Beckley warned that closing mosques could be seen as an attack on Islam.

CAIRO, December 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – British Police chiefs warned Thursday, December 1, that closing down mosques “suspected of encouraging extremism”, a measure allowed under proposed new powers, could be counter-productive.

The Guardian quoted the Association of Chief Police Officers as saying that it would prefer to investigate claims of extremism rather than shut down the mosque and risk driving “fanatics” underground.

"If we suspect that there is extremism that is verging on the promotion of terrorism in a mosque we wouldn't just want to close the mosque. We would want to find out what was happening," Assistant Chief Constable Rob Beckley told the daily.

"What we want to do is identify those who might be perpetrating terrorism and prevent them. We would not just want to close the place."

Early this month, British lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Tony Blair-backed draft terror law to hold terrorism suspects without charge for up to 90 days, voting instead for a maximum 28-day period.

Blair's controversial proposal was defeated by 322 votes to 291 in the lower House of Commons, his first defeat on a legislative proposal in parliament since taking office in 1997.

Beckley also warned that closing mosques could be seen as an attack on Islam, according to The Guardian.

The group of Muslim advisers hand-picked by the government in the wake of the July 7 bombings has criticised the government's plans to allow police to close down mosques as arbitrary and open to "possible misuse".

In a report released earlier this month, the panel warned that the new measures risked alienating law-abiding Muslims and driving fanatics underground.

As part of the proposed anti-terror bill, Blair also announced plans to outlaw two radical Islamist organisations, Hizb ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun.

But the Muslim working group said this could send them underground and make them "more problematic in the future".

Beckley echoed those concerns. "Hizb ut-Tahrir proclaim themselves to be against violence," he told BBC Radio 4's Today program.

"What we need to do is test that but not just automatically ban them because there are some radicals within their organization ... who we might be wanting to take action against or to look at very closely.

"What we don't want to do is drive extremism and radicalism, where it is not an offence, we don't want to drive that underground."

Several European countries have introduced extra police measures after the London bombings last July.

Many human rights groups said the new laws put at stake personal freedoms and privacy.

France's lower house of parliament Tuesday, November 29, adopted a new anti-terrorism bill motivated by the July 7 London bombings, allowing greatly increased video surveillance of public places.

In Denmark, a bill to increase police powers of surveillance was rejected by parliament in July.

In Sweden, which has far less video surveillance of public places than Britain, a recent study concluded that the current system works well and does not need to be expanded.

In Italy, the parliament has given final approval to a package of anti-terror laws, late in July.