CAIRO, March 14, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Britain's main prosecution authority, the Crown Prosecution Service, is championing a series of events in England and Wales with British Muslims to explain its policies to the sizable minority and listen to their concerns.

"CPS London is pleased to have hosted the first of these engagements," Dru Sharpling, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said in a press release issued on Monday, March 13, and posted on the CPS website.

"We are here to listen and to find out the concerns that London's Muslim communities have," he told the attending representatives of the Muslim minority.

The CPS is the government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales.

"The evening was not aimed at finding instant solutions but rather, it is the beginning of a dialogue that I hope we continue to build on for the future," asserted Sharpling.

The idea of the meetings, taking place between January and July 2006, was the fruit of a meeting between Ken Macdonald QC, the Director of Public Prosecution, and CPS Chief Executive Richard Foster with representatives of the Muslim minority, according to the press release.

Britain is home to a sizable minority of around 1.6 million.

Lee Jasper, the Mayor's Policy Director, Equalities and Policing said the CPS was committed to tackling equalities issues in the criminal justice system.

He said the aim of the meeting was "to begin dialogue and develop a joint partnership approach tackling the key issues of concern for Muslim communities across the capital."

Jasper asserted that talking to Muslims and listening to their concerns "is vital in underpinning this work, boosting community confidence and providing reassurance."

Sharpling agreed, saying the CPS has "a duty to protect members of the Muslim communities as much we have a duty to protect all members of our society."

The meeting took up the role of the prosecution authority in dealing with terrorist cases and incitement to racial hatred cases.

The conveners also discussed the prosecution of racially and religiously aggravated cases.

The British parliament backed in February an amendment to the anti-terror bill, making glorification of terrorism a crime.

British politicians and MPs have criticized the new law, saying that it would be counter-productive in combating terror.

British Muslim leaders have complained that the "vogue" glorification article would criminalize Muslims for supporting the legitimate right of Iraqis and Palestinians to resist foreign occupation.

A February poll showed that 91 percent of British Muslims are "loyal" to Britain and 80 percent still want to live in and accept Western society.

Following the July 7 terrorist London attacks, Muslim leaders pledged an active participation in government efforts to combat the poisonous phenomenon of extremism for the welfare of British society.

Last year, The Guardian said British police were intensifying efforts to recruit more Muslim officers to boost intelligence gathering capabilities about Islamic communities in Britain.

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