This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2249

UK Muslim cops claim Muslims are the real victims of terrorism -undermine efforts to prevent attacks -together with Muslim 'Safety' Forum

August 15, 2006

MIM:The appointment of Tariq Ghaffur as the first Asian Muslim chief constable was hailed as a milestone by the police and government. Ghaffur's appointment may be a milestone, but closer to the book of the same name by Muslim Brotherhood ideolouge Sayib Qutyb. Ghaffur, and the police, work together with the Muslim Safety Forum, whose mission's name clearly shows that they are not concerned about terrorism but with the after effects that it could have on the Muslim community.

The MSF aims 'to scrutinise police activities that have been affecting the Muslim community' meaning thwarting any measures the government implements to counter terrorism. On the one hand the Muslim community tells the goverment that terrorism is a reaction to UK foreign policy, issuing veiled threats that unless there is a major policy change non Muslims in the UK can expect more attacks from angry Muslims, while at the same time, complaining that the goverment has not reached out far enough to them, or funded them enough, and that they are the key to thwarting terrorism.

After the July bombings, hundreds of thousands of pounds were invested in setting up working groups to deal with the problem, the only problem was, the intiatives were directed by Islamists,who used the funding to try to recruit converts, and as an opportunity to do da'wa.While at the same time asking for more money and working groups to be financed to deal with the problem. The disingenuous rhetoric was the same after 7/7 - instead of the UK government and officials who asked the Muslims to join them in the counterterrorism effort saying they are let down it is the Muslims who say that they feel 'let down'!

Labour MP Sadiq Khan has said that members of the working groups feel "let down" by the lack of action.

Kelly is said to be keen to show that a "substantial action plan" is already in place, with a new Commission on Integration and Cohesion set to be launched in the coming weeks.

The meetings, which are also set to take place in locations around the UK, come in the wake of a serious rift between the government and Muslim leaders.

A letter published at the weekend and signed by senior community representatives said a change in foreign policy was needed "to show the world that we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion".

But home secretary John Reid and Foreign Office minister Kim Howells criticised the letter, saying the signatories risked appearing to justify terrorism and give in to threats of violence.

"No government worth its salt would stay in power in my view and no government worth its salt would be supported by the British people if our foreign policy, or any other aspect of policy, was being dictated by terrorists," Reid told BBC News 24.

MIM : After the London bombings in 2005 Tariq Ghaffur stated that :

"... he had never seen so much anger among young Muslims.

Communities were particularly frustrated by the increased use of stop-and-search and the new "shoot-to-kill to protect" policy of dealing with suicide bombers, he said.

"There is no doubt that incidents impacting on the Muslim community have increased."

And he warned: "It can lead to these communities completely retreating and not engaging at a time when we want their engagement and support."

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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1190732006

MIM: Metropolitan police constable Tarique Ghaffur's threat that the government's showing dhimmitude to the Muslim community will be the only way to keep them from being alientated and turn to violence was echoed by another Muslim policeman who was more concerned with the idea of profiling offending Muslims, then the possibility it could save hundreds or people's lives.

Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Ali Desai, one of the country's top Muslim police officers, said of the plan: "What you are suggesting is that we should have a new offence in this country called 'travelling whilst Asian'."

"What we don't want to do is actually alienate the very communities who are going to help us catch terrorists," he told BBC Newsnight on Monday.

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MIM: It appears that the London Police might be waking up to the fact that Ali Desai and Tariq Ghaffur are more interested in not offending their co religionists through profiling then protecting the public from Islamist terrorism.

Tarique Ghaffur and Ali Dizaei under fire over profiling

The police service has become embroiled in an embarrassingly public feud with two of its most senior Asian officers over the issue of passenger profiling in the fight against terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur and Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei have warned against pandering to Islamophobia and creating the offence of "travelling while Asian". But yesterday another chief superintendent as well as the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, retaliated with scathing comments about the two men.

Alan Gordon, the Federation vice-chairman, accused the Asian officers of displaying "blissful ignorance". He went on to describe Mr Dizaei's comments as "cheap, sensationalist soundbites". Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent Simon Humphrey said: "Unfortunately, a small, extremely vocal and potentially very influential minority are trying to hijack the terrorism issue and turn it into a debate on racism."

