LONDON, 12 July 2005 — Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to work with Muslims in Britain to promote the “moderate and true voice” of Islam, as the spiritual leader of the Church of England warned yesterday against finding “scapegoats” for the London bombings.
“We were proud of your contribution to Britain before last Thursday. We remain proud of it today,” said Blair in a statement to Parliament, four days after the worst attacks on British soil since World War II.
He said it “seems probable” that the bombs were planted by “Islamist extremist terrorists” like those who were behind the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 and those in Madrid in March 2004.
“Fanaticism is not a state of religion, but a state of mind and we will work with you to make the moderate and true voice of Islam heard as it should be,” he said.
“Together we will ensure that, though terrorists can kill, they will never destroy the way of life we share and we value and which we would defend with such strength of belief and conviction.”
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told the General Synod of the Anglican Church in the northern English city of York that Muslims must not be made “scapegoats” for the terror blasts.
The plea came as Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, the faith’s most respected lobby group, warned “unscrupulous elements” could use the London bombings to attack Muslims and their institutions.
Williams said that visits he made to Islamic institutions yesterday were an opportunity to stress the good state of relations between Christians and Muslims across Britain.
Police said four mosques in different parts of England had been targets of attempted arsons in the wake of Thursday’s bombings in the capital which killed at least 52 people and injured around 700.
Police also reported cases of verbal abuse against Muslims in the street, as well as criminal damage to cars, businesses and homes.
Sacranie urged mosques and other Muslim organizations to report any Islamophobic attacks or abuse to the police.
“We know that there may be some unscrupulous elements in our society who may look upon Thursdays carnage as a morbid opportunity to attack and undermine British Muslims, their institutions and mosques,” he said.
Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said that 40 to 60 incidents of abuse against Muslims had taken place in Britain since Thursday.
“The majority of attacks are against women. They’re more visible and they’re more vulnerable,” he said. “We know of one sister whose hijab was pulled off in London. Another woman was attacked by a number of men in a south London park.”
That being said, Shadjareh said there was a risk in Muslims denouncing the attacks too much.
“Every Muslim organization has already condemned the attacks. The more we do, the more we associate ourselves with the attacks,” he said.
