Muslims Crowding London's Mosques Say They Fear Backlash in Aftermath of Bombings

AP ^ | Jul 8, 2005 | Jill Lawless

[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."

[Sender]

...their growing and vibrant community

Here's hoping that they stop growing, and sure as hell stop vibrating. A toast to Merrie Olde England! (the real Brits, not multicultural imports)

[brownsfan]

"Why don't you rephrase that post without the condescension? Then maybe we can discuss this as adults."

What are you the hall monitor?
"Admin - they're saying mean things, make them stop"
"brownsfan - don't say it that way, it makes me feel bad"

Tell you what, grow a spine, support your ascertions, or move along and go play in the kiddie pool.

[small voice in the wilderness]

blah blah. Until they stand as one, condem the terrorists, and help round up the bas**rds with information we all know they have, their fear moves me not at all. Who will be their Bill Cosby???

[iThinkBig]

"Forget London...it's just another of a long string of attacks against those nations that stand against the march for fundamental islamic domination. Shall I name the countries that have been attacked? The list is long but for you to parse it into individual struggles is a diversion. There is a trend here and time is showing it as evil"

This is true. Back in the 7th-13th centuries that list you mention is HUGE. I am more then, like now you had Muslims who would not fight and did not believe in the murder part or forced conversion part. It still didn't change the fact that the religions teaches that the world must convert and be under Sharia law. Those that dont are to be enslaved or destroyed.

The belief of Christ, or Christianity is that conversion should happen through persuasion of a beneficial lifestyle towards yourself and others. That is a huge difference in philosophy.

[TASMANIANRED]

Exactly right.

London is ringed with cameras.

The perps will be identified.

Many of these so called fearful Moslem's are expecting a visit from the police.

The perps are as yet unidentified, the police will start making connections with their family and acquaintances looking for their support network.

The " publically cowering" Muslims are fearful not because they know the perps but because they all know and cover for someone who fits the profile and is a candidate.

[tobyhill]

Their going to the mosque not just because it's Friday, it's because they think the Mosque are off limits to scrutiny. I bet most of them go home and chow down a big pork chop when no one is looking.

[brownsfan]

"yeah like tracing it to a British slave ship..."

You just have all kinds of baggage don't you? If that's your linage, and you are unhappy about it, would you like some help getting back to where you may have otherwise been born? What's your issue pal?

[iThinkBig]

"So, how many moslem terrorist did they turn in? What? None!? Maybe these 'good' moslims are not as wonderful as they are portrayed."

I am not a fan of the muslims in general but really now. How many people DID they report to help prevent prior terrorist attrocities? How many are going to report tips to Scotland Yard? Probably not a lot but saying 'none' is something that neither of us knows.

[FreedomForce]

"All of Britain's major Muslim groups condemned the bombings"


Why shouldn't we assume they are practicing taqiyyah?

[Sonar5]

That Troll has been zotted, and is now wondering why he/she/it can no longer log in. Probably went back to DU to brag it lasted almost two days here.

[brownsfan]

"Then he got his "revelations" decided to kill all those around him who rejected him."

What kind of readings have you done? I would like to find objective material on the subject. I don't wish to read the Koran, I know that's a rambling, barely coherent text. I've read much, but it's always been things where I don't trust the spin. I'd like to know more about this mohammed from an objective source.
Is it possible that he is the anti-Christ?

[Bon mots]

I seem to often see Christians making statements like 'Muslims should be marching in protest' or 'rooting out the terrorists' but they can never tell me where they marched when Christian terrorists were attacking London or what they did to root them out.

I suppose you are right. There is a difference between a Muslim and an Islamist.
An Islamist wants to kill you.
A Muslim merely wants you dead.

Like Benjamin Netanyahu said,
"The Muslims have the will but lack the means to destroy us.
We have the means but not the will to destroy them."

I am of the opinion that we will have to use nuclear weapons on Mecca and Medina to bring the Muslims into the 21^st Century.

The nuclear solution worked wonders for the Japanese some sixty years ago, let's give it a chance in the far more twisted Islamic world.
Japan too was following a false religion and carrying out large numbers of suicide bombings among other atrocities. Two nukes and now they're the nicest people in all of Asia and make the coolest electronic goodies.

I'm ready to give it a try. Button please...

[brownsfan]

"That Troll has been zotted, and is now wondering why he/she/it can no longer log in. "

Excellent. It was annoying, even though it wasn't bright enough to truely irritate.

[tobyhill]

They go to the pub after they beat their wives up and in some cases after the bury them and stone them to death. They don't even offer the wife some of their hashish before they stone them.

[Sonar5]

Good Post.....

[LibSnubber]

"I cannot and wish not to prove anything of the sort. I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from legitimizing it yourself by expressing a willingness to embrace the same idea when it suits your own personal brand of 'offensensitivity'."

I cannot and wish not to prove anything of the sort.

Yeah, I figured as much.

[StonyBurk]

Jihad is ,by some learned estimates-the sixth pillar of Islam.A duty of every one of the bloody slaves to Allah.
It takes many forms and some say it is always violent-or militant-others (when speaking to non-muslims primarily)
insist it means nothing but some esoteric struggle,and ought not threaton any who the Koran says ought have their head cut off. TO suggest a people Montesquieu said produced primarily Despotic rulers do what the bloody religion teaches they cannot do is unreal.We ought confine them and restrict their every movement -and not allow any
enter or leave the Country until the bloody bastards stop
killing people simply because the Muslim ar emore inclined to destroy than they are to do good.