echarcha
November 8th, 2005, 05:21 PM
London bomb attacks - Muslim group warns on anti-terror laws
The government’s anti-terror legislation risks fuelling community tensions similar to those that provoked violence in France, the Islamic Human Rights Commission has warned.
“What may happen here, as in France, is a sense of growing alienation of Muslims that feels excluded from mainstream society and that could be very dangerous,” Massoud Shadjareh, the commission’s chairman, told the FT.
In recent weeks, Muslim organisations, including the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain, have raised concerns about the new terror laws.
But the critique of the government’s anti-terror strategy, published on Monday by the commission, challenged attempts by the prime minister to play down the concerns.
Tony Blair said earlier on Monday it was “patronising” to assume that Muslims would be particularly concerned about the prospect of people being held without charge for 90 days. “The Muslim community knows perfectly well how important it is to tackle terrorism, because terrorist acts cause difficulty for them,” he said.
The commission’s report argues that the proposed terror laws, such as extended detention without charge and the banning of certain Muslim groups, along with increased police anti-terrorist activity within the Muslim community, are contributing to a sense of legal segregation.
“As faith in the British justice system diminishes, Muslim communities may feel themselves under attack and may fade into ghettoes and away from the mainstream British community”, it warns.
“Communities that perceive themselves as under attack withdraw into themselves where they feel safe . . . they will not seek re-dress for social ills in a system which they have lost faith in and this will only lead to further polarisation of the Muslim community.”
In the immediate aftermath of the London bombings, the government and members of the Muslim community joined forces in a public statement to de-nounce political extremism.
But the report suggests that the hardening of the political language used by Mr Blair in August, and the government’s drafting of new terror laws, is setting back hopes of building a political consensus, and weakening the desire of Muslims to integrate into Britain’s multicultural society.
Drawing parallels with the support given to the IRA within the Catholic community in Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”, the commission says the legislation will be counter-productive, driving extremists underground and broadening their support.
“If there are indeed a handful of Muslims who may wish to use violence to resolve grievances, they may be protected by sections of the community unwilling to co-operate with the authorities,” says the report.
Ahmed Versi, Muslim News editor, said the unpopularity of the legislation was threatening to undermine more constructive government efforts to engage with moderate Muslim opinion. “There is a widely-held feeling that the anti-terror legislation as been drafted in a way that will only affect the Muslim community.”
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d507e3d4-4fbc-11da-8b72-0000779e2340.html
The government’s anti-terror legislation risks fuelling community tensions similar to those that provoked violence in France, the Islamic Human Rights Commission has warned.
“What may happen here, as in France, is a sense of growing alienation of Muslims that feels excluded from mainstream society and that could be very dangerous,” Massoud Shadjareh, the commission’s chairman, told the FT.
In recent weeks, Muslim organisations, including the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain, have raised concerns about the new terror laws.
But the critique of the government’s anti-terror strategy, published on Monday by the commission, challenged attempts by the prime minister to play down the concerns.
Tony Blair said earlier on Monday it was “patronising” to assume that Muslims would be particularly concerned about the prospect of people being held without charge for 90 days. “The Muslim community knows perfectly well how important it is to tackle terrorism, because terrorist acts cause difficulty for them,” he said.
The commission’s report argues that the proposed terror laws, such as extended detention without charge and the banning of certain Muslim groups, along with increased police anti-terrorist activity within the Muslim community, are contributing to a sense of legal segregation.
“As faith in the British justice system diminishes, Muslim communities may feel themselves under attack and may fade into ghettoes and away from the mainstream British community”, it warns.
“Communities that perceive themselves as under attack withdraw into themselves where they feel safe . . . they will not seek re-dress for social ills in a system which they have lost faith in and this will only lead to further polarisation of the Muslim community.”
In the immediate aftermath of the London bombings, the government and members of the Muslim community joined forces in a public statement to de-nounce political extremism.
But the report suggests that the hardening of the political language used by Mr Blair in August, and the government’s drafting of new terror laws, is setting back hopes of building a political consensus, and weakening the desire of Muslims to integrate into Britain’s multicultural society.
Drawing parallels with the support given to the IRA within the Catholic community in Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”, the commission says the legislation will be counter-productive, driving extremists underground and broadening their support.
“If there are indeed a handful of Muslims who may wish to use violence to resolve grievances, they may be protected by sections of the community unwilling to co-operate with the authorities,” says the report.
Ahmed Versi, Muslim News editor, said the unpopularity of the legislation was threatening to undermine more constructive government efforts to engage with moderate Muslim opinion. “There is a widely-held feeling that the anti-terror legislation as been drafted in a way that will only affect the Muslim community.”
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d507e3d4-4fbc-11da-8b72-0000779e2340.html