Hoodlums
I call this entry hoodlums, because I find it a beautiful word, although reality is less beautiful. It was mentioned before in this blog: in the UK Criminal gangs use Islam to intimidate victims
Teenage criminal gangs in south London are calling themselves the Muslim Boys and claiming to espouse Islam in an attempt to gain street credibility and trade on false perceptions about links to terrorists.
Islam is used here as a symbol of a counter-identity.
But Metropolitan police chiefs and Muslim leaders say the youths have no genuine Islamic affiliations, nor any associations with al-Qaida linked groups.
This counteridentity seems to be inspired more by American youthgang cultures than by Islam
They talk in slang, much of it derived from black American rap music, place great store on having guns, and live by a code, where showing disrespect to a fellow gang member could be enough to get your head blown off.
“They began using the name Muslim Boys as a macho thing,” said Mr Coles. “One or two might have converted to Islam. But it’s nothing to do with religion, or terrorism. As far as I’m concerned they’re the same thugs, engaged in the same crimes, whatever they can do to make money.
It is used to create a strong streetwise identity with a mixture of popular ‘islamic’ images and gangculture. The word Hoodlum is also perfectly suited for this; so lets call them hoodlums.