Blair Faces Wrath of Britain's Muslims by Supporting the US

September 19, 2002
By Tom Baldwin

TONY Blair will be warned today that he risks “ostracising” Britain’s two-million Muslims through his support for America’s war against terrorism and military action in Iraq.

Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, will suggest the US and British foreign policy is in danger of being perceived as “an indiscriminate war on Islam — what President Bush has slipped into calling a ‘crusade’”.

At the launch of a book on the attacks against America on September 11 last year, Mr Sacranie will reiterate the abhorrence felt by genuine Muslims towards terrorism and the slaughter of innocent people.

“But, it seems,” he will add, “the terrorists of September 11 had not only brought down the world’s two tallest buildings, they also hit our own high towers of equal rights and equal inclusion, especially with respect to the British Muslim community . . . We should not make worse what is already terrible.”

The Muslim Council of Britain, an organisation recognised by Downing Street as representative of mainstream opinion among Islamic communities, has previously sought to steer clear of controversy. Mr Sacranie’s decision to speak out reflects growing fears among Muslim leaders that a military invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, following so soon after the war in Afghanistan, will play into the hands of extremists and deliver a devastating blow to race relations.

He will urge the Government to adopt policy which “holds the entire country together in these difficult times”. The impending invasion of Iraq “for reasons which do not sound at all convincing or compelling” makes it more imperative that all voices, including those of British Muslims, are heard.

The council has sent a questionaire to Muslim community organisations across the country asking for their views on a war against Iraq. The survey will be used to draw up a united message for the Government when Parliament is recalled next week to debate military action.

Mr Sacranie will say: “Friends should not be treated as enemies. Muslims are friends and want to be welcomed and included as friends.

“Prior to September 11, the community felt it was moving towards inclusion and integration but now it simply does not know where it stands. It is being ostracised and excluded and at the same time lectured about integration as if the community itself was refusing to integrate.”

His reference to being lectured on integration is intended as a swipe at David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, who has recently offended some groups by calling on ethnic minority families to speak English at home. The new book: The Quest for Sanity — Reflections on September 11, includes a introduction stating: “There are politicians and even members of the Government who have singled out the Muslim community as being ‘integration-resistant’.”

It suggests that Islam has been demonised by sections of the Western media and Mr Blunkett should do more to protect Muslims by extending race relations laws to include discrimination on religious grounds. The book, being launched at the Regent’s Park Mosque in London, includes essays from British Muslims on how they were victimised and vilified after September 11.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-420370,00.html