He was born Terence Edward Kelly, in 1967. He grew up in the Liberties, in central Dublin, and attended Catholic school until the age of 15. In his early 20s, he trained as an intensive care nurse in London, before moving to Saudi Arabia in 1996.

From there, the life of Khalid Kelly took an irreversible turn. And the trajectory he followed, converting to Islam and his association with some of its most radical elements, reached its violent climax earlier this month, when Khalid Kelly reportedly blew himself up while fighting for the so-called Islamic State in the recent Battle of Mosul.

On Today with Sean O’Rourke, some very difficult questions arising from this case were addressed by security analyst, Tom Clonan, and Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin.

What drives some young people, Muslims and those who convert to Islam, and particularly those who grow up in peaceful countries such as Ireland, to embrace extreme and violent interpretations of their religion? How widespread is this so-called radicalisation, and how is it spread? And, realistically, how many Irish passport holders are, or have been, drawn to fight in the conflicts engulfing Iraq, Syria and elsewhere?

According to Dr Ali Selim, this problem is extremely rare in Ireland.

“Khalid Kelly adopted this kind of ideology in the time he lived in the UK when he associated with the likes of Anjem Choudary ….. They made it very clear that they failed to establish a base in Ireland…. It was not rejected by our security system, but it was rejected by the community. They failed to establish any link with members of the Muslim community in Ireland. That kind of motivation that you might find in other countries does not exist in Ireland”.

That was the relatively sanguine view of Dr Ali Selim, who actually debated Khalid Kelly on the Late Late Show in 2003 and, subsequently, debated radical social and political activist, Anjem Choudary, in Dublin in 2007.

Tom Clonan, security analyst, agreed that the problem is small. But nevertheless, its existence is cause for concern.

“Unfortunately, there are a small minority of Irish passport holders who have become radicalised. I would like to echo what Dr Selim said. The vast majority of Irish Muslims are horrified and upset, as angry as anybody else, of all faiths and none, about what happened in Syria, Iraq, in continental Europe in relation to radicalisation.”

That said, according to Tom Clonan, we are no different to other European countries, with broadly the same level, in percentage terms, of what you might call “radicalisation”.

“Khalid Kelly wasn’t the first Irish passport holder to die in Syria Iraq fighting for Islamist groups.”

The International Centre for The Study of Radicalisation in London, according to Tom, have a sort of “league table” of European nations from which radical young men have travelled.

“They estimate that between 30 and 40 Irish passport holders have travelled to fight in Syria and Iraq.”

Dr Ali Selim disputes this figure, saying, “The atmosphere in Ireland does not give rise to any radical ideologies. This is because of the policies adopted by the state leaders is also adopted by the Muslim leaders. ….”

One area that two guests were most definitely agreed on was the fact that this type of radicalisation occurs only in the tiniest proportion of Irish Muslims, of which there are up to 70,000. We are still, according to Tom Clonan, very well integrated in this country with low levels of Islampophobia, in large part due to the positive work done by Irish Muslim leaders.

That said, there is no point in burying our heads in the sand. According to Tom, it might be the tiniest minority, but radicalisation still exists on a level roughly in line with our European neighbours.

“It is a phenomenon that exists. We are no different from any other European country in this regard.”

To listen to the full interview, click here.

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