Cops Keep the Faith [Muslim/UK]

POLICE have been told to take their shoes off and not use sniffer dogs when raiding Muslim homes.

An 18-point guide issued by Bedfordshire Police lists dos and don'ts when dealing with Muslims who are suspected of terrorist or drugs offences.

The guidelines, which were reissued last week, state that 'the Muslim community feels victimised and suspicious of counter terrorist police operations and in the current climate a search at a British Muslim household has the potential to become a critical incident and come under intense scrutiny'.

• Rapid entry needs to be the last resort and raids into Muslim houses are discouraged for religious dignity reasons.

• Police should seek to avoid looking at unclad Muslim women and allow them to dress and cover their heads.

• For reasons of dignity officers should seek to avoid entering occupied bedrooms and bathrooms.

• Use of police dogs will be considered serious desecration of the premises and may necessitate extensive cleaning of the house and disposal of household items.

• Advice should be sought before considering the use of cameras and camcorders due to the risk of capturing individuals, especially women, in inappropriate dress.

• Muslim prisoners should be allowed to take additional clothing to the station.

• If people are praying at home officers should stand aside and not disrupt the prayer. They should be allowed the opportunity to finish.

• Officers should not take shoes into the houses, especially in areas that might be kept pure for prayer purposes.

• In the current climate the justification for pre-dawn raids on Muslim houses needs to be clear and transparent.

• Non-Muslims are not allowed to touch holy books, Qurans or religious artefacts without permission. Where possible, Muslim officers in a state of 'Wudhu' should be used for this purpose.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "The guidelines are regularly issued to all staff as a reminder of the force protocol when entering a Muslim household.

"We take very seriously the culture surrounding all faiths and feel it is important to respect those beliefs, even while carrying out police business.

"We would like to reassure all communities that any current or perceived tensions, which might be heightened as a result of recent events, will not affect how police deal with Muslims or anyone else."

Zafar Khan, chairman of Luton Council of Faiths, said: "Guidelines on how to deal and interact with the community in all faiths should be welcomed."

This letter was sent in to the police by breadwinner who gets the Bedfordshire on Sunday (free rag)

Chief Constable
Bedfordshire Police

One Law equally administered and respected by all communities.

It should be noted that the rights of Muslims are being more than respected by the police and the people of this country and they are being given an unfair advantage to all other communities, despite the fact that it is from Islam that this country is suffering its present abuses, why are Muslims not issuing fatwa’s against Jihad of the sword when they are being allowed to live here and prosper, why are Imams saying they are not in control of the youth in UK. It is this admission by some Imams which will make police intervention in Muslim life unavoidable.

However inconvenient this police intervention is, it should not be seen as an attack on the Muslim community, we must extend to the police the confidence that comes from a community that has nothing to hide and the trust which is synonymous in a peaceful society.

I would like to draw Muslims attention to the fact that because you may be praying that everything does not stop around you, people have to knock on your doors to deliver goods and they will not accept that you are praying when they go to their next delivery, nor will they remove their work wear shoes as this renders them partially liable in the event of an accident in your houses, this is common sense, if you do not answer the door you must be presumed to be out! We must also assume that for you to put these restrictions on police that you are not cooperating with the police, and your actions are designed to portray the police and the community which you live in as oppressive, not to the UK but to other Muslim nations, as was the case of the Jilbab and Ms Begum, what this clearly shows is that Muslims in Britain are playing “the oppressed” to the Muslim audience in the wider world.

With regard to the ‘untouchability’ of ‘religious books and artefacts including the Koran, the police are not hunting the Koran if it is in the house it is there as a personal item of the owner, he is responsible to as much as possible keep it safe. Muslims should understand that we give you much greater freedoms than are given to Christian people in Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia refuse us to have a Christian church on its soil, no Christian religious worship of any kind is allowed, neither prayer or prayer books are allowed. This is because the God of Islam is not the same God of the Christians and Jews. In Pakistan the Barnabus Trust have highlighted the plight of Christians who are accused of Blasphemy and have identified the use of the Blasphemy laws to deprive Christians of their property and their person, this is achieved by forcible conversion under threats, it is also highlighted by Amnesty and both sources cite the Sharia laws as responsible because Christians are not protected by them, from Muslims.

It is about time people in this country were made aware of the suffering of Christians and other non Muslims in other countries and apply a justified moral pressure to Muslims in Britain to reciprocate the rights and privileges which this country gives them by communicating that freedom to be emulated in the countries they have come from, we have allowed mosques to be built on a grand scale in the UK but Christian Copts in Egypt (and elsewhere) have restrictions on even repairs to a church having to be approved by the president of Egypt, Mr Mubarrek. It is also about time that we admitted the massive human rights violations perpetrated on non Muslims in Muslim countries. Above all we must also make Muslims understand that we also have religious communities which have no problems with the way the police interact with us, why, I wonder is that?

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