Independent, 21 August 2006

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Posted on Monday, August 21, 2006
Muslim Safety Forum
http://www.muslimsafetyforum.org/
Introduction

The Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) was formed by some leading concerned Muslim organisation following 9/11 and the subsequent unfair focus on the Muslim community when it came to policing activities and enforcement of anti-terror policing legislations. This decision was taken as the Muslim community will not suffer in silence and allow misconceptions, prejudice and ignorance to influence the policing activities in the UK. Consequently, the MSF came into existence in the year 2000 and had been scrutinizing police activities that have been particularly affecting the Muslim community.

In 2004 the MSF developed its own constitution, held election for chair and the executive committee. It now has a dedicated office with two employed staff, a voluntary executive body, and a membership of over 30 national and regional Muslim organisations.

The MSF is now the key advisory body for the Police Service and has signed a working protocol with the Metropolitan Police to build better police / community relations. It has been advising the police on matters of safety and security from the Muslim perspective.

It meets on a monthly basis with senior representatives of ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service), the MPA (Metropolitan Police Authority), Home Office and the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) amongst others.

The MSF has been sitting on the strategic Stop and Search group, as per the MPA scrutiny panel recommendation, and has raised issues concerning stop and search and in particular the use of S.44 powers under the 2005 Terrorism Act.

Furthermore, MSF have undertaken significant TV, Radio and Press interviews covering local, national and international media. The messages have been of unity, justice, safety, security and a 'zero tolerance' response from the police against Islamophobic crimes.

Aims and objectives

MSF - Workstreams

Currently we are scrutinising and advising on several areas of policing that is affecting the Muslim community including:

· Islamophobia – we are looking at activities within the policing services that can generate anti-Muslim feelings or disproportionate policing in the community (e.g. Stop and Search, Anti-Terror Raids, Islamophobic hate crimes)

· Anti-terrorism – we are constantly questioning policing tactics and policies on the usage of the anti-terrorism legislations to gain clarifications on:

§ Intelligence being opened up to selected independent community people who can provide oversight and advice on such materials before any operations are mounted

§ The police working systematically to redress the sense of injustice felt by those who have been traumatised by anti-terror raids and are released without charge. Maximum effort should be exerted to explain to those involved and their family what had happened and why. This should further be communicated to the wider community

1. Levels of redress include unqualified apologies to reasonable compensations

2. Protocols should exist by which immediate investigations can take place on ‘police leaks' to media that act to slur or bring doubt about those arrested. Initiation of an investigation should not rely on a complaint being made; it is advisable that these investigations be carried out by the IPCC, if however this is impractical then at least with MSF oversight

3. The police create a cadre of family liaison officers who will work with the MSF to look after the family and their needs

§ The need for the police to be more informative in their communications with the community and its partners and proactively seek to dispel misinformation and misreporting by anyone regarding the matter

§ Police Training which should look at more direct input for counter-terrorists /specialist officers and the general police force from the Muslim Community and its key partners. This training needs to be available at recruitment stage as well as during their time in service

· Reviewing Internal Police Service controls and mechanisms so that prejudice and disproportionate policing activities are minimized.

· MPS & ACPO Monitoring & Accountability

· Policies & Procedures

· Contingency Planning

· Training (Police) & Guidance

· DPA & ACPO Press

· Muslim Advisory Groups Local borough and constabularies

· To set up Muslim advisory groups in London Boroughs and regional police constabularies

· To ensure that there is clarification on the role of local advisory groups and the MSF. Central or over-arching issues should only be resolved at the MSF

· Funding for MSF to establish local MSFs

MSF Contacts

For enquiries please call our public relations officers on: 07887 553419 (Naeem Darr - Press Officer) or 07939 059819 (Muhammad Abul Kalam - Asst. Press Officer)

or email us at [email protected] / http://www.muslimsafetyforum.com/

Muslim Safety Forum

London Muslim Centre

Suite2, Business Wing

2nd Floor, 38-44 Whitechapel Road

London E1 1JX

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MIM: The da'wa site below is the taxpayer and government funded website of the Association of Muslim Police, more proof if any was needed, no one is guarding the guardians, and that the Muslim guardians are helping the radical Islamists.

