Former Guantanamo Inmate Criticizes Western Approach to Fighting IS

Former Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg said Britain is wrongfully prosecuting people for their alleged links to Islamic state. He also believes US actions against IS militants have only aggravated the situation.

MOSCOW, December 3 (Sputnik) — Former Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg has leveled criticism at Western countries saying they embrace a completely wrong approach when it comes to dealing with the Islamic State.

He presented his point of view during an episode of The Stream on Al-Jazeera.

Begg, a British citizen, stressed that Britain is wrongfully prosecuting people for their alleged links to IS. He has also requested amnesty for Britons wanting to return home after fighting groups like the IS in Syria and Iraq. Moreover, he said US actions have only aggravated the situation.

Begg stated that when Western countries, especially the US and Britain, carried out airstrikes against IS militants in Syria, they targeted not only the IS, but also other groups fighting the sect. According to Begg, such an "unthoughtful campaign" has turned the entire Syrian population against any US-led invasion, including those standing for toppling the regime.

The former Guantanamo prisoner said there is no short-term solution to the problem because the "Islamic State is here to stay." However, it lacks legitimacy in terms of the Muslim world. While he does not believe this legitimacy will come, he has refused to condemn the Islamic State. If the group stops its brutal killings and starts to treat other people as human beings, the situation would change, Begg thinks. 

Begg is currently the Outreach Director of CAGE, an organization that works with communities affected by the war on terror.

He also criticized the unlawful, as he believes, practice of the British government in prosecuting and jailing those returning from Syria to the country. According to him, the majority of them travelled to Syria, not to join the IS, but to fight the group or help Syrian people.

"We have been so taken by this whole talk of ISIS, we failed to recognize what is happening in Syria in real terms, why people go there," he said.

Recent terror charges against him were dropped in October. The charges came from a 2012 trip to Syria where Begg allegedly funded and provided training to terrorist groups. However, the case was dismissed when the intelligence agency MI5 released documents proving his travel was aligned with British foreign policy toward Syria.

During the Al-Jazeera show, Begg expressed no intention to travel to Syria again.

Begg strongly opposes double standards toward the Muslim community in Western countries, where, as he thinks, Muslims are often marginalized, alienated and deprived of their rights.

In 2002, Begg was incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for allegedly attending training camps and recruiting for al-Qaeda near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He was released in 2005, after the US government was unable to press charges against him. Begg has claimed that during his Guantanamo detention he witnessed numerous cases of torture.

In October, Moazzam Begg said he offered to help secure the release of British hostage Alan Henning from the Islamic state, and his offer was rejected, months before the hostage was killed.

Meanwhile, Begg is confident that the only way to deal with the IS for Western countries is negotiating.

According to him, the problem is not in ideology. A real, thoughtful political approach is needed to solve any terrorism issue.

"The truth is that the IS is here to stay. And we will have to open door to negotiations with them, whether we like it or not. We did that with the IRA… We will have to talk to them in order to find peace," Begg concluded.