Britain |
Disavowing attacks, some British imams say they won't bury the terrorists |
2017-06-06 |
![]() More than 130 imams and Muslim religious leaders in the United Kingdom have said they will refuse to perform funeral prayers for the Manchester and London terrorists as a rebuke to the "dastardly cowardice" of the "vile murderers." The Muslim Council of Britain released a letter Monday with 132 signatories including imams, scholars and leaders of various Islamic organizations. The MCB describes itself as an institution established to "promote consultation, cooperation and coordination on Muslim affairs in the United Kingdom," working together with Islamic schools and mosques. There are approximately 3 million Muslims, and 1,750 mosques, in the U.K. The letter decried the May 22 Manchester Arena bombing and Saturday’s dual attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market. "We are deeply hurt that a spate of terror attacks have been committed in our country once more by murderers who seek to gain religious legitimacy for their actions," the letter read. "We seek to clarify that their reprehensible actions have neither legitimacy nor our sympathy." "Though at no time is it acceptable, that such ruthless violence was perpetrated during the season of Ramadan, in which Muslims worldwide focus on pious devotion, prayer, charity and the cultivation of good character, demonstrates how utterly misguided and distant the terrorists are from our faith and the contempt which they hold for its values," it continued. The letter also praised U.K. law enforcement and encouraged other imams and religious leaders to "withdraw such a privilege" of performing funeral rites for the attackers. ISIS has taken credit for both the Manchester and London attacks. "We pray to God that the perpetrators be judged in accordance with the gravity of their crimes in the hereafter," the letter read. "Their acts and willful dismissal of our religious principles alienates them from any association with our community for whom the inviolability of every human life is the founding principle." One of the signatories, Imam Yunus Dudhwala, Head of Chaplaincy & Bereavement at Barts Health NHS Trust, told Yahoo News the letter was a "grassroots effort," and called on the U.K. government to reach out to the Muslim community for help combatting terror. "When the government doesn’t talk to Muslim leaders, then they are going to get their strategy wrong," he said, while at the same time denying that U.K. Islamic institutions facilitate radicalization. "To my knowledge, there is not a single mosque in the country that preaches hate, violence, or extremism," he said. "It’s the Internet. It’s foreign policy, identity, and previous criminal behavior that we need to address." |
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Britain |
CAIR urges British mosques to install panic alarms and safe rooms |
2013-06-09 |
![]() The group has discussed its revamped security regulations with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, which it said had even provoked attacks in the United States. The security measures urged by CAIR, America's largest Muslim advocacy group, encourage the building of transparent fences around mosques, wire screens on windows, designated security personnel, three-inch-thick doors, panic alarms and safe rooms. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said, "From the outside it definitely seems UK mosques are more at risk than anywhere, including the States. There have been a number of recent incidents targeting UK mosques, groups like the English Defence League marching on mosques and a spike in violent right-wing groups." Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the MCB, said it was vital mosques not become too security conscious. He said, "We don't want mosques going overboard, where it's almost like a fortified place. We want these places to be open, and seen to be welcoming places that people would not hesitate to visit. Clearly our American friends have shown concern for us and have shared their safety and security measures. Although not all are relevant, we can learn from each other's experiences. The common foe is a criminal we wish to keep out." |
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Britain |
Suspicious fire burns down London mosque |
2013-06-06 |
![]() The Islamic center in north London was mainly used by the local Somali community. Firemen were called to the scene overnight after reports of an explosion. There were no injuries. Last week a mosque in the northeastern city of Grimsby was assaulted by petrol bombs and similar attacks were reported in the south of England after the murder of Lee Rigby, a serving soldier. Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said in a statement, "This is the latest in a series of attacks on Muslim institutions since the horrific murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. The British Muslim community came out in droves to condemn this murder, and it is despicable that Muslims should be held to account and suffer in this way." |
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Britain | ||||||||
Cameron: 'I will gag the hate clerics' | ||||||||
2013-05-26 | ||||||||
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The Prime Minister wants to stop extremist clerics using schools, colleges, prisons and mosques to spread their 'poison' and is to head a new Tackling Extremism and Radicalisation Task Force (TERFOR) made up of senior Ministers, MI5, police and moderate religious leaders.
