THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2001 — There is a bright side to the frightening tale of Richard Reid, the name on the British passport of the man who tried to blow up an American Airlines flight bound to Miami from Paris: Abdul Haqq Baker, the chair of the Brixton mosque Reid attended in the United Kingdom, is emerging as a model for moderate Islam. Haqq Baker has given numerous interviews to television and print media about Reid, and has also worked closely with British authorities on possible links between Reid and Al Qaeda. That, however, is only the tip of the iceberg.

The Times of London reports today that for some time, Haqq Baker has warned British authorities about recruiting agents for militant Islamic groups who scoop up new converts such as Reid, adding that he knows " hundreds of Richard Reids. " " The recruiting has got out of control, " he told the Times. " We have been in contact with the police numerous times over the last five years to warn of the threat posed by militant groups operating in our area. "

Haqq Baker, speaking to CNN, said his group’s internally driven, day-to-day approach to Islam is often overshadowed by militant groups who feed the imaginations of new Muslims with tales of jihad. " They ... inculcate them with the more extreme view of jihad, extreme, erroneous and wrong belief, and because they can see they’re impressionable and wanting to be active for Islam, this is how they win them over, " said Haqq Baker, who has frequently taken issue with the militant approach to jihad, notably the " killing of innocent civilians ... and suicide bombing ... which [are] not the correct understanding that mainstream Islam holds. "

What is Haqq Baker’s reward for his efforts? He told the Times that his life was in danger thanks to exposing terrorist networks in and around Brixton.

BURIED WITHIN Jason Zengerle’s story on the FBI and the War on Terrorism in the current issue of the New Republic is a passage that ought to interest state authorities. Some terrorism experts say the next wave of terrorism in America may be similar to what is happening in India, where terrorists have struck both at the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature and at the Indian parliament in New Delhi. " The FBI should start preparing for the possibility that terrorists might attack state capitols in the United States, " Zengerle writes. He then quotes an anonymous terrorism analyst: " They should be ready for when a car pulls up, seven guys jump out with grenades and explosives, and they rush into the Nebraska legislature. "

Let’s hope this story alerts the Massachusetts State Police and Governor Swift. While State House authorities have already tightened security to an extent — you need to show ID at the door — the law-enforcement presence at the building’s perimeter remains minimal. The type of attack contemplated by the analyst above would quickly overwhelm the current security precautions. The authorities, guided by what has already occurred in India, need to understand that the State House, like the White House, is a sensitive location and the symbol of local government authority. Even if the FBI isn’t ready for the next wave of terror attacks, we can attempt to make sure that Massachusetts is.