Closing Mosques to Tackle Terrorism

[Pineapple Thief]

source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4496580.stm)

Government [in the UK] plans that could see the closure of mosques suspected of inciting extremism have been attacked by Muslim leaders.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie said the move would "criminalise an entire community for the criminality carried out by a few".

The Muslim Council of Britain secretary general made his comments in a speech to an east London conference focusing on the role of Muslims in the UK.

But he added loyalty to the UK was not incompatible with the Muslim faith.

Met Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur and the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer are among the other figures addressing more than 20,000 people at the Global Peace and Unity conference.

Sir Iqbal described the government proposals designed to tackle terrorism the "single most dangerous piece of legislation".

Under the plans, police could seek a court order for the temporary closure of a place of worship if extremist behaviour or terrorist activity was believed to be taking place.

Mosques were not specifically singled out in the proposal but most people would see the proposal as referring to mosques and trustees of mosques, the MCB has said.

The comments follow a recent warning by the Association of Chief Police Officers that the plan could be seen as an attack on religion.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Beckley, who is responsible for community relations at the association, said if officers had suspicions about a particular mosque they would want to identify those responsible rather than close it down.

Sir Iqbal also used his speech to call for a public inquiry into the 7 July London bomb attacks.

The MCB's Sher Khan said the gathering at the Excel centre fulfilled a "very important need to clarify to the wider community that British Muslims are part and parcel of the wider community".

========================================

Thoughts and opinions on this? Contrary to what you guys might think, Im not opposed to this move - I'm for it, provided its carried out fairly. The closures are only temporary anyway. Who knows, maybe this move will make us muslims a little less tolerant towards terrorist elements within our ranks.

[amo_l_oman]

Wouldn't be useful.
We have to be practical at this point: we need to catch these people and to kick them out.
What's the best place to find them in Europe? The Mosque.

[sheik-al-Tort]

Good point Amo and I agree. I think the Government is wrong in threatenening to close down mosques.

If bad mullahs like old hook hand preach their filth, then lock them up and deport them back to their country of origin. It is ridiculous to punish all for the sins of a few, and will be counter-productive making Britain even more of a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists than it is already.

To my mind if mosques are being abused, the abusers should be tackled first by the muslim community - giving them a chance to demonstrate their ability to deal with this poison.
As for Iqbal - I've seen him a few times on TV and he is a slippery eel and not a good representative of the muslim community.

[Pineapple Thief]

It is a good point indeed, and you're probably right.

tort: I dont really like any of the so-called representatives of the muslim community I see on TV or otherwise - but to be fair I dont know them very well at all.

[sheik-al-Tort]

PT perhaps its beacuse they come across like our politicians and therefore instinctively we mistrust them?

[raffee]

I agree with amo and sheik, but I would like to add by voicing a grievance.

I recently read the transcript of a well-known radio announcers' talk and although I didn't agree with all of what he said, he did raise a very important point. He was asking why Muslims didn't rally and publicly protest against the atrocities that have been committed of late.

Yes, occasionally we have the odd token Muslim spokesperson (who are never the most articulate or knowledgeable of people) condemn terrorism but it is grossly inadequate when measured against the heinousness of the acts. We never see any meaningful unified outcry from the Muslim community whether here (in Australia) or anywhere else in the Western world (where freedom of speech has until very recently been supported).

I completely agree with this radio host- we DO need to react more vocally through all means available to us, not just through interfaith dialogues (whose audiences are generally academics or academic-wannabe's), but through more accessible means.

We need to speak to the layman, the working class patriot, the family next door, the viewers of channel 9 or itv. We need to hold rallies akin to those held in opposition of the Iraqi War, write articles for the local newspapers and, as my husband recently suggested, we could also try some proactivity like joining into mainstream events and act as goodwill ambassadors of our peaceful religion.

I am sick of being associated with these criminals. I am not a criminal and I certainly do not share their sickening philosophy. So for those that, like myself, want to distance themselves from these terrorists, we MUST stand up and SHOUT dissent and condemnation!

I hope I've made my point (sorry for getting emotional...)

[sheik-al-Tort]

Raffee as a non-Muslim I think you and your husband are absolutely right.
Some march against these hijackers of Islam would also help prevent a slide into the sort of biggotry and mistrust we have seen in Northern Ireland over the last 80 years.

In the UK shortly after 7/7 several self appointed muslim leaders spoke out, but since then it's gone quiet and many of the young claim these were not their representatives. This creates a lot of doubt and concern amongst non muslims, even thinking ones like me.