Posted on 07/08/2005 12:59:23 PM PDT by phoenix_004
Thousands of Muslims crowded London mosques for Friday prayers, condemning the bombings, but also wary they could be made scapegoats and fearful of reprisals against their growing and vibrant community. At the East London Mosque, near the site of one of Thursday's attacks, an imam told the 8,000 worshippers to be "confident in our identity" as part of London's multicultural fabric.
The mosque said it had received hate e-mails and a telephone threat to disrupt Friday prayers. A few police officers stood outside during the prayers, which ended peacefully.
Outside, some Muslims said the attacks had made them more cautious on the streets, but others said they were secure in their identity as Londoners - confident of the city's tolerant traditions.
"It will have some impact on people. But this is London, a cosmopolitan city," said student Ali Ayubi. "Maybe after one or two months it will go back to normal."
At the huge brick mosque in an East End neighborhood that's home to many with roots in Pakistan and Bangladesh, imam Sheikh Abdul Qayyum told worshippers that Muslims were "part of the rich diversity of British life."
"At this difficult time, some people in our community may feel insecure purely because they are Muslims, but these terrible events have nothing to do with us. The Muslims of London are victims as much as their fellow citizens," he said.
All of Britain's major Muslim groups condemned the bombings, which killed dozens and wounded more than 700. But some feared they would be blamed for the bombings, which police said bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida.
"This morning I was driving to work and a woman on the radio said she'd had her headscarf pulled. I was shocked, to be honest," said Ahmed Shafi, 31, a grocery store manager. "In this day and age you don't expect that."
Almost 1 million of London's 8 million people are Muslims. They're inseparable from the fabric of the city's society and its history. From the opulent glitz of Harrods department store - owned by Egyptian-born Mohammed al Fayed - to the kebab shops that dot the city's streets, Muslims have long been part of London's glamour and its grit.
Prime Minister Tony Blair stressed that Islam was not the culprit in the bombings.
"We know that these people act in the name of Islam, but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims, here and abroad, are decent and law-abiding people who abhor this act of terrorism every bit as much as we do," he said Thursday.
That message was underscored by Muslims on the streets.
"Many Muslims are British. They have lived here for years. What happens to London happens to them," said Suraiya Zammath, a Bangladeshi woman visiting relatives in London. "This should not be singled out as 'Islamic terrorists.' That destabilizes the community."
Abdul Mukith, a 37-year-old supermarket worker in Brick Lane, the heart of London's Bangladeshi community, agreed.
"What's religion got to do with it?" he asked. "I'm bloody Muslim, and I'm afraid to go into the city" just like anyone else in the aftermath of the attacks.
Still, some feared a backlash. The Muslim Council of Britain said it had been deluged with hate e-mails, which caused its server to crash late Thursday. Though it was up and running Friday, the council said it was still getting a steady stream of vitriolic missives.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said Friday that police were aware of one or two "very minor incidents" involving backlash against Muslims, but he didn't elaborate.
He said that so far, "Britain with its liberal and welcoming approach to people is taking this in its stride. I'm very proud of that."
Representatives of several religious faiths held a silent prayer vigil Friday in a street near Aldgate subway station, where seven people died.
"There is a worry, but I think we can overcome this because we have been working with all the communities together," said Muhammad Abdul Bari, chairman of the East London Mosque.
"As Muslims, as British citizens, as Londoners, we are confident nothing will happen to us. We have to face it with resilience and with confidence."
But Shafi feared he and other Muslims would endure animosity in the coming days and weeks.
"I'm a practicing Muslim, I've got a beard. After 9/11 people called me bin Laden," he said. "But I was born and brought up here, and I don't consider myself anything but British."
While that may be correct, and I understand how cameras are being abused, that does not have the "personal touch" that I was talking about.
You, personally, need to follow a specific Muslim individual for a minimum of 48 hours. It is one thing to accept government surveillance, but it is a totally different feeling when some person is following you.
Put the fear of God into these people. Let them know, loud and clear, that you are watching them.
Now they will get a sample of how many in the free world have been feeling while they've celebrated attack after attack all along blaming everyone else.
Absolutely true. The single biggest reason they are hated and distrusted is because they REFUSE to speak up or do ANYTHING about the sub-human savages in their midst.
You would THINK that the courage of their muslim people in Iraq would move them to try and help in any way they can.
Until then- "they pays they nickel and takes they chances".
"What is best in life?" To crush the jihadists, to drive their minions before you, and to hear the lamentations of their mullahs! Allahu fubar!
First sentence of this article:
"I remember plenty of marches by Londoners, Belfast and Ulster marches decrying the IRA. There plenty of informers on both sides. Where are the informers, collaboraters on the MOE-Ham-Head side,HMMMM?"
There have plenty of incidents of terror cells being busted by police, where do you think they are getting their information from?
Why in the world would anybody be a member of a religion that was so nutty you had to wrap your head in a dishcloth so nobody would recognize you when you attended services?
Well, I'm sure they could go to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, etc. where they practice their fanatic religion safely.
The Muslim community MUST stand up against what is being done in their name. If they don't march in protest against terror, turn in the radicals among them, and tell what they know about everybody involved, they have no right to complain about a 'backlash.'
Cut to the very heart of their delusional belief system and rip it out.
Interestingly enough, I was speaking to a Pakistani Muslim who said he loves America because he can practice his religion here without any hassles. Why he can't do this in Pakistan is beyond me.
Damn, this is one paranoid thread. Should the Brits have nuked all the Catholics after the first IRA attack? I lived in England for 2 years, and I met and had a pint with more than a few Muslims in that period. Who knew they were all blood-thirsty savages bent on taking over the world? Gimme a break. I agree with Bush and Co: These killers are fringe fanatics, Islamic in name only.
I don't believe the civilian limeys have the nerve. The best they can muster is to get drunk and stupid at a soccer match.
Heck, they even gave up their guns without a fight.
What a bunch of limp-wristed sissies. I know of some genuine law-abiding toughguys who would make those stringbeans wet their pants just by showing up. They wouldn't wear dishrags on their head, either. Just jeans, tee-shirts, and boots.
~ Blue Jays ~
"If they are claiming to be British, they need to cooperate with Scotland Yard and tell what they know"
That is true, for the very few who do actually know anything or have some reason to be suspicious. Of course, most will have no information to give. They should do the same as the rest of us and refuse to allow these terrorists to subvert their way of life.
Didn't someone once say that we should invade their countries and convert them to Christianity?
Thank you for injecting some reason into this otherwise paranoid thread.
Amen! I'm getting a bit tired of all this "i'm sooo afraid" islamofacist hand wringing whenever their terrorist wing strikes. They can't help find the terrorists because they are afraid. They can't stop teaching (or sending) their own kids to the islamofascist training camps - cause we're afraid...
Me thinks thou dos't protest too much...
You Muslims better get on the stick and kill the cancer in your midst or a free and democratic people will start ripping out your hearts and lungs trying to find these b*stards among you...
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