Muslims in Britain ‘live in fear’
British Muslims live in constant fear of police harassment, arrest and possible “execution”, a radical Islamic political party has claimed.
Dr Imran Waheed, UK spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, told a gathering of about 1,000 party delegates at a conference yesterday that the Muslim community in Britain was being held responsible for the actions of the suicide bombers in London on July 7th.
Urging people not to give in to intimidation and fear of reprisals for speaking their mind, he called on Muslims to continue to question British foreign policy and attacked Tony Blair for treating corrupt Muslim leaders as “friends” and “allies”.
Dr Waheed urged Muslims to unite and reject the government-perceived dichotomy of “moderate” and “extremist” Islam.
While Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in many European and Muslim countries, Dr Waheed insisted his party was peaceful and worked to empower Islamic governments in the Muslim world but not in the West.
However, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has called for the party and the now disbanded radical group Al-Muhajiroun to be banned in Britain.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Musharraf said Britain ought to rebalance the right to free speech against the prohibition of banned Islamic organisations.
“Good action is when you foresee the future and pre-empt and act beforehand, instead of reacting as in the case of Britain – which waited for the damage to be done and is now reacting to it,” he said.
The president added: “Many people around the world find it convenient to leave their countries and go to Britain, which they regard as a safe haven as it wants to project itself as a champion of human rights.
“But now they [Britain] have to reconsider and take action against these groups.”
The president ordered mass arrests in Pakistan after the London attacks following reports that the bombers, three of whom were Britons of Pakistan descent, had travelled to his country.
On Saturday, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association urged members to distance themselves from the “harbingers of hate”.
At its annual convention in Hampshire, which was attended by about 30,000 people, the association called on Ahmadi Muslims to combat extremism
Rafiq Hayat, national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, said: “It’s time for all Muslims to say enough is enough.
“We call for a grass roots revolution in mosques across the UK where ordinary people wish to make a future in the UK, for the sake of themselves and their children and for the sake of humanity, turn away from the harbingers of hate and root out fanaticism.”
