Posted on 07/13/2005 3:44:24 AM PDT by M. Thatcher
Home Secretary Charles Clarke has said he is "shocked" the suspected London suicide bombers were British-born.
Mr Clarke said the attacks were a "clarion call" for everybody in the UK to defend their society rather than assume "we are all OK".
The Muslim community especially must "stand out" against the ideology which promotes bombings, he told BBC News.
He said he would consider all means necessary - including deportation - against those fermenting terrorism.
'No coasting'
Speaking ahead of an emergency EU summit about security measures in Brussels, Mr Clarke said it was "a central hypothesis" that the bombers were part of a wider network.
Mr Clarke said there were organisations who wanted to destroy the fundamental structure of UK democracy.
Those voices that we have we tolerated will no longer be tolerated, Shahid Malik Dewsbury MP
"I think that is the clarion call to us, to us as politicians, as broadcasters, to faith leaders, to lawyers, to everybody, to say we have to fight for this society we have, rather than just coasting along and assuming it's all OK."
Mr Clarke said the right balance was needed between civil liberties and security.
The belief that "home-grown terrorism" was to blame for the bombings means intelligence must be improved, despite the "first class" job done by the police and security services, he said.
Ready for more attacks?
During the EU talks in Brussels, Mr Clarke will push for European agencies to share more intelligence information.
But he argued the anti-terror strategy had to address the fact that ideology, not poverty, was the driving force behind such attacks.
"It's ensuring that the whole of the Muslim community, supported by the whole of the society, stands out against this sort of belief."
Mr Clarke said he was encouraged by the Muslim community's response.
He said he was looking directly at people who "preach hatred", with deportation one option.
The home secretary said the UK had to assume other people were prepared to carry out attacks.
Intelligence had to be at the centre of addressing that problem, he argued.
Muslim 'anguish'
Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Stevens has suggested that three thousand people, who are now in Britain have trained in al-Qaeda camps.
Mr Clarke said he did not accept that figure but a "large number" of people had attended such camps.
"But only a very few come to this cataclysmic decision that those four individuals did on Thursday," he added.
Tony Blair on Wednesday met a delegation of Muslim MPs to discuss the discovery of the suspected bombers.
The Muslim Council of Britain says it reacted with "anguish, shock and horror" to news that British-born Islamic youths were involved in the attacks.
The council's secretary-general, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, said: "Nothing in Islam can ever justify the evil actions of the bombers."
Shahid Malik, whose Dewsbury constituency was the scene of police raids in the bombing investigation, said the Muslim community faced a "massive wake-up call".
He told BBC News after his meeting with Mr Blair: "The challenge is straightforward - that those voices that we have we tolerated will no longer be tolerated, whether they be on the streets, in the schools, in the youth clubs, in a mosque, in a corner, in a house.
"We need to go beyond condemning - we need to confront."
Deport them to where? Need a club Gitmo East?
Now there's a nugget.
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah....
"We need to go beyond condemning - we need to confront."
Confront? and then what? slap them on their hands? sing Kubiya?
Good plan.
What should he say?
The idea that Islamic extremism is a surprise or is hidden is just an insult to everyone's intelligence. The Londoners have tolerated the most extreme demonstrations and calls for death to Bush, death to Blair, death to America with hundreds of thousands attending massive rallies. They are starting to reap what was sown long ago and what the elites promoted as superior attitudes towards diversity. They are now realizing the fruits of the harvest.
What are you saying? and who are you saying it to?
What a load of nonsense.
Except the Koran. It must be hard for these people to keep a straight face while repeating this, (while holding that bag of bomb making material behind their back) How dumb can government be swallowing this B.S.??
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/index/press.php?pr=145
Read the above you idiot.
Never heard of Lord Haw Haw or the Cambridge Five?
And you believe them? Of course they are totally objective eh? :D
If you looked at the bottom of the page you would see:
"The figures of the demonstrators were based on body count by The Muslim News." HAHA!
Yeah, it's pretty unimaginable that Muslims could be involved in terrorism.
Don't hold your breath, Mr. Clark.
Shock the monkey.
Nothing. The time for talk is over. I think 30 years of appealing to the muslims to clean out their own back yard without results is enough.
Good morning, Mr. Rip Van Winkle.
Should he not say, "Islam is peace"?
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