London’s Muslims voice new fears

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Muslim community here already felt the glare of suspicion in the wake of the deadly bombings that have terrorized London. Then came an admission by police Saturday that they had gunned down an innocent Brazilian on Friday who they thought was a would-be bomber. That, some in the community said, put London’s Muslims in a double bind: afraid of the militants, and afraid of the police.

“All of us must help police identify these suspect bombers and bring them to justice – yet yesterday’s events make it harder for us,” said Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the mainstream Muslim Council of Britain. “If people believe that the individuals they are informing on may be shot dead before it’s even verified they’re a threat, they’re going to be reluctant to tell the police.”

LA Times, 24 July 2005

Islamic scholars urge unity to fight terror

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ramadanA conference of Islamic scholars from around the world yesterday denounced the recent terrorist attacks on London as “barbaric and inhuman”, and called on the public and media to work more closely with the Muslim community to fight extremism.

Speakers at the Metropolitan police-sponsored conference, which was designed to educate young British Muslims about extremism and Islamophobia, also criticised the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes but said the young Brazilian’s death should not be allowed to upset community relations.

Tariq Ramadan, a Switzerland-based scholar whose visit to speak at the conference attracted condemnation from the Sun newspaper, said: “We should call for an independent investigation to make sure that this does not happen again.” He asked people not to react emotionally to recent events and to act as citizens who say “no to discrimination and no to extremism”.

Guardian, 25 July 2005

It must never happen again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Liz DaviesIt must never happen again

By Liz Davies

Morning Star, 25 July 2005

London is a frightening place to live right now. We Londoners are being shown a small glimpse of what it must be like to live in Baghdad. We are in danger – from terrorist bombs and trigger-happy police.

On Friday, the police acted as judge, jury and executioner. Jean Charles de Menezes is a victim of the war on terror in London, just as those who died on 7 July are victims. He was killed for three simple reasons: he wasn’t white, he was wearing a bulky coat and he ran away from the police. Who knows why he ran, but for no reason that could justify summary execution.

The rush by leading London and national politicians, and by most sections of the media, to support the police action was breath taking. In a democratic society, the first response when a member of the public is killed by the police should be to suspend the officers involved and to announce an independent inquiry.

There are circumstances, obviously, when an inquiry might conclude that the only thing that the police could have done, to protect the public or themselves, was to kill. But the gravity of that conclusion is such that it should only be reached after independent scrutiny of all the circumstances, not as a knee-jerk reaction on the day. Instead, politician after politician queued up to explain that shoot-to-kill is now necessary.

Now that we know that Menezes had nothing to do with terrorism, and there is to be an inquiry, Sir Ian Blair expresses his regret at the tragedy but adds, almost casually, that it might happen again. The inquiry must examine not only the actions of the police at the scene, but the instructions from the top and the whole “shoot-to-kill” policy. It must never happen again.

Where have we seen the state operate “shoot-to-kill” before? Apartheid South Africa, present-day Palestine, Los Angeles, and, of course, Northern Ireland.

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London bombings due to lax immigration policies, multiculturalism (it says here)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Sadly, many metropolitan leaders seem less than prepared to meet today’s current terrorist threat head-on, in part due to the trendy multiculturalism that now characterizes so many Western cities. Consider London’s multiculturalist Mayor Ken Livingstone, who last year actually welcomed a radical jihadist, Egyptian cleric Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi, to his city….

“In continental Europe, multiculturalism has been elevated to a kind of social dogma, exacerbating the separation between Muslim immigrants and the host society. For decades, immigrants have not been encouraged or expected to accept German, Dutch or British norms, nor have those societies made efforts to integrate the newcomers. Not surprisingly, jihadist agitation has flourished in Hamburg, Amsterdam, Madrid, Berlin and Paris as well as London.

“If cities are to survive in Europe or elsewhere, they will need to face this latest threat to urban survival with something more than liberal platitudes, displays of pluck and willful determination. They will have to face up to the need for sometimes harsh measures, such as tighter immigration laws, preventive detention and widespread surveillance of suspected terrorists, to protect the urban future.

