Guide Note

In January of 2008, rumors surfaced that Islamic terrorist organization Al Qaeda had recruited 1,500 British citizens for the purpose of carrying out terror attacks within the United Kingdom.¹

Fast Facts

1. MI5 reported that British citizens had been converted to Islam for future attacks
2. Al Qaeda targeting white recruits to blend in more easily
3. Need for more covert terrorists arose from international intelligence successfully preventing extremist attacks¹
4. Reportedly attempting to recruit prison inmates¹
5. Other extremist groups using the tactic: Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
6. Adam Gadahn is an American who joined Al Qaeda

"There could be anything up to 1,500 converts to the fundamentalist cause across Britain. They pose a real potential danger to our domestic security because, obviously, these people blend in and do not raise any flags."²—British security source

"New religious recruits always tend to be more zealous than those who have grown up with that specific religion."²—Robert Leiken