LONDON, 5 December 2003 — Britain’s Minister for Europe Denis MacShane yesterday faced calls to resign, despite apologizing over remarks which sparked anger among British Muslims. MacShane provoked a political row after urging senior figures in Britain’s Muslim community to decide between the “British way” of political dialogue, and the “way of the terrorists.”
His remarks came after truck bomb attacks on the British consulate and the offices of the London-based HSBC bank in Istanbul on Nov. 20, which killed 32 people, including two suicide bombers.
MacShane amended his speech, which was distributed by his office in advance, after it prompted condemnation, adding remarks to welcome the condemnation of terrorism by British Muslim leaders.
Mohammed Rashid, secretary of the Council for Mosques in Rotherham, the northern English town at the heart of MacShane’s constituency, called on the minister to quit.
“Most people I represent, they certainly have that view,” said Rashid, who is a member of Britain’s ruling Labour Party and who used to work for MacShane.
“I am very sure that we should say that he should resign full stop, as quick as possible,” Rashid told BBC radio.
MacShane on Wednesday apologized, saying: “I accept that I could have chosen some of my words more carefully, and I apologize to anyone who felt that I suggested that British Muslims sympathize with such terrorist actions.”
Local Labour members last week demanded an inquiry by the party’s ruling body, claiming the minister’s comments could have incited racial and religious hatred.
Businessman Jan Mohammed Khan said MacShane’s apology “has gone some way towards alleviating the fears and anxieties of the Muslim community” in Britain.
, which numbers between two and three million, according to government estimates.
Khan added, however: “We deserve to have a more substantial apology and retraction.”