A senior Whitehall source said: 'The PM is determined to challenge the poisonous narrative of extremist clerics and confront religious leaders who promote violence.'
One said: 'We are looking at the range of powers and current methods of dealing with extremism at its root, as opposed to just tackling criminal violent extremism. And we will look at ways of disrupting individuals who may be influential in fostering extremism.
The source stressed that Mr Cameron was 'aware of the importance of avoiding a kneejerk reaction,' and added: 'This new group will study the issue in great depth before acting.
Mr Cameron will also ask police and security chiefs for more details on the number of young people who have been radicalised like Drummer Rigby's murderers. 'It is hard to measure the extent of radicalisation but we know there are many hundreds of individuals,' said one source. 'We have to encourage clear condemnation from groups that those vulnerable to radicalisation may listen to. TERFOR will want a better assessment of the size of the problem so they know what they are dealing with and can counter it. 'We must find ways to identify and tackle radicalisation in places which can be very hard to reach, such as unregulated schools and madrasahs. We must ensure imams and other religious leaders are not promoting extremist messages. 'Mosque committees need to be held to account for the choice of imams they make. And those attending religious services need a route to express their concern about extremist messages they hear at mosques.' | ||||||||
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Britain |
UK attack spurs Muslim soul-searching |
2013-05-23 |
Looks like "Dar al Islam" vs "Dar al Harb" is playing out nicely for the Muslims. Strapping his baby into a car seat, Abu Khaled said it was unfortunate that a British soldier was hacked to death in an apparent Islamist attack a day earlier in London, but it was not the only misfortune on his mind. A 75-year-old man was stabbed to death earlier this month on his way back from the mosque in Birmingham. You didn't hear about that, did you? said the bearded 36-year-old personal trainer, speaking near East London Mosque, one of the capital's oldest and largest. Eleven children died in Afghanistan in a U.S. drone attack about the time of the Boston bombings. You didn't hear about that either, did you? he said. The overwhelming reaction from Muslim communities to the brutal killing on Wednesday has been one of horror, compounded by fears of a backlash. These men have insulted Allah (God) and dishonoured our faith ... There will no doubt be a lot of soul-searching about why these individuals do what they do, Farooq Murad, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, said in a news conference. Abu Khaled said it was probably Western treatment of Muslim life as collateral damage in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that triggered Wednesday's crazed attack in Woolwich, southeast London. |
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Terror Networks |
Networks Evening Shows Dont Name Islam in London Terror Attack |
2013-05-23 |
What does a murderous jihadist terrorist have to do to get some recognition for his cause? You hack a British soldier to death in broad daylight on a London street while shouting Allahu akbar and then swear by the almighty Allah that youll never stop fighting, and the U.S. broadcast networks still cant bring themselves to utter a word about Islam. True, the ABC CBS and NBC evening broadcasts called the attack terrorism, but for all the information they gave viewers, the attackers might have been Basque separatists or animal rights zealots. On Nightly News NBC anchor Brian Williams said the attackers allowed people to take video while they vent their message about religion and politics. Correspondent Michelle Kosinski said one of the attackers made a long political statement, weapons still in his blood-covered hands. CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley went a bit further, as reporter Charlie DAgata mentioned that Witnesses said that the men shouted god is great in Arabic during the attacks. Hmmm. Presbyterians maybe? Over at ABC, on World News with Diane Sawyer, reporter Lama Hasan would only say British authorities were trying to find out including whether or not one of [the attackers] is of African origin with ties to terrorist groups. Of the one attackers video rant, Dian Sawyer said, officials in the United States and the United Kingdom are studying the meaning of this tape. Yes, its a real head-scratcher. By contrast, the U.K. media seems to be calling the attacks what they are. The BBC (no right-wing media shop) reported that one of the attackers told a witness, I killed him because he kills Muslims over there and I am fed up that people kill Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. The BBC also said that The Muslim Council of Britain said the murder was a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly, and noted that At least two plots by Islamist extremists to kill soldiers in the UK have been foiled in recent years. This morning, the networks did identify radical Islam as the attackers' motivation, but their initial reluctance in the face of obvious evidence fits a pattern, as when they wouldn't call Hamas terrorists while Hamas was making terrorist attacks on Israel. |
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Britain |
British town council rejects English national flag |
2013-05-19 |