http://www.met.police.uk/associations/muslim_police.htm

MPS Home

Association of Muslim Police

Aims of the Association

The Association of Muslim Police (AMP) aims to:

  • assist Muslims in the police service to observe their faith, and to promote understanding of Islam within the police service & the wider community.
  • provide a forum for Muslims in the police, and support their religious and welfare needs, with a view to improving their immediate working environment and retaining them in the Service.
  • assist in the recruitment and retention of Muslim staff, and to assist in the creation of a fair and just working environment for all cultural minorities'

The AMP is formally recognised by the Metropolitan Police Service. It is active in pursuing faith-friendly policies and has been instrumental in ensuring the provision of many facilities to the benefit of Muslim staff, including Hijaab for female officers, ability to wear Islamic/cultural dress when not in uniform, provision of Halaal food and facilities for Salaah (Islamic Prayer).

The AMP is available to provide support and advice to Muslim candidates. Those wearing Hijaab and considering a career in the police service are advised to contact the AMP for further specialist advice.

Membership enquiries are welcome from police and civil staff candidates including PCSO's, traffic wardens and cadets. Associate membership enquiries from spouses and family members are also welcome.

All enquiries, including media enquiries should be emailed to [email protected].

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MIM: Tariq Ghaffur exploited the London bombings as an excuse to portray Muslims as the real victims- even citing 'hate crime' statistics ! He also explained that he "had never seen Muslims so angry" intimating that the attack could have been expected. Ghaffur then went on to alarm the public by gratuitiously stating that officers were being taken from the murder investigations unit to deal with the London bombings, implying that London was less safe, not because of the Muslim terrorists - but because there were 10% less officiers dealing with murder cases.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4740015.stm

Hate crimes soar after bombings
Wirral Islamic Cultural Centre Mosques outside London were also attacked after the bombings
Religious hate crimes, mostly against Muslims, have risen six-fold in London since the bombings, new figures show.

There were 269 religious hate crimes in the three weeks after 7 July, compared with 40 in the same period of 2004.

Most were verbal abuse and minor assaults, but damage to mosques and property with a great "emotional impact" also occurred, police said.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said he had never seen so much anger among young Muslims.

It [religious hate crimes] can lead to these communities completely retreating
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur

Communities were particularly frustrated by the increased use of stop-and-search and the new "shoot-to-kill to protect" policy of dealing with suicide bombers, he said.

"There is no doubt that incidents impacting on the Muslim community have increased."

However, Mr Ghaffur also pointed out that the rise was partly due to the fact that faith hate crimes were now recorded separately from other racial incidents.

And he warned: "It can lead to these communities completely retreating and not engaging at a time when we want their engagement and support."

Mr Ghaffur revealed that in the first three days after suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 700 more, there were 68 "faith hate" crimes in London alone.

Racial profiling

A spokesman for the Muslim Safety Forum, an umbrella group which works closely with the police, said the figures reflected the increase in calls to their members about abuse and attacks since the London bombings.

"It's something we've been saying for a few weeks now but it's good to see senior police managers like Tariq Ghaffur have got up and actually said it," spokesman Tahir Butt said.

"Although police are talking about a zero tolerance policy the test is how effective that is at ground level when you go in and report a crime," Mr Butt added.

But chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority Len Duvall said that although any hate crime was not to be tolerated, many incidents previously defined as race crimes were now designated faith crimes, leading to a "large percentage increase from a very low base".

Faith hate crimes are currently prosecuted under anti-racism legislation, but a bill to create a new offence of incitement to religious hatred is currently going through the Houses of Parliament.

The bill, which has attracted criticism from many quarters, has passed its Commons stages but is set to get a rocky ride in the Lords.

The alarming figures emerged as Home Office minister Hazel Blears held the first in a series of meetings on Tuesday with Muslim community groups across the country.

Those meetings come amid increasing concerns that young Muslims are being targeted by police in stop-and-search operations.

There may be longer term implications if this level of activity continues
Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur

Ahead of the meeting, Ms Blears pledged that Muslims would not be discriminated against by police trying to prevent potential terror attacks.

She insisted "counter-terrorism powers are not targeting any community in particular but are targeting terrorists".

She also opposed police use of racial profiling, saying stop and searches should be based on good intelligence, not just skin colour.

