Jihadi John

Noted, absent.

bags As I understand it, the great jihad is a personal spiritual striving which, while not cosy and friendly, has nothing to do with repressive world domination. The lesser jihad is what might be described as politico-military Islam.

I think I read somewhere there are four key personnel from Britain in the ISIS hierarchy and they have taken the names of the Beatles as their pseudonyms , presumably because The Beatles were one of this country's most iconic and world famous groups. Jihadi John being the most notorious and the only one we know about. John Lennon must be turning in his grave this guy certainly aint "giving peace a chance!"

Jihadi John sounds to me like the murdering criminal he is. There's nothing cosy and friendly about jihadism. Jihadists want repressive world domination. Simple as that.

gillybob Very possibly, but by giving him any name at all – other than his true one if it were known – with a de-dum-de-dum rhythm somehow begins to normalise the man. It would have been better to have called him the killer or some other accurate word.

I think the tabloids (for all their faults) Absent only used the name "John" as a name that perhaps symoblised the fact that they knew he was from England Great Britain.

Having a genetic predisposition is just that - a predisposition, not an inevitability.

That is why I added:
Life events, grooming and indoctrination all add to the mix

And others will follow like sheep after indoctrination and brainwashing.

What makes you think the human race is inevitably good? Perhaps in a lot of our part of the world it is, basically. But we have had many more generations of western education.

And probably most of the solders carrying out the dreadful deeds.

My God - yes! Definitely! Evil bastards. (the commanders or those giving the orders, that is)

Having a genetic predisposition is just that - a predisposition, not an inevitability.

The decimation of: Jews/gypsies/disabled people, etc.
in the Holocaust, the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, North American Indians, Australian aborigines and the East Timorese in Indonesia, Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge, etc.,etc,.etc. - were all these killings committed by some sort of evil alien groups of people separate from everybody else?

I don't suppose that identifying this appalling man will stop the tabloids from using the stupid sobriquet Jihadi John which makes him sound like a naughty boy rather than a ruthless killer. I read that they opted for this nickname because they reckoned he sounded like John Lennon who, for all his many faults, was very much into "peace and love, man". How very appropriate!

No, you're right there jingle, they won't - we've seen that from Guantanamo Bay and Abu Graib, and from the way they treat their own citizens - even juveniles imprisoned for life without parole.

And, like *charleygirl, I hope the Americans capture him. They will have no daft qualms about an appropriate punishment.

I totally agree with gillybob. The three girls, and this evil man, knew full well what they were doing when they went out there.

I believe some people are born evil.

I presume people are allowed a platform because of "free speech". I dont want to start again on that subject.

I don't think people are born evil

Research on twins in Denmark has shown that some people are born with more of a pre-disposition than others to evil and criminality.

Life events, grooming and indoctrination all add to the mix.

As originally stated, I think it was reprehensible that both the BBC and Sky allowed this interview to be aired with the spokesperson from CAGE in which the interviewee described Emwazi as a gentle, loving, humble man. Unbelievably crass and insensitive, given the last image the relatives would have seen would be of their loved one kneeling in the sand with this so called "gentle, loving, humble" individual waving a large serrated knife at the camera about to do his worst and CAGE what an unfortunate acronym for this organisation given the way ISIS have taken to using cages of late.

I don't see why these people are allowed a platform they clearly don't represent Muslims, other than the small minority with an axe to grind and their rhetoric has clearly disgusted and offend pretty much everybody.

I don't think people are born evil, life events can bring about evil acts

Eloethan I don't think people like JJ were always 'evil' but they are certainly weak and easily swayed to evil. Just as you say there are examples throughout history; the Germans who 'followed orders' in the death camps, the neighbours who turned against neighbour in Bosnia, and so on.

That's right Gill and all this 'he's the gentlest person I ever met' rubbish is all a smoke screen. I wouldn't be surprised if that is correct ruby my first impression of the CAGE spokesman was that he was either a total prat or lying.

It wasn't just the CAGE spokesman who made those comments, a former teacher did also.

It is perhaps more reassuring to believe that there are people who are, and have always been, "evil", rather than to contemplate the idea that even "decent" people can be induced to commit horrific acts. There are plenty of examples in history of people being carried along on a tide of hatred and doing terrible things.

The Irish situation wasn't improved by silencing individuals or organisations or throwing people into prison without trial, it was improved through negotiation.

DH said he heard that the CAGE spokesman who described the murderer as kind and lovely has now himself been exposed as an extremist and a speech he made in New York has been found where he hopes all British Moslems will rise up etc. etc.

I know it isn't our way to lock up people before a crime has been committed but we used to intern IRA members before they blew things up. It was, I believe, an offence to be a member of the IRA, perhaps we need a new law.

Apart from the lack of sensitivity shown by Fox news in broadcasting things which must be upsetting for the families of the victims, it always surprises me when it is such a shock when someone is not what they seem. Jihadi John would have been a rather poor terrorist if he had broadcast his beliefs and intentions and walked about with placards advocating death to the west. Likewise, when parents of paedophile victims say 'oh, but he was such a nice man' well, of course he was or you wouldn't have let him near your children. Confidence tricksters have to be charming or they wouldn't be much get money out of people. These kind of statements make reporters look silly, we can work out for ourselves that to be a successful undercover terrorist you have to blend in and not be suspicious.

I dont get that from there Elegran. But never mind.

Ariadne. I know where you are coming from. But it did make some pieces add up.