Labour encouraging extremism, Muslims warn

A GOVERNMENT task force yesterday blamed British foreign policy for encouraging Islamic extremism.

In yet another blow to Tony Blair, his Islamic advisers also tore into Labour’s ‘chilling’ anti-terror legislation – warning it would alienate law-abiding Muslims and fuel the hatred of fanatics.

Downing Street, despite enor- mous pressure, has refused to concede that the Iraq war and Britain’s policies in the Middle East contributed to the July 7 London bombings and a surge in Islamic extremism.

But working groups set up by the Home Office in response to the atrocity said bluntly that Iraq was a ‘key contributory factor’.

The panel, made up of more than 100 experts from the Muslim community, lambasted ministers over parts of the Terrorism Bill. They said plans to ban the Islamic organisations Hizb ut- Tahrir and Al Muhajiroun could send them underground and make them ‘more problematic’. A project to draw up a list of extremist Muslim websites, bookshops and centres, could be perceived as ‘censorship’ of any criticism of foreign policy. The experts also attacked plans for a new offence of ‘glorifying terrorism’ and for giving police power to close mosques used by extremists.

Ifath Nawaz, deputy convenor of one of the working groups, said: ‘There is huge concern about the anti-terrorism legislation, that it is excessive and it is going to drive people underground.’

The experts’ recommendations for tackling extremism include Muslim ‘ beacon centres’ to serve as models for smaller mosques and a British Islam website to counter the huge number of extremist sites.

There will be a tour by Muslim scholars to explain the true meaning of Islam to young people.