Mr Ghaffur also revealed that the specialist unit dealing with serious and organised crime had lost 10% of its staff to the bombings inquiry.

'Stretched'

Between 300 and 473 of Specialist Crime Directorate detectives have been seconded at any one time since 7 July.

As a result Mr Ghaffur said key leads would be followed up but proactive work on major murder inquiries had "slowed to a trickle".

These include the 2004 murder of Amelie Delagrange, linked to five other attacks on women in south-west London, and the 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common.

"The Met is stretched," he said. "There may be longer term implications if this level of activity continues."

Last week Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair revealed the anti-terrorism investigations were costing £500,000 a day.


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MIM: A month before 24 UK Muslims were arrested for planning to bomb 10 airliners Ghaffur deliberated downplayed the terrorism threat. He apparently forgot that after the July 7th bombings, he warned the UK government that as a result of the attention focused on young Muslims there 'were people who "were very angry" implying they might understandably be forced to use violence to vent there hostility.

"The tipping point between someone feeling anger and alienation and then engaging in the kind of atrocities we saw last July or being exploited by somebody who wants to commit a terrible act is very, very small."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2254929,00.html

Online

July 03, 2006


Muslim Britain split over 'martyrs' of 7/7

By Alexandra Frean and Rajeev Syal

A SIGNIFICANT minority of British Muslims believe they are at war with the rest of society, the largest poll of Muslims in this country suggests.

The Populus survey for The Times and ITV News has found that more than one in ten thinks that the men who carried out the London bombings of 7/7 should be regarded as "martyrs". Sixteen per cent of British Muslims, equivalent to more than 150,000 adults, believe that while the attacks were wrong, the cause was right.

But the poll also revealed a stark gulf between this group and the majority of British Muslims, who want the Government to take tougher measures against extremists within their community.

More than half (56 per cent) believe that the Government has failed to combat extremism, a higher proportion than the 49 per cent of the general population who agree.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of Britain's 1.6 million Muslims also think it acceptable for the authorities to monitor what is being preached in mosques more closely.

Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said it was as if some groups were living in a different country.

"These results show that there are people within the Muslim communities who are so far away from the mainstream of society, as well as the mainstream of British Muslims, that they think that they are at war with the rest of the community. Thankfully, we know that a vast majority of Muslims are not in that place," he said.

Assistant Met Commissioner Tariq Ghaffur, Britain's most prominent Muslim policeman, said: "The poll shows that we do have a minority of people within our community who do effectively pose a danger.

"The tipping point between someone feeling anger and alienation and then engaging in the kind of atrocities we saw last July or being exploited by somebody who wants to commit a terrible act is very, very small."

Populus interviewed 1,131 Muslim adults aged 18+ by telephone and online between June 1-16 for the poll.

It found that half of Muslims believe that Britain's involvement in the Iraq war was the principal reason for the London bombings. An equal number (49 per cent) believe that further suicide bombings in the UK are likely.

Among the population as a whole nearly four in five (78 per cent) think a further attack is likely.

Four out of five British Muslims (79 per cent) believe that their community has experience increased hostility since last July's bombings and three quarters (74 per cent) say that Muslims are viewed with suspicion by fellow citizens.

More than nine out of ten Muslims (92 per cent) say their community makes a valuable contribution to British society.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of British Muslims think it is offensive that some non-Muslims feel anxious if they see someone they think is a Muslim on public transport carrying a backpack. However, 18 per cent say that they too feel anxious if they see someone who looks Muslim with a large bag or backpack.

Poll results

13% of British Muslims think that the four men who carried out the London Tube and bus bombings of July 7 2005 should be regarded as "martyrs"

7% agree that suicide attacks on civilians in the UK can be justified in some circumstances, rising to 16 per cent for a military target

16% of British Muslims say that while the attacks may have been wrong, the cause was right

16% would be "indifferent" if a family member decided to join al-Qaeda and two per cent would be proud

56% of British Muslims believe that the Government is not doing enough to fight extremism, more than the 49 per cent of the whole population who agree

50% think the intelligence services have the right to infiltrate Muslim organisations to gather information about their activities and the way they obtain funding

65% of British Muslims say that their community needs to do more to integrate properly with British society

35% say that they would feel proud if a close family member joined the police

This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2249