Media still major aspect of rising Islamophobia

[sonz]

"There are a few bad apples in the Muslim community who are doing terrible acts and we want to root them out," Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain told The Sunday Telegraph, warning that the British government’s negative attitudes towards Muslims would lead to a vast and angry backlash.

The senior Muslim leader stressed that the demonization of Muslims by UK police and the media will create a new generation of extremists.

"But some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they're all terrorists — and that encourages other people to do the same.

"If you attack a whole community, it becomes despondent and aggressive."

"If that demonization continues, then Britain will have to deal with two million Muslim terrorists — 700,000 of them in London," said Mr Bari, who was speaking at the East London Mosque, where he is chairman, following a month-long tour during which he visited various Muslim communities in Britain and reported widespread sense "anxiety, frustration and, especially among young people, anger".

Dr Bari’s warning came as an apparent response to earlier comments made by Peter Clarke, who heads the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch, in which he said that UK’s police and MI5 were spying on "thousands" of British Muslims over suspected “terrorist links”.

"We want to isolate the bad people and put them in the dock. But we all have to work together to do that — police, politicians, the media and the Muslim community."

The council leader criticised recent measures adopted by the government that led to the "the whole of our diverse community" being targeted.

"When the IRA was blowing people up, the entire Catholic population of Britain was not demonised, so why is it happening to the Muslim community?"

Dr. Bari, who has succeeded Sir Iqbal Sacranie the former head of the council, took his post two days before UK police carried out a raid in east London, during which a Muslim man was shot but no charges were brought, said that it was "ridiculous" that moderate Muslims had been accused of not speaking out.

"When we speak we are ignored by the media, but when Abu Hamza or Omar Bakri Mohammed say something they are all over the papers."

Mr Bari, a former air force engineer in Bangladesh and now a special needs teacher in east London, rejected claims that UK mosques help creating home-grown terrorists.

"Some young Muslims are out of control. They are barred from the mosques and ignore their parents," Dr Bari said, admitting that some mosques need "modernizing," and stressing the need for more Muslim representation in the police force, Parliament and other areas of public life.

"Young Muslims need role models to show them they can play a part in British society."

Islamophobia stands as a major obstacle in the way of Muslims seeking to rise to senior jobs. It’s also a major aspect behind the rise of unemployment among Muslims.

[Muezzin]

"When we speak we are ignored by the media, but when Abu Hamza or Omar Bakri Mohammed say something they are all over the papers."

A very good point, and one that people should bear in mind before saying that law-abiding Muslims do not condemn the actions of terrorists.

Just because you haven't heard it doesn't mean it wasn't said. In sermon after sermon I've heard people condemning the violent use of Islam, and yet it's only the radicals who are quoted in the press. C'est la vie.