![]() The town council decided to not to buy a St Georges flag after a discussion about repairs to the civic flagpole to ensure a Union Jack could be flown on Armistice Day. Labour Councillor Eleanor Jackson, a university lecturer and teacher, said its use during the Crusades could mean England's national flag could be seen by some as offensive. She added, "My big problem is that it is offensive to some Muslims but even more so that it has been hijacked by the far right. My thoughts are we ought to drop it for 20 years." She suggested the Union flag was a more inclusive and acceptable way to display national pride. John Clements, vice-president of national patriotic group the Royal Society of St George, called the decision "nonsense" and said "censoring" of the national flag played into the hands of the far right. Nasima Begum, a spokeswoman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said it encouraged the flying of the St George's flag. She said, "St. George needs to take his rightful place as a national symbol of inclusivity rather than a symbol of hatred. St George actually lived before the birth of Islam and should not be associated with any hatred of Muslims." |
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Britain |
British Muslim leaders condemn discriminatory gay marriage draft law |
2012-12-21 |
Muslim leaders in the UK have attacked proposed legislation to allow gay marriage as utterly discriminatory because it explicitly bans the Church of England from blessing same-sex unions but puts no such interdict on Islam. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said on Tuesday it was appalled by the legislation proposed by the government last week. The British government has proposed that faith groups would be allowed to opt in to legislation if they wish to conduct gay marriages. However, the officially established Church of England and its sister the Church in Wales would be explicitly banned from doing so under the legislation. The MCB is looking for the same amount of legal protection. MCB secretary-general Farooq Murad said that he was seeking an urgent meeting with Culture Secretary Maria Miller to show her the strength of feeling among Muslims. He said, No one in their right mind should accept such a discriminatory law. It should be amended to give exactly the same exemption to all the religions. |
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Britain |
British union bars Israeli expert from speaking on conflict resolution |
2012-04-30 |
![]() Moty Cristal, an Israeli expert on negotiating skills and crisis-management, was to have taught a class as part of a workshop for health-trust managers and union officials. He has worked in the past with Palestinian groups and human-rights organizations, and has lectured on numerous occasions in Britain, including a lecture to the Muslim Council of Britain. Despite all this, he received an e-mail on Friday from Manchester Mental Trust chief executive saying that his expertise was no longer required, following pressure by members of UNISON, Britain's largest trade union, which represents 1.3 million public service workers. The message said the class was being canceled "on the grounds that it is [the union's] policy and also that of the Trades Union Council to support the Palestinian people." The Israeli Embassy in London said in response that "the cancelation of a private expert simply due to his citizenship or ethnic identity is a racist policy in every way. What is even more shameful is the fact this was supposed to be an NHS-sponsored workshop dealing, ironically, with negotiating and conflict resolution. It seems that those who canceled it are in urgent need of such training." |
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Britain |
Muslim Council: women cannot debate wearing veil |
2011-04-17 |
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said that not covering the face is a "shortcoming" and suggested that any Muslims who advocate being uncovered could be guilty of rejecting Islam. In a statement published on its website the MCB, warns: "We advise all Muslims to exercise extreme caution on this issue, since denying any part of Islam may lead to disbelief. "Not practising something enjoined by Allah and his Messenger is a shortcoming. Denying it is much more serious." The statement quotes from the Koran: "It is not for a believer, man or woman, that they should have any option in their decision when Allah and his Messenger have decreed a matter." The statement will add to controversy about the veil after France earlier this week banned the full-face covering. |
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Britain | |
Cameron begins extremism crackdown, cash withheld from 'suspect groups' | |
2011-02-09 | |
The government has already started to withdraw state cash from what it regards as suspect Islamist groups that had previously been funded to reach young Muslims at risk of being drawn to terrorist networks. New, tougher criteria are being applied, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being withdrawn from specific groups after it was deemed they were too soft on Islamic extremism. Ministers are also awaiting a report in the next fortnight from a Universities UK working group, which has been in preparation for a year, on how to combat Islamic extremism on university campuses. The working group, including eight vice-chancellors, was established in response to the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the US for an attempted act of terrorism. Abdulmutallab studied at University College London between 2005 and 2008. The report is likely to call for