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Imams to issue guidelines on UK terror alert

Peninsula On-Line - Qatar
Web posted at: 8/16/2004 3:22:26

Source - The Times

LONDON: Britain’s most senior Muslim clerics have secretly met to prepare their communities for the aftermath of a September 11-style terrorist attack in Britain.

In an acknowledgment of the imminent danger of an Al Qaeda atrocity, 13 leading imams held emergency consultations here and warned Britain’s 1.6m Muslims of a likely backlash in the event of an attack. They told communities to be vigilant for terrorists in their midst.

The clerics concluded that some sections of the Muslim community in Britain have become more sympathetic to terrorism because of the continuing Iraq war.

As a result of the meetings, a guide is to be sent next month to every Muslim household, calling on them to report suspicious activities on a police anti-terrorist hotline.

“For Muslims, averting a terrorist attack that could harm many innocents is an Islamic imperative,” it says. “If you are aware of any suspected terror-related activity, then bring that information to the immediate attention of the police.”

Abdul Jalil Sajid, the imam of Brighton mosque and one of the country’s most senior clerics, said the imams were responding to warnings from police and the recent arrests of terror suspects.

The imams warn in the guide that Muslims should be ready for revenge attacks from non-Muslims in the wake of a terrorist incident. It advises women who wear the hijab not to go outside unaccompanied if an attack occurs and says mosques and Islamic schools should install CCTV cameras.

As an interim measure, the imams have prepared a model sermon, which will be sent to all mosques and Islamic centres for delivery at Friday prayers. The sermon will make a clear distinction between jihad (holy war) and terrorism. It will point out that Muslims have a covenant of security not to attack the country in which they live.

The meetings were organised by the Grand Shura (ruling body) of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the country’s biggest Muslim body with more than 350 Islamic organisations affiliated to it.

Inayat Bunglawala, an official of the MCB who was at a meeting of imams, said the concept of jihad had been debased by terrorists. “Jihad is a noble endeavour to defend your country and society from attack, while terror is the indiscriminate killing of innocents.”

The MCB is to publish half a million copies of the guide, called Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, so that at least one member of each Muslim household in Britain will have a copy. In the event of a terrorist attack, the guide advises Muslim households to “remain calm and follow the global safety rule: go in, stay in and tune in”.

Mosque officials and worshippers are told regularly to “check their bins and look for any suspicious packages left outside and inside the buildings”. Fearing racist groups will exploit a terror attack, the guide tells Muslims: “Do not allow yourself to be provoked by the far right into responding in a violent manner.”

The guide also advises Muslims on what their rights are if they are stopped and searched, arrested, or if anti-terrorist police knock on their door to search their property.

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