Sunday, March 25, 2007

MCB Guide to Tackling Extremism

The MCB has published an extract from an article by Inayat Bunglawala, assistant Secretary-General, under the headline, "How do we defeat violent extremism?". Here it is in full:

In short, a comprehensive response to violent extremism needs to involve greater vigilance on the part of all of us, a closer and more trusting relationship between local Muslim communities and the police, and a genuine reassessment by the government of some of its actions and policies overseas.
So, the MCB three steps to stopping violent Islamic extremism:

1) Everyone must keep an eye out.
2) The police must stop arresting so many Muslims (in order to have a "closer relationship").
3) Britain must surrender to the terrorists' demands and change foreign policy to suit them.

What is missing from the MCB's method of tackling extremism? Here are some suggestions:

1) An acceptance that Islamic terrorism stems from an ideology not foreign policy
2) An acceptance of the responsibility of Muslim leaders and groups to educate young Muslims.
3) An acceptance of the need to disabuse young Muslims of the lies concerning 9/11, Israel, The Holocaust and just about everything else.
4) An acceptance of the need to prevent radical clerics from poisoning the minds of young Muslims.
5) An acceptance of the fact that the police must do their job and that mistakes will happen.
6) An acceptance of the need to encourage Muslim integration into the UK culture rather than trying to establish their own mini-state.

In short, the MCB is turning a blind eye to the causes of terrorism and is simply handing over the list of demands from these terrorists to the government. So, when Ruth Kelley indicated that the MCB was not one of "those organisations that are taking a proactive leadership role in tackling extremists and defending our values", was she wrong?