kept mostly to himself. Curtis said that three years ago he had seen Sarwar being escorted out of a "WH Smith" bookstore in High Wycombe where Sarwar had been employed. In recent months, he had seen Sarwar going in and out of the house but had not had any close contact with him.