Friday 27 September 2013

Commentary on Lewthwaite controversy

Jamie Gilham, Guardian, CIF, 'White widow': public enemy No 1 "On Monday morning the front pages of the tabloids condemned "evil" and "fanatical" Samantha Lewthwaite, aka the white widow, as the Nairobi "bloodbath mastermind". The precise nature of the tragic events in Nairobi are still unfolding and, when the tabloids went to press on Sunday night, little was known about Lewthwaite's alleged involvement in the Nairobi attack. A few days on, we still don't know much, and the evidence against Lewthwaite is scant and contradictory. Nevertheless the Muslim convert and widow of 7/7 attacker Germaine Lindsay has become the symbol of home-grown terrorism, a target of fear and loathing."