William Shawcross and Islamofascism

"Is it because of western racism that al-Qaida has included the United Nations among its principal targets?" William Shawcross demands to know. "Is it because of western racism that in August 2003 an al-Qaida suicide bomber murdered more than 20 people in the UN headquarters in Baghdad, including the secretary general's special representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello? ... Al-Qaida exulted in the murder of this 'heretic' sent to Iraq by Kofi Annan, 'the criminal and slave of America'. Al-Qaida is inspired by Islamofascism, which cannot be appeased. No one is helped by pretending otherwise."

Letter in the Guardian, 16 August 2005

Rather, no one is helped by pretending that the atrocities carried out by the likes of Al-Qaida do not have a basis in a quite rational hatred of the West's own atrocities. Bin Laden repeatedly condemned the deaths of innocent Iraqis resulting from UN sanctions imposed at the behest of the USA. As for western racism, would the killing of hundreds of thousands of children have been regarded as a price worth paying – to quote Madeleine Albright's notorious remark – if those children had been white Americans or Europeans?

Over at Lenin's Tomb

A couple of relevant posts over at Lenin's Tomb during the past couple of days. In "Clowns for jihad" (15 August) Meaders expresses scepticism that the absurd Omar Bakri ever represented a serious terrorist threat ("I could be wrong, but one of the things you would not do, if you really fancied restaging 9/11 in London, would be to organise a widely publicised conference in celebration of this fact"). And in "They shall not parse" (16 August) China Miéville takes up Outrage's false report that Yusuf al-Qaradawi called for the Crown Prince of Qatar to be stoned to death. But remember, folks, you read it here first

Anti-terror legislation condemned

Muslim groups have condemned proposed anti-terrorism legislation saying it could lead to the "demonisation" of legitimate Islamic values and beliefs. An Islamic Human Rights Commission statement has 38 signatories, including the Muslim Association of Britain.

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UK terror fight adds to Arab fears

The planned deportations and a raft of other proposed measures to curb militant Islamist activity in the wake of the July bombs in London, are bashing a fresh dent in Britain's reputation in the wider Arab world. Dia Rashwan, an expert in Islamism at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, argues they could be counter-productive by playing to the perception that in the war on terror, the rights of all Muslims are under attack.

Many exiled radicals in London have been under close surveillance, he argues, and there is no proven legal case yet that they have contributed to radicalising British-born Muslims who carried out the bombings. Yassir al-Sirri, a London-based Egyptian condemned to death in absentia in Egypt, goes further, suggesting the government's measures, if adopted, would hand a victory to extremists. He was among a small group of Islamist exiles in London who urged the British government yesterday not to betray Muslims "by deporting them to countries from which they fled".

Financial Times, 16 August 2005

The BBC Panorama Special – some background

The BBC Panorama Special that provided the hook for the Observer's witch-hunt of the Muslim Council of Britain was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 14 August but has been postponed for a week. It will now be shown next Sunday at 10.15pm. The BBC has announced that its intrepid reporter John Ware "spent the weeks since the London bombs traveling to Britain's Muslim communities, to discover whether their leaders can tackle the growth of extremism in their midst".

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Extremists face fresh wave of expulsions

Charles Clarke yesterday signalled a fresh wave of expulsions and exclusions of extremist Islamists once the Government has concluded its review of the law later this month.

Daily Telegraph, 16 August 2005

"Extremist sect" exposed

As part of his stitch-up of the Muslim Council of Britain in Sunday's Observer, Martin Bright made much of the fact that among the MCB's 400 affiliates is the Birmingham-based Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, described by Bright as "an extremist sect". If you look up this organisation's website you'll find that it prominently features a statement on the London bombings. You'd have to say, if this is the best Bright can come up with as an example of the MCB's "extremist" connections, the MCB has little to worry about.

MP calls for Muslim group to be banned

More than 300 Muslims attended a gathering in Luton organised by a group which the Government wants banned. The jam-packed meeting was organised by local members of Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir in direct response to Prime Minister Tony Blair's proposals – announced on August 5 – to review security measures in light of last month's terrorist attacks.

Muslim News, 15 August 2005

No more playing the fool

The departure of the clownish Omar Bakri Mohammed may have blocked up a window on more dangerous extremists, writes Jon Ronson.

Guardian, 15 August 2005

Let's stop pretending Muslim hardliners are a tiny minority – Express

"Since the July bombings in London, there has been a remorseless barrage of official propaganda telling us we have nothing to fear from Islam. It is a religion of peace, we are told, compatible with the western values of democracy, freedom and equality. Politicians, police chiefs, broadcasters and church leaders have queued up to warn against judging the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims by the actions of a few criminals.

"Typical of this attitude was the claim of Brian Paddick, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner, that 'Islam and terrorism are two words that do not go together'.

"But it is increasingly difficult to sustain this pretence in the face of all the evidence of dangerous Islamic fundamentalism in our midst. Far from existing only on the lunatic fringes, the hardliners are part of the Muslim mainstream. An investigation by BBC's Panorama, to be aired next Sunday, has highlighted the extremism at the heart of the Muslim Council of Britain, the most important Islamic organisation in the country."

Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express, 15 August 2005

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