LONDON, March 21, (IslamOnline) - An unusual alliance is forming in Britain to fight draconian new laws labeling organizations in Great Britain as "terrorist' groups.
A meeting held Sunday in Holborn, in central London, discussed the British governments' decision to ban 21 organizations, most of which are Muslim, for alleged involvement in terrorist campaigns.
The law will make it illegal to give charitable donations to organizations like Hezbollah, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
Sunday's meeting, convened by the Muslim Parliament, drew a wide array of civil rights campaigners. Along with Islamic groups, representatives from civil liberties, animal rights, and anti-globalization associations joined in the discussion.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain said, "We want to channel our efforts into a movement which may lead to the repeal of certain aspects of this draconian Act."
"This is just a beginning and later we will be talking to other human rights groups and discussing what to do next," he said.
Many Muslim leaders in the UK feel that some of the organizations included on the banned list are fighting legitimate causes, often against repressive regimes and illegal occupations.
Siddiqui said, "Eighty percent of the Pakistanis in this country are of Kashmiri origin. There is great concern because of the massive Indian occupation of the region which has seen relatives killed, homes destroyed and women raped."
