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Gold9472
08-17-2005, 08:25 PM
Muslims warn Blair of 'mark of dictatorship'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/17/nextrem17.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/08/17/ixhome.html

By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
(Filed: 17/08/2005)

Muslim groups yesterday denounced Government plans to deport fundamentalist clerics and ban extreme Islamist organisations as the "mark of dictatorships".

As they issued their comments, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that it had dropped charges against an imam who had been accused of calling for the slaughter of British servicemen and the murder of homosexuals.

Abdul Muhid, 22, was charged with racial hatred and a public order offence, which he denied. The case was dropped when the CPS said there was "not a realistic prospect of conviction" because of identification difficulties, though several witnesses were prepared to give evidence.

Muhid is alleged to be a leading member of the Saviour Sect, linked to Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is on holiday in Lebanon and who has been banned from re-entering the country. He was arrested at a religious stall in Walthamstow, east London, last year after complaints that a man had called for British troops in Iraq to be killed and for homosexuals to be hurled from cliff tops.

Det Insp Simon Rose, who led the investigation, told the Evening Standard in London: "The CPS authorised the charge against him, then reviewed it and then changed their minds."

Ten days ago Tony Blair outlined a 10-point plan for dealing with Muslim extremism by deporting or excluding firebrand clerics, closing mosques that are judged to be centres of political activism and banning groups that fall foul of the new benchmark.

However, these measures have angered Muslim groups and Labour now finds itself increasingly at odds with the community after spending years trying to build bridges.

A statement endorsed by more than 30 organisations, including the Muslim Association of Britain and Hizb ut-Tahrir - which has been threatened with proscription - accused the Government of seeking to "demonise" legitimate Islamic values.

"The Muslim community in Britain has unequivocally denounced acts of terrorism," the statement said.

It added: "The proposal to ban the non-violent organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir is, in our view, unwarranted, unjust and unwise, and runs counter to all the principles which western democracies are currently trying to promote abroad … Criminalising the mere possession of certain opinions is the hallmark of dictatorships, not democracies."

It went on: "The proposal to deport and/or extradite foreign nationals to countries known for gross human rights abuses is abhorrent."

Hazel Blears, the Home Office minister, felt Muslim anger yesterday during a visit to Leicester. Yaqub Khan, of the Pakistan Association in Leicester, said: "The law on terrorism is making the whole Muslim community stand in the dock."