 |
|
"Islamophobia is present in some sections of government departments", said Sacranie
|
LONDON, August 1 (IslamOnline.net
& News Agencies) - Angry Muslim leaders in Britain said
Islamophobia is rife in some sections of government departments as an
official cartoon depicted men dressed in Arab clothes in a
"terrorist school", and the identity of an anti-Muslim
columnist revealed him to be a British official, according to press
reports Saturday, August 1.
A cartoon used in a presentation by a
British government official showing a group of men in stereotypical
Arab dress in a "terrorist school" has raised the anger of
Muslim leaders, the Independent said Saturday.
The cartoon depicts a bearded Arab in
traditional headdress and with explosives wrapped around his waist
preparing to detonate the device.
Standing next to a sign reading
"Human Bomb Class", he tells similarly dressed colleagues:
"Pay attention, because I'm only going to do this once, ok?"
The cartoon was part of a slide
presentation given in November by a senior official in the Home
Office's terrorism and protection unit on the threat of chemical,
biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, the paper said.
Furious Reaction
Muslim leaders considered the
caricature as appalling and outrageous, calling on Home Secretary
David Blunkette to withdraw such an offensive material.
"The cartoon was "deeply
offensive and silly" and portrayed all people "wearing a
beard and a cap as potential bomb-makers", Iqbal Sacranie, the
secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain told the
Independent.
He said it "plays into the hands
of those people who have been saying that there is institutional Islamophobia
present in some sections of government departments" and
"works against the whole objective of the community cohesion that
is at the heart of the government's agenda."
Anas Altikriti, spokesman for the
Muslim Association of Britain, said that the image contained in the
cartoon was "appalling, outrageous and untrue", and
"stigmatizes the Arab and Muslim communities".
Such images "stir up extremism
on all sides" and "drive a wedge between communities",
he added.
Altikriti described the act as the
latest of "a long list of blunders committed by the Government
and its ministers", citing a call by the Foreign Office minister
Denis MacShane last November on leaders of British Muslims to
"make a choice" between "the British way, based on
dialogue and non-violent protests", and "the way of the
terrorists".
Identity revealed
The exposure comes as the identity of
two anti-Muslims
pieces writer in the Sunday Telegraph was revealed.
Harry Cummins, press officer of the
British Council, apparently writing under the name of Will Cummins has
written two opinion pieces headlined "The
Tories must confront Islam instead of kowtowing to it "
and "Muslims are a threat to our way of life".
The British Council had launched a
"formal disciplinary investigation" into the case.
The Council stressed it was
"treating the matter seriously, and disassociating itself from
the sentiments expressed in the article".
Mark Law, The Sunday Telegraph's
comment editor acknowledged that Will Cummins was a pseudonym, but he
refused to comment about whether Harry and Will Cummins were one and
the same person.
In January, the Muslim Council of
Britain lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC)
and the BBC urging robust disciplinary action against columnist and
presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk.
The British government has recently
embarked on an intensive PR campaign to improve its relations with the
Muslim community, which felt being discriminated against.
However, a British anti-terrorism
poster in May, depicting a
pair of eyes surrounded by a black background , and
distributed across England and Wales, drew ire from leading mainstream
Muslim groups, dubbing it " unfair, counterproductive and a
stupid mistake", and calling for its immediate withdrawal.
Muslim organizations have embarked on
a nationwide anti-terror campaign to "isolate and stop tolerating
those spreading hatred against the country using the name of Islam.
