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A file photo of Prince Charles with British Muslim students
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LONDON,
December 5 (IslamOnline.net) - A prominent British Muslim leader has
accused the British government of creating a climate of fear among its
sizable Muslim community to justify its policies on Iraq and fighting
terrorism.
“I
think there is a lot of suspicion, not only among Muslims but among
the population at large, that all this is creating a climate of
fear,” Assam Tamimi, president of the Muslim Association of Britain
(MAB ),
told the independent GMTV channel, Agence France Presse (AFP)
reported.
“When
you arrest Muslims early in the morning in their hundreds and end up
releasing them without charge you are creating an atmosphere of horror
and fear.”
British
Muslims, estimated at two million people, have repeatedly complained
of maltreatment by the police and the stop-and-search
operations under the Terrorism Act for no apparent
reason other than being Muslims.
More
than 35,000 Muslims were stopped and searched last year without
reason, with fewer than 50 charged, whereas before the 9/11 attacks
only around 2,000 Muslims were stopped and searched.
Some
80 per cent of the Muslim community said they experienced various
forms of Islamophobia
and racial discrimination, The Independent reported Monday,
November 22, citing a report by the Open Society Institute.
Senior
British parliamentarians admitted last August that anti-terrorism laws
are being used
“disproportionately” against Muslims.
False
Democracy
The
Muslim leader also accused the government of violating democracy
standards under claims of combating terrorism.
“If
a government cries wolf the first time, then a second time, the third
time nobody will believe it,” Tamimi was quoted by the Scotsman
newspaper on its Web site.
“This
government has cried wolf tens of times.”
The
remarks came a few days after a Guardian opinion poll showed
British Muslims are turning
their back to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his
Labor Party.
Home
Secretary David Blunkett said Sunday, November 21, that his government
will adopt a set of tighter
anti-terror laws in case the Labour wins the general
elections, due next year.
Political
support for Labour among the Muslim community has halved
since the 2001 general election due to the occupation of Iraq.
British
lawmaker and anti-war advocate George Galloway said the defeat of the
ruling Labour in the EU parliamentary elections was a
victory for anti-war parties and his nascent Respect
Party, which did not make it to the pan-Europe legislature.
