UK under fire

THE UK’s National Association of Muslim Policemen, in a secret memorandum to
the British parliamentary committee on terrorism, has strongly criticised British
policies on Islam, and warned that they could lead in future to racial violence. The
Association, which was founded in 2007 to create solidarity among Muslim police
officers, spread correct information about Islam, and remove anti-Islamic prejudice
which blamed Islam for acts of terrorism, also said those policies were against
British values. As was implicit in the very purpose of the Association, they also are
professional. It was perhaps inevitable that they regard the problem from the point
of view of their profession, as a policing problem. This reflects not just the
explosiveness of the situation caused by the policies of the government, but also the
large number of Muslims now present in the UK.
The Association also said in this memorandum that the most real danger to British
values came from anti-Muslim racists and extremists. This conclusion deserves
attention because it has been made by a professional body which is intimately
concerned with keeping the peace.
The memorandum also noted that the interrogations of those convicted of terrorism
had shown that they were not interested in implementing Islam. Again, this is not
evidence that should be dismissed by the British as anything but professional, and it
should be noted that it was adduced from normal police work, and was not a piece of
special pleading. The Association should not be dismissed as an organization which
represents a particular community, but an organization committed to a peaceful UK.
The Association’s position has been a cause of embarrassment to the UK, because it
highlights the viscerally anti-Muslim prejudices of the average Briton, and from an
informed point of view. However, it cannot simply be brushed under the carpet
precisely because it is informed. This is a test of the very values to which it appeals.