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British Muslims Dismiss “Terror Claims”
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| British Muslims are against terror claims |
LONDON, Jan. 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - British Muslim groups and Downing Street dismissed claims Tuesday, January 8 that Britons recruited for the Taleban will return to the U.K. and launch terror attacks, news agencies reported.
Hassan Butt, a 22-year-old Briton, has claimed that many British members of Taleban would return home to launch terrorist attacks that "strike at the heart" of the UK, reported BBC’s online news agency Monday.
Butt also said that he recruited more than 200 Britons to fight for Taleban.
While Muslim groups accused him of being a fantasist, both Downing Street and the Home Office said Butt's claims should be treated with caution.
The British Prime Minister's official spokesman said there was "no evidence" to support Butt's claim that hundreds of British citizens had joined the Taliban, BBC reported Tuesday.
He added: "Attention seeking does take many different forms. We have to be slightly careful in giving too much credibility to claims like this."
He pointed out that the police should decide whether Butt should be investigated under the Terrorism Act 2000, which makes it an offence for British citizens to incite acts of terror abroad or recruit people for terrorism training.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said they were working with the Crown Prosecution Service to examine Butt’s comments, to establish if any offences had been committed.
Meanwhile, Bakri Mohammed, a spokesman for the Al-Muhajiroun group, said Butt, who claimed that he was speaking on behalf of the group, was no longer linked to the organization.
"Hassan Butt no longer represents al-Muhajiroun in Pakistan," he told BBC Radio 4's World Tuesday.
"We are an ideological, political party. We do not recruit people to go and fight on behalf of anybody or to indulge in any military activities."
Bakri Mohammed, a Muslim scholar based in Tottenham, north London, added, "He no longer even exists in our offices in Lahore. He himself now, I think personally, functions as an individual or has his own organization."
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the self-styled Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, said the interview with Butt was "very worrying and frightening", although he thought the claims were "more fantasy than realism".
Citing his return to Britain last month for three weeks, Butt said none of the pro-Taleban volunteers were worried about being caught.
He said the method he used to enter the country was "irrelevant" but there were many "secret" routes into Britain.
Shadow home secretary, Oliver Letwin, said Butt's comments about a domestic terrorist threat could be "largely fantasizing" but his claimed three week stay in the UK raised questions about Britain's intelligence capabilities.
The shadow home secretary added that he viewed Butt's remarks as "traitorous."
The BBC said many other British Muslim leaders considered Butt an isolated, belligerent voice, but that in the current climate, security forces could not afford to dismiss his threats.
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