greater rigour in the selection of speakers and stronger oversight of religious societies. University vice-chancellors have been accused by thinktanks such as Quilliam, a Muslim counter-extremist group, of being complacent about the radicalisation that is taking place in higher education. Today, it was being stressed by the government that David Cameron's call for a more "muscular liberalism" to combat home-grown terror, made in a speech in Munich on Saturday, was not simply rhetorical. It would lead to practical changes, including the wholesale review of the Prevent strategy set up by Labour. One outcome is likely to lead to a greater focus on specific areas where propagandists for terrorism are known to be operating, including community centres and gyms. There is also expected to be a clearer separation of resources to fight terrorism, and general community cohesion work. One government source said: "There is going to be a real shift in who we fund and who ministers share platforms with. It has already started. There used to be a view in the home office that the best way to engage dangerous people was through some people who were not themselves extremists, but shared much of their thinking . We think it is better to confront all forms of extremism -- the kind of people that support Jihad abroad, but say no Jihad here, or at least not now." The "British values" set out by Cameron in his speech -- freedom of speech, freedom of speech and equality between sexes -- will be the criteria by which the government will engage in future. Haras Rafiq, director of anti-extremist organisation Centri, said he fully supported the prime minister's call for a ban on the public funding of Muslim groups that did little to tackle extremism. He blamed some of the current misdirection of funds on failings by the Prevent programme, which has spent £53m on more than 1,000 counter-terrorism projects since it was set up in 2007 in the wake of the 7/7 London bombings. Rafiq said: "A lot of funding is going to groups that hold vile views that are not acceptable in a tolerant, liberal society like the UK. Some support suicide bombing, attacks on British troops in Iraq or Afghanistan and other forms of violent extremism, but they are supported by the government so long as they don't support violence in the UK -- even where they support unacceptable domestic policies like saying it's wrong for Muslims to vote or it's sinful for a woman to get into a taxi alone with a man she's not related to. But my biggest concern is that by funding and promoting fringe elements within British Muslim society, it is tarnishing the whole Muslim community." But Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim youth group, said Cameron had been "deeply irresponsible" to suggest that some publicly-funded groups did little to tackle extremism. "Where are these Muslim organisations that support extremism? I don't believe they exist, and if the prime minister believes otherwise he should have the confidence to name them." Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said it was important to identify which groups Cameron had been referring to. "The MCB itself, though not in receipt of government funding, has consistently spoken in favour of British values that acknowledge universal human rights and pluralism," said Murad. No shadow ministers today followed shadow justice secretary, Sadiq Khan, in claiming David Cameron was involved in "writing propaganda for the EDL" on the day 3,000 English Defence League members held a rally in Luton. Yvette Cooper said Cameron was "unwise" not to have also criticised the EDL, but foreign secretary William Hague said a PM's speech should not be shelved "because some people have chosen to march down a street". Lemme know when Anjem Choudray "falls" in front of an Underground train. Then maybe I'll take this seriously. I'd settle for all his wives being taken off benefits and deported... | |
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Britain |
67% of British people are pro a burqa ban |
2010-07-17 |
[Al Arabiya Latest] Two thirds of British people would support a ban on Muslim women wearing face-covering veils in public similar to the one approved by French lawmakers this week, a poll found Friday. An online survey of 2,205 adults for Five News television found 67 percent of respondents agreed that the burqa -- the full-face veil -- should be banned. That figure rose to 80 percent among people aged over 55. The YouGov poll was carried out between Wednesday and Friday, after France's lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to ban full Islamic veils in public spaces. Similar laws are pending in Belgium, Spain and some Italian municipalities, but the ban is particularly sensitive in France, whose rundown city suburbs are home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority. A Harris poll for the Financial Times in March revealed Britons were among the most tolerant in Europe towards the Islamic veil, with just 57 percent backing a ban, compared to 70 percent in France and 65 percent in Spain. According to the Muslim Council of Britain, about 2.5 million Muslims live in this country, and less than one percent wear a face veil. On Tuesday France banned Muslim women from wearing the for wearing the burqa in public under a bill approved overwhelmingly by the lower house of parliament. France is home to Western Europe's largest Muslim minority, with about 5 million Muslims, but it is thought that only about 2,000 women wear the full-face veil. |
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