Livingstone: Look beyond Iraq war
British Muslims should make every effort to help police tackle terrorism in the UK regardless of their views about Britain’s role in Iraq, Ken Livingstone said today.
The London’s mayor’s comments come as more than 6,000 police officers flood the streets of the capital four weeks to the day since the July 7th bombings.
They will be patrolling London’s transport network and “key sites”, although the Metropolitan police has stressed this is part of an effort to reassure the public rather than because of any specific intelligence indicating a threat.
Mr Livingstone has caused controversy in the wake of the attacks by insisting the bombings were linked to Britain’s military action in Iraq.
But writing in The Guardian today, he said this stance was no excuse for failing to helping police hunt for the bombers and in the efforts to prevent further attacks.
“Right now, only the police can stop bombers. Anyone who tries to avoid this is not dealing with what are literally life and death matters,” he said.
“Opponents of the war should continue to oppose it. But they also have to say to London’s communities: ‘Cooperate with the police to catch terrorists’ – and explain that the quality of information the police get will be decisively affected by the degree to which communities are treated with respect.”
The mayor said to achieve this, more respect should be shown for the British Muslim community, in particular in relation to allowing prominent religious leaders to visit the UK.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is due to speak in Manchester later this month but pressure is growing for him to be banned given his support for Palestinian suicide bombings.
Mr Livingstone warned, however, that banning one of the world’s eminent Muslim religious leaders would have “major consequences for the treatment of Britain’s Muslim community”.
“Those believing he should be banned give lip service to treating Britain’s Muslim community with respect but in practice deny it. Not only is that wrong itself, but it will increase the number of alienated fanatics,” he said.
