Statement from the Muslim Council of Britain About Recent Events in the UK

Cross-Cultural Understanding

www.ccun.org

Opinion Editorials, July 2007

MCB, July 4, 2007

The events of the past few days have been very disturbing and challenging ones for all of us. At the very outset we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the police officers and security experts who were tasked with removing the threat from the explosive devices in London and Glasgow .

It looks sadly as if the terror threat currently facing our country will be with us for some time to come. So let us be absolutely clear about this: those who seek to deliberately kill or maim innocent people are the enemies of all of us. There is no cause whatsoever that could possibly justify such barbarity. Those who engage in such murderous actions and those that provide support for them are the enemies of all, Muslims and non-Muslims, and they stand against our shared values in the UK .

The police and security services have the enormous responsibility for trying to ensure the safety of all Britons. As such they deserve the fullest support and cooperation from each and every sector of our society, including all Muslims.

With this in mind, the Muslim Council of Britain will, this coming Saturday, be convening a meeting at the Islamic Cultural Centre in London of key Imams and leading community activists from across the country. At Saturday’s meeting we hope to discuss how we can work better with other partners, including the police, to try to undermine and defeat the terrorists who seek to attack us. It is our Islamic duty not only to utterly and totally condemn such evil actions, but to provide all the necessary support to prevent such atrocities from taking place.

We would take this opportunity to commend the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for the calm and reassuring tone of their responses to the recent attacks in which they made clear that it was unacceptable to hold any one faith group or community as being somehow collectively responsible for the actions of a few. We also appreciate the stance taken by the Scottish first Minister Alex Salmond, who re-assured the Muslim community in Scotland in unequivocal terms when he visited Glasgow Central Mosque recently.

It cannot be stressed enough that terrorists actively seek to divide us and to undermine our collective strength. To be successful in our collective effort to deal with the threats of terror it is imperative that we all work together. We need to have confidence and mutual trust in each other. The challenges facing us as a nation require us to work together for the joint benefit of all.

Thank you.

Secretary General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari

Deputy Secretary General Dr Daud Abdullah

Treasurer Mrs Unaiza Malik

Assistant Secretary General Mr Inayat Bunglawala

Note:

The Conference will take place at Islamic Cultural Centre, 146 Park Road , London NW8 7RG on Saturday 7th July 2007 from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. Media registration via media@mcb.org.uk

The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK ' s largest Muslim umbrella body with around 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.

Media enquiries should be addressed to the MCB Media Office on 0845 26 26 786 or 07956 353 738. Email: media@mcb.org.uk.

Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the MCB Office at The Muslim Council of Britain, PO Box 57330 , London E1 2WJ . Tel: 0845 26 26 786 Fax: 0207 247 7079

This press release and other MCB publications and information are available on the MCB website at www.mcb.org.uk.

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent ccun.org.

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