UK Muslim Groups Pick Wrong Day to Issue Threats
Charles Johnson
Sun Aug 13, 2006 at 6:10 pm PDT • Views: 402
Radical Islamic front groups in Britain may have overplayed their hand, with that outrageous threatening letter they sent to Tony Blair following the exposure of the massive airplane bombing plot: Backlash over Muslims’ letter to Blair.
It didn’t go down well at all in Parliament.
Muslim leaders will today face Government demands to take tougher steps to root our extremists in their midst. The demand follows a furious reaction by ministers to an open letter signed by Muslim organisations and politicians protesting that Tony Blair’s stance on Iraq and the Middle East provided “ammunition” to terrorists. …
Relations between Ministers and Muslim leaders have soured after their open letter called for a shift in foreign policy “to show the world we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion”. John Reid, Home Secretary, retorted that foreign policy could never be dictated by terrorists.
“I’m not going to question the motives of anyone who has signed this letter,” he told BBC News 24. “But I think it is a dreadful misjudgement if we believe the foreign policy of this country should be shaped in part, or in whole, under the threat of terrorist activity if we do not have a foreign policy with which the terrorists happen to agree.”
Other ministers have called the letter “facile”, “dangerous” and “foolish” and Downing Street said Mr Blair “stands ready” to confront his critics when he returns from summer holiday and defend his record over the Middle East.
The letter was signed by 38 groups, including the Muslim Council of Britain, and three of the four Muslim MPs.
Frank says: