Lawmakers find British Muslims feel stigmatised

LONDON - Relations between ethnic groups in Britain have deteriorated since the September 11 2001 attacks, with Muslims complaining they were being stereotyped as terrorists and an "extremely disturbing" surge in anti-Semitism, UK lawmakers said in a report.

The report comes a day after Prime Minister Tony Blair called an election in which the parties will fight hard for Muslim votes.

"Muslims in Britain are more likely than other groups to feel they are suffering as a result of the response to international terrorism," said a report by parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee.

Many of Britain's 1.8 million Muslims say they feel stigmatised by anti-terrorism laws and complain of a rise in the number of police security checks carried out on them as Britons fear an attack by radical Islamists.

The committee concluded that community relations in Britain had deteriorated since 2001, largely a result of measures introduced to combat the threat of global terrorism.

It called for Muslims to be more involved in policy making.

"The government needs to bring together its support for community cohesion with its anti-terrorist strategy and needs to ensure the Muslim community are fully involved in developing the next steps in tackling terrorism," said chairman John Denham.

In a move likely to provoke anger among Muslims, the government said it would ditch plans to outlaw incitement to hatred on religious grounds, having run out of parliamentary time before the May 5 election.

The laws would have extended laws that protect people on the basis of colour, race, gender or ethnic origin.

The Home Affairs select committee said the Muslim Council reported that 76 per cent of its community believed prejudice against it had intensified over the period, with Islamophobia becoming increasingly acceptable form of discrimination.

Young Muslims complained that white people regarded them all as terrorists and that the media pandered to anti-Muslim stereotypes.

The committee called for more information on the extent of Islamophobia and urged the Government to involve the Muslim community closely in developing anti-terrorism legislation.

"All communities, including the majority community, have a responsibility to tackle such problems, condemning, without reservation, prejudice, discrimination and violence against other communities.

"Whilst all communities will be sensitive to attacks upon them, no community should turn a blind eye to prejudicial actions by members of its own community."

The MPs added: "Anti-Semitism among some members of the Muslim community is also worrying. We welcome the condemnation of anti-Semitic attacks by leaders of the Muslim community - it is important that they should continue to do so forcefully and unequivocally."

Work should be carried to discover why a "very small number of young Britons turn to violently extremist groups" - and efforts redoubled to discuss the issues in schools.

The MPs also said: "Faith leaders must condemn, without equivocation, those of their co-religionists who advocate violence."

They added: "Among the first priorities are those organising and propagating extremist ideas sympathetic to terrorism. They must be identified and dealt with effectively - not only by the authorities, but most importantly by the Muslim community itself."

Concluding ethnic tensions had increased, the committee said: "International terrorism and the response to it have contributed to this deterioration, particularly in relations between the majority community and the Muslim community."

Britain is not alone in facing rising tensions with Muslims.

The murder of a Dutch filmmaker critical of Islam sparked sectarian attacks and soul-searching in the Netherlands about how to improve the integration of its almost 1 million Muslims.

With an election just a month away, politicians are seeking to woo Muslims, many of whom have tended to vote for Blair's Labour Party.

But his decision to wage war in Iraq has alienated many.

A junior Home Office minister also caused a storm last month by saying Muslims had to accept they would be stopped and searched by the police more often because the terrorist threat came from people hiding behind Islam.

"We do not believe the Asian community is being unreasonably targeted by stops and searches but accept that Muslims perceive they are being stigmatised by the legislation," said the report.

John Denham, the committee chairman, said: "Although we concluded that community relations had deteriorated overall since 2001, we heard of many positive initiatives that show the way forward.

"Leadership is the key to dealing with the issues arising from terrorism and community relations. Local leaders, faith leaders and central government all have their parts to play in building cohesive communities."

He added: "The Muslim community in Britain overwhelmingly rejects terrorism. The stereotyping of the Muslim community was rightly criticised in our inquiry.

"The Government needs to bring together its support for community cohesion with its anti-terrorist strategy and certainly needs to ensure that the Muslim community are fully involved in developing the next steps in tackling terrorism."

- INDEPENDENT and REUTERS