A Londoner who shouted “you ain’t no Muslim bruv” at a knife-wielding terrorist has said he fears retribution from the Islamic State for his outburst. He has partly hidden his identity in an attempt to make it harder for jihadists to track him down.
The man, known only by his first name ‘John’, was hailed by David Cameron as “brilliant” after his voice was caught on camera as he leant over the barriers at Leytonstone tube station and admonished the terrorist as he lay, tasered, on the floor.
“Let me also pay credit to the person you can’t quite see who it is from the film who made that brilliant statement about “you ain’t no Muslim,” Mr Cameron said.
“Some of us have dedicated speeches and media appearances and soundbites and everything on this subject, but “you ain’t no Muslim bruv” said it all much better than I ever could. Thank you. That will be applauded around the country.”
The phrase also went viral on social media as a hashtag.
But speaking to the Sunday Times, John has admitted that he now fears retribution by Islamic State for his words. Islamic State are known to be operating in Europe, claiming responsibility for the recent atrocity in Paris which left 129 people dead. They have warned that numerous similar attacks are being planned for targets across Europe, including London.
And they have already carried out acts of violent retribution against those who they believe have denigrated Islam, most notably the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January of this year.
Nonetheless, John has not changed his mind regarding the organisation – he still considers them non-Muslim.
“Isis should be wiped out, because they’re not Muslims, because Muslims don’t do that. It’s as simple as that. For people to be like that, they’ve obviously got stone hearts, they don’t care about society. They don’t care about anyone. They’re evil, pure evil,” he said.
“People look at Muslims, and look at Isis, and think they’re all the same. But obviously they’re not.”
Despite fearing for his safety, he said he doesn’t regret saying what he did as it made him feel better about himself.
“I saw the guy. I was like, well you ain’t a Muslim . . . That’s my views, and I had to let him know that, because he looked to be a terrorist. I don’t believe in all that.
“I know Muslims, I’ve got Muslim friends. I was just a bit upset with what I saw so I had to let him know how I felt.”
“I’ve got a kid, he’s 20. He just said, ‘Dad, you’ve done the right thing’. I said what I had to say, and for someone to agree that is close to me made me feel good.”
His insistence that Islamic State is not Islamic may have won him the praise of the Prime Minister and Twitter, but it does not have universal backing.
In March the Atlantic published an in-depth critique of the Islamic State’s motivations, which concluded: “The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.
“Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, “the Prophetic methodology,” which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn’t actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it.”
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