“They will also need to institute measures that encourage immigrants to assimilate, such as fostering greater economic opportunity for newcomers or enforcing immersion in the national language and political institutions.”

Joel Kotkin in the Washington Post, 24 July 2005

Telegraph wakes up too

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Dr Ramadan called on his audience to be more ready to listen to non-Muslims and told them ‘to stop being on the defensive about being British citizens’. He said: ‘We have to deal with mistrust. We need mutual trust and knowledge and to return to the Koran. Your brother is not only Muslim, but also non-Muslim’.”

The Daily Telegraph reports yesterday’s speech by Tariq Ramadan.

The Sun wakes up

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The Sun“Britain’s Muslim leaders are waking up to the threat in our midst. Their plea yesterday for parents to tell police if they fear their sons could be suicide bombers is a vital blow against terrorism. Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council, and Dr Azzam Tamimi of the Muslim Association, made it clear that they spoke with the authority of the Koran. Their move is wholeheartedly backed by The Sun – and must win support from right-thinking people.”

Thus an editorial in the Sun, 25 July 2005

What a load of ignorant, condescending rubbish. Given that the MCB and MAB have never ceased to condemn terrorist attacks and to call on British Muslims to give information to the police, it is clear that the only people who are “waking up” are the Sun‘s editorial writers.

In another article in the same issue, referring to the shooting of an innocent man by police, the Sun reports approvingly that “an Islamic scholar accused of justifying suicide attacks said people should NOT blame police for the tragedy”. And who might this Islamic scholar be? Well, actually, it’s Tariq Ramadan – the man the Sun demanded should be banned from Britain. And who made the false accusation against Professor Ramadan that he justified suicide bombing? Yeah, that was the Sun as well. See here.

UK Muslims feel ‘under suspicion’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Senior members of the UK’s Muslim community have voiced fears the London bombing hunt is making innocent people feel they are under suspicion.

Labour peer Lord Ahmed said many Muslims in the north of England believed they could become victims of mistaken identity by armed police. And Azad Ali, chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum, said many young Muslims were reluctant to leave their homes.

“They fear that they’re all suspected bombers,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “We’ve received many emails, we’ve received telephone calls, about how young Muslims don’t want to use the Tube now.”

BBC News, 25 July 2005

Hispanic, Islamic groups want Tancredo out

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hispanic and Muslim groups called on US Republican Tom Tancredo to resign, saying he has embarrassed Colorado by suggesting that Americans bomb Islamic holy sites if terrorists launch a nuclear attack on the United States.

They also criticised the Republican congressman’s staunch advocacy of tougher immigration controls. “Enough is enough. We’re here to say ‘Stop,”‘ Hispanic activist Manolo Gonzalez-Estay told a crowd of about 200 people at the state Capitol.

Abdur-Rahim Ali, imam of the Northeast Denver Islamic Center, said Tancredo’s statement that “you could take out” Islamic holy sites in a retaliatory attack was unacceptable. “What would happen if a prominent Muslim made that statement about Catholic holy places like the Vatican?” asked Ali.

Tancredo’s spokesman, Will Adams, said the four-term congressman would not comment on the rally, but has no intention of apologising or resigning. “They are a lot more upset about what he stands for, our nation’s security and border policy, than anything else,” Adams said.

Associated Press, 25 July 2005

Statement regarding BBC2 documentary ‘The New Al-Qaeda: Jihad.com’

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“It is apparent to anyone who had the misfortune of viewing Peter Taylor’s BBC2 documentary, ‘The New Al-Qaeda; Jihad.com’ (broadcast on Monday 25th July 2005, 9pm) that the programme had only one agenda, and was extremely biased. It exploited the minds of an already vulnerable British public in the aftermath of the tragic 7/7 bombings. The whole aim of the programme was to put ahead one view and one opinion in order to prejudice the public with regards to Babar Ahmad.”

Free Babar Ahmad Campaign press release, 25 July 2005