Marginalization, Iraq Eclipse UK Reaching-out to Muslims

LONDON, August 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Iraq war and marginalization have cast a pall over a bridge-building bid by the British government with the Muslim minority, who said it is high time that authorities stopped living in denial and addressed the underlying causes of the extremist ideology behind the London bombings, a British daily reported Wednesday, August 3.

The Muslim Council of Britain, the main representative Muslim body in Britain, said ministers needed to accept the role political events such as the Iraq war had played in the growth of extremism, The Financial Times reported.

“It seems the government is in denial about this,” a spokesman told the paper. “Some of these policies have contributed to making the extremist message more palatable to Muslim youth.”

Anti-Terrorism Minister, Hazel Blears, went Tuesday to Oldham in Greater Manchester on the first stage of her eight-leg journey across the country in search of grassroots Muslim opinion.

She listened for two and a half hours as faith leaders, councilors, young men and women, who mostly welcomed the visit as “useful” while some branded it as a routine Labour-like PR exercise.

Dominic Grieve, the shadow attorney-general, agreed that the Iraq war was partly to blame.

“The Iraq war had contributed to this anger, with the western intervention in a Muslim country fuelling the 'great grief' caused to British Muslims by the state of the Islamic world,” the FT quoted him as saying.

He added that he found the suicide bombings “totally explicable in terms of the level of anger which many members of the Muslim community seem to have about a large number of things.”

Grieve warned he did not think that “simply by visiting community leaders you are going to get to some of these underlying issues”.

In an obvious retreat from his earlier stance, British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, acknowledged on July 26 that Iraq was being used to recruit terrorists.

One of the four would-be bombers arrested last week in the biggest massive manhunt in British history told investigators that they were motivated by the Iraq war and not by religious fervor.

Gov’t Attention

At Oldham’s session, Muslim figures told Blears that ethnic minorities in the country crave for government attention.

They said the government should address the underlying causes of terrorism rather than adopting an iron fist approach, Britain’s the Guardian reported.

“People from socially deprived areas, those not engaged in the community, with no aspirations and so sense of belonging, are going to be targeted by extremist organizations,” Muswar Hussain, in the same session to represent Oldham social services, told the minister.

Rasheda Khatun, a 20-year-old student representing the Oldham branch of the women's organization Muslimah UK in the session, told the minister the Muslim voice should be taken into account.

She said it is incumbent on Muslim organizations to come together to express their views in unison.

“When we unite, we will be able to have political activity and take part in the democratic process,” the Guardian quoted her as saying.

She told Blears how life had changed for her and her friends since July 21, when four bombers killed 52 people in multiple attacks on London’s transport system.

“We show by our dress that we are Muslims. People stare at us but, following the atrocities in London, they stare at us for a different reason now, thinking there could be a bomb under our jilbabs. This really scares us,” she said.

"Muslims have been generalized and it makes people think we are all potential terrorists. We are paying the price for what has happened and it is disgusting. We do not deserve it."

Soaring Abuses

This is a sign Blears could face a tough battle reassuring community leaders over police adopting a stop-and-search policy to target young men from specific ethnic groups, Reuters reported.

Since July 7, London's Metropolitan Police said crimes motivated by religious hatred have soared by almost 600 percent in the British capital.

Police figures showed that there were 269 such incidents reported since the first blasts, compared to 40 over the same three-and-a-half week period in 2004.

"There is no doubt that incidents impacting on the Muslim community have increased," said Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur.

The majority of incidents were minor assaults or low-level abuse but they had a great "emotional impact" on communities, he said.

"It can lead to these communities completely retreating and not engaging at a time when we want their engagement and support."

British Transport Police, which patrols the London Underground, have confirmed they are targeting specific ethnic groups -- notably blacks and south Asians -- for "intelligence-led" random ID checks and searches on the streets.

Alienating

The news has prompted anger from some Muslim groups, and warnings that such tactics could alienate communities.

A spokesman for the MCB told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Tuesday that while he understands the police need to take all necessary actions, it had to avoid "alienating or stigmatizing" an entire section of society.

"Otherwise this action will be counterproductive," he said.

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) said such a policy would worsen the situation.

"It won't help in terms of building a relationship or trust between the communities."

Some newspapers expressed concern Wednesday at the possible impact of young Asian men being repeatedly stopped by police.

Blears had been "dishonest" in not admitting that such men would be more likely to be targeted, The Independent said in an editorial, urging "extreme caution" in the police response to the bombings.

"Ultimately, our fight against terrorism depends partly on the willingness of minorities to co-operate with police," the paper said.

"Heavy-handed police tactics that risk demonizing and alienating certain groups are both dangerous and counterproductive."