On Thursday, an English court convicted Darren Osborne of murder and attempted murder for his terrorist attack on worshippers outside a London mosque in June 2007.
Although his target was innocent Muslims, Osborne's rapid experience of radicalization-to-attack plot bears much in similarity with Islamic State-inspired plots. In recent months, counterterrorism services in the West have struggled with the increasingly short period by which individuals move from otherwise law-abiding behavior to terrorist plotting. This makes detecting and disrupting attack threats much more challenging.
Why is it happening?
Well, the internet is a major factor.
Cmdr. Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, told the BBC that Osborne's viewing of online anti-Muslim propaganda played "significant role" in his radicalization. Haydon added: "People around [Osborne] described [the propaganda] as having a major impact on him, brainwashing him, and as a result, we believe, that was part of the main driver for why he carried out this attack."
What's also interesting here is that Osborne, like many of those who find purpose in terrorist narratives, was a loser before he was radicalized. A socially disaffected alcoholic, the killer believed he had found a higher cause and purpose in murdering Muslims.
Of course, there's a special perniciousness in the form of attack Osborne chose: to slaughter innocent worshippers practicing their right to free worship alongside fellow believers. Sadly, one man was killed in the incident.
Ultimately, while this is a rare terrorism incident — most atrocities in the U.K. are conducted by Islamic extremists or Irish-republicans — it is a reminder that terrorism does not come in any one shape or size, and that all terrorism must be condemned.
