The Trouble with Hateful Holy Men

The men who blame Britain
By George Jones, Political Editor

Critics of Tony Blair's policy in Iraq and Afghanistan claimed yesterday that Britain must share some of the responsibility for the Underground and bus bombings in London.

While moderate Muslim leaders agreed to try to dissuade disaffected youths from turning to terrorism, radical clerics blamed the Government - and even the public for re-electing Mr Blair - for making the country a target.
 

Mr. Blair was forced on the defensive by the leaking of a top secret intelligence report saying that events in Iraq were fuelling "terrorist-related activity" in Britain, while an opinion poll found that two thirds of Britons thought there was a link between the London bombs and the Iraq war.

Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, suggested that decades of western intervention in the Middle East and the Iraq war could have influenced the bombers.

"I suspect the real problem was that we funded these people as long as they were killing Russians. We gave no thought to the fact that when they stopped killing Russians they might start killing us."

The suggestions that the Government and even the voters must share some of the blame angered Mr. Blair and overshadowed talks at No 10 between representatives of the Muslim community and leaders of the main parties.

After what were described as "robust and frank" discussions, Muslim leaders agreed to set up a task force to confront radical clerics who were preaching extremism.

Mr. Blair told them it was time to defeat "this evil ideology" while Michael Howard, the Tory leader, said that Muslim leaders had to prevent "the merchants of evil" from influencing young people in their communities. But the Muslim leaders made clear their concern that the Iraq war could have played a part in radicalizing young Muslims.

After the talks, Imam Ibrahim Mogra said that, as Muslims, they felt the "pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters around the globe every day". The war had been a "successful recruitment sergeant for people who wish to preach hatred for our country and our Government".

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, condemned the bombings as an "act of criminality" but said the leaders had made clear that Mr. Blair could not "simply shun the issue of foreign policy".

Radical Muslims who did not take part in the talks said they would not be silenced by warnings of new legislation making it a crime to glorify or condone terrorism.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed said that support for America over Afghanistan and Iraq and the re-election of Mr. Blair had all contributed to the attacks.

"I blame the British Government, the British public and the Muslim community in the UK because they failed to make the extra effort to put an end to the cycle of bloodshed which started before 9/11 and on July 7 was devastating for everybody," he told the Evening Standard.

Anjem Choudary, the British leader of the militant Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, said that Muslim leaders should not meet Mr. Blair for talks while Muslims were being "murdered" in Iraq.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he declined to condemn the London bombings, which killed 56 people, and said there was "a very real possibility" of a repetition.

"The British Government wants to show that they are on the side of justice and of truth, whereas in reality the real terrorists are the British regime, and even the British police, who have tried to divide the Muslim community into moderates and extremists, whereas this classification doesn't exist in Islam."

Mr. Blair used a press conference with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, at No 10 for separate talks, to dismiss the suggestions that Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan had provoked the attacks.

"Of course these terrorists will use Iraq as an excuse," he said. "But let's be clear: if it wasn't that, it would be something else and nothing, but nothing, justifies what they are doing.

"They will use whatever is going on in foreign policy to justify what they do, whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine, or just generally the fact that Britain is an ally of America." The Prime Minister acknowledged that terrorists were trying to use Iraq as a recruiting tool and a justification for their atrocities but said that to accept that would be to give way to their "perverted logic". He denied that the war on terrorism was being lost but said it would take some time to win. Victory would depend as much on the force of democratic ideas as on military strength.