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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Top Muslim Cop in UK refuses to guard Israeli Embassy in London "beginning of the end for British policing"

Top Muslim Cop in UK refuses to guard Israeli Embassy in London "beginning of the end for British policing"

October 5, 2006

MIM: Ian Blair had gone beyond PC to dhimmitude:

Dubbed the "PC PC" [politically correct police constable] by his critics, Commissioner Blair last week backed a proposal calling for consultation with a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist operations. The Muslim leaders, who must undergo security checks, will advise the police on the potential political consequences of terrorist interdiction raids upon London's Muslim immigrant communities.

See "London Police surrender to Islamists will consult with Muslims before doing anti terrorism raids" also about Association of Muslim Police Officers who are defending the move http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2434

UK Muslim cops claim Muslims are the real victims of terrorism -undermine efforts to prevent attacks -together with 'Muslim Safety Forum'http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2249

This is an issue around the welfare of a particular officer," AMP spokesman Superintendent Dal Babu said on behalf of the constable, and was not religiously motivated. MIM: Which begs the question what about the welfare of the embassy staff if Basha had gotten Sudden Jihad Syndrome while stationed in front of the embassy? Former Flying Squad commander John O'Connor called Basha's reassignment "the beginning of the end for British policing." "The Metropolitan Police are setting a precedent they will come to bitterly regret. Top brass granted his wish, as they were probably frightened of being accused of racism. But what they've done is an insult to the Jewish community," he told the Sun.

More http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/05/uemb.xml http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5408470.stm

"The particular officer has brought an issue forward. His wife is Lebanese and his father is from Syria
Association of Muslim Police Officers" Supt Babu said Pc Basha was now back on diplomatic protection group duties and that "if an incident happens at the Israeli embassy he will deal with it".

Supt Babu accepted that excusing officers from assignments because of moral beliefs would be unacceptable. "I think that we're going down a very, very slippery slope if we then start having postings based on individual officers' conscience," he said. "As police officers we have to deal with some very difficult situations and we need to be objective and make sure that we police all members of the community fairly. "We can't pick and choose."

If officers have political, religious, ideological or moral views about things then they've got to put their duties above that because their service is to the public
Lord Mackenzie

Lord Mackenzie, former president of the Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, said the move sounded like "a step too far". "There are cases where clearly you can grant compassionate leave in certain circumstances," he said. "But if officers have political, religious, ideological or moral views about things then they've got to put their duties above that because their service is to the public. "What we don't want is a situation where one particular section of the community is given special reasons for not performing duties because that will simply alienate the rest." A Scotland Yard spokesman said it would sometimes consider a special request to be moved on moral grounds - but added it reserved the right to post an officer anywhere. The Metropolitan Police Authority, which oversees the force's work, pointed out that police officers took an oath of allegiance. The authority, which has also asked for a report, said officers often had to undertake duties where the subject conflicted with their personal beliefs.

Cop refuses to guard Israeli Embassy

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193373635&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

London's top cop has launched an investigation into press reports Thursday of a Muslim policeman being excused duty from guarding the Israeli embassy on moral grounds. Police Constable Alexander Omar Basha, a member of the Metropolitan Police's Diplomatic Protection Group, was reassigned after he refused to guard Israel's embassy in Kensington, West London. PC Basha told his superiors he objected to the Israeli bombing campaign against Hizbullah in south Lebanon that caused the deaths of over a 1,000 Muslims, and had participated in anti-war protests, The Sun reported.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair promised an "urgent review" of the incident after The Sun, broke the story. In a statement to the BBC however, the Association of Muslim Police stated PC Basha had requested reassignment because he had concerns over Lebanese family members and was perturbed guarding the embassy during this summer's 34-day war in south Lebanon. "This is an issue around the welfare of a particular officer," AMP spokesman Superintendent Dal Babu said on behalf of the constable, and was not religiously motivated. Former Flying Squad commander John O'Connor called Basha's reassignment "the beginning of the end for British policing."

