What do we do about the 400 British Muslims fighting in Syria?

Particularly when they decide to return. Counter-terrorism officers have already expressed concern about those returning radicalised.

The vast majority of them have no intention to come back.

As for those who do, I doubt they're a threat to the UK.

So they just intend to settle in Syria when they finish fighting? Leave their British families, assets and lifestyles behind?

They have been trained in military combat, have now likely killed, and clearly express radical beliefs which will only have worsened with the company they are around in Syria.

I'm highly doubting they will return to the UK and carry on living like nothing happened.

Would you say the same about someone British joining the IDF and coming back to the UK?

why the heck are 400 british muslims fighting for another country? why would they risk their lives for such a remote purpose? people are dying all the time in other countries, why syria in particular?

In islam we are all brothers and sisters, no matter what colour you are, what country you're from, what position you have. Would you not defend your brother or sister if they were suffering and being oppressed?

Yes, i would be suspicious of anybody who is apparently so patriotic towards another country they leave this one to fight there, but then for some reason then decide to return. If somebody left the UK to fight in Syria, i would question why they would wish to return to the UK after considering it is clearly not where the allegiance seems to lie.

However considering the amount of terrorist attacks committed by Muslim extremists in comparison to Jewish extremists in the West i would have to be more wary of the Syrian fighters.

...what about everybody else? what about non-muslims?

Of course as a muslim you have to care for any human being muslim and non muslim. The quran mentions the killing of any innocent is like killing the whole of mankind and even the prophet muhammads time. Muslims would protect jews and christians

E.g.
The Prophet sent a message to the monks of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai:
"This is a message written by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, far and near, we are behind them. Verily, I defend them by myself, the servants, the helpers, and my followers, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be changed from their jobs, nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they (Christians) are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, this is not to take place without her own wish. She is not to be prevented from going to her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation is to disobey this covenant till the Day of Judgment and the end of the world."

it isn't that they're patriotic to another country. It's more that they have a religious belief to help the oppressed people so they go and fight hoping to free the people from oppressors like Assad. Some may want to come back due to family issues and personally, I believe they should.

If killing off Assad fitted into the ambitions of the UK, they would've been allowed to go without any worries (remember Afghanistan against the soviets).

so why say "muslims are our brothers and sisters" when technically everybody should be? what is the use of saying they were in the first place if there's no distinction? and I don't think muslims in this country would flock over to, say, a 'christian' country if there was a civil war

Obviously because muslims belive in the same faith.

Muslims are weak as it is and are being oppressed around the world, muslims can't defend their own family let alone the whole of humanity.

If we were strong, why not? Have you not heard about the ottoman empire saving and sheltering the jews when anti semitic europe were slaughtering them?

I don't know where you are going with this but you are changing the topic...

Obviously because muslims belive in the same faith.

Muslims are weak as it is and are being oppressed around the world, muslims can't defend their own family let alone the whole of humanity.

If we were strong, why not? Have you not heard about the ottoman empire saving and sheltering the jews when anti semitic europe were slaughtering them?

I don't know where you are going with this but you are changing the topic...

Would you say the same about someone British joining the IDF and coming back to the UK?

The same Ottoman empire which massacred 1.5million Armenians for being Christian?