"The Metropolitan Police are setting a precedent they will come to bitterly regret. Top brass granted his wish, as they were probably frightened of being accused of racism. But what they've done is an insult to the Jewish community," he told the Sun. Dubbed the "PC PC" [politically correct police constable] by his critics, Commissioner Blair last week backed a proposal calling for consultation with a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist operations. The Muslim leaders, who must undergo security checks, will advise the police on the potential political consequences of terrorist interdiction raids upon London's Muslim immigrant communities.

The opening of police intelligence briefings to members of the Muslim community comes at the same time as the first reorganization of the security services since the start of the war on terror five years ago. On Monday, the Metropolitan Police announced the merger of the Special Branch and Anti-Terrorism Branch to form a 1500-man Counter Terrorism Command. The head of the new force, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke stated the CT Command would "do everything in our power to ensure that the capital becomes an even more hostile environment for terrorists

." "Everyone who has worked in the Met's Special Branch and Anti-Terrorist Branch can justly be proud of their achievements in tackling the terrorist threat over many decades. Whether that threat has come from the United Kingdom or elsewhere, the response has always been robust, and with total respect for the rule of law; this will continue," he said.

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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/06/11/2003312919

Study says Muslim police officers need special training

CORRUPTIBLE: The British report says that Asian officers, particularly those from Pakistan, are likely to live in a culture where family obligations may lead to misconduct

THE GUARDIAN , LONDON
Sunday, Jun 11, 2006, Page 6

A secret high-level London police report has concluded that Muslim officers are more likely to become corrupt than white officers because of their cultural and family backgrounds.

The document has caused outrage among ethnic minorities within the force, who have labeled it racist and proof that there is a gulf in understanding between the police force and the wider Muslim community. The document was written as an attempt to investigate why complaints of misconduct and corruption against Asian officers are 10 times higher than against their white colleagues.

The main conclusions of the study, commissioned by the Directorate of Professional Standards and written by an Asian detective chief inspector, stated: "Asian officers and in particular Pakistani Muslim officers are under greater pressure from the family, the extended family ... and their community against that of their white colleagues to engage in activity that might lead to misconduct or criminality."

It recommended that Asian officers needed special anti-corruption training and is now being considered by a working party of senior staff.

The report argued that British Pakistanis live in a cash culture in which "assisting your extended family is considered a duty" and in an environment in which large amounts of money are loaned between relatives and friends.

The leaking of the report comes at a time when the Metropolitan Police (the force that covers the British capital and is known as "the Met") needs the cooperation and trust of the Muslim community more than ever and as the force tries to contain the fallout from last week's anti-terrorist raid in Forest Gate, east London, in which a man was shot. The first version was considered so inflammatory when it was shown to representatives from the staff associations for black, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim officers, that it had to be toned down.

There are 31,000 officers in the Met -- 7 per cent, or 2,170, are black and ethnic minority; among these an estimated 300 are Muslim.

One Muslim officer with the Met said: "It is like saying black officers are more likely to be muggers. Today it is Muslim officers who are treated as the Uncle Toms. How can they say to the Muslim community `trust us,' when they don't even trust their own Muslim officers."

Ahmanrahman Jafar, vice-chairman of the legal affairs committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said it was shortsighted of the Met to be alienating its Muslim officers at such a sensitive time.

"We've got about 1,000 wrongful anti-terrorist arrests since 9/11 and I believe that if Muslim officers were involved in looking through that intelligence and understanding the context, we would have far greater efficiency in the police force and a far greater prosecution rate," he said. To support its conclusions, the report gives examples of cases in which Pakistani Muslim officers have been accused of corruption and misconduct. According to its critics, the report gives insufficient weight to the motivation of those who made the complaints or issues of institutional racism.

Superintendent Dal Babu, chairman of the Association of Muslim Officers, said the report had racist undertones.

"We are gravely concerned about its contents and the message it sends to recruits and potential recruits," he said.

George Rhoden, chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association added. "We have made it clear that we disagreed totally with the conclusions ... the whole thing needs to be researched in a much more comprehensive way."

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