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."
When did "Christian terrorists" attack London??
Muslims wouldn't have to worry about a backlash if Muslims weren't so busy murdering people every day like in London...and Iraq, India, Thailand, Russia, Philipines, Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Madrid, Bali, Spain, etc., etc., plus 9/11.
Try shaving off the beard, have a couple of pints and buy a bowler hat.
Oh, yeah...and convert to Christianity. That would work wonders for engendering trust.
At the very least, transfer over to Sufism. The Sufi Muslims don't seem to blow people up.
"But this is London..A cosmopolitan city.."..Heheh...Time to put away the pitchforks and lanterns huh?
Until 7/7, all the terrorist acts in London were done by IRA Catholic terrorists.
Plutonium, "the gift that keeps on giving!"
It has EVERYTHING to do with the attacks! This garbanzo is mohammedan and apparently has yet to read Mein Koran or anything else the pedophile phony prophet said (piss be upon him). His own "prophet" called for killing infidels, lying to non-mohammedans, and had a "convert or die" order! If this guy is indeed muslime, he's either lying or an idiot....or both!
Bluntly, islime is a cancer upon the face of this planet, and the sooner it is wiped out, THE BETTER!!!
They've been supporting/tolerating moron terrorist supporting mullas regardless of the fact they are preaching against the British government and people. They should be afraid.
Where is the outrage by the Muslims??? Not ONCE did anyone in this article say "I've had it! These jihadists are giving the rest of us a bad name."
Not that I want them here in our country, but the average person in London can expect to be photographed 300 times per day by 500,000 security cameras within city limits. Every single car traveling into the city is digitally documented for traffic/parking penalty purposes.
This is from a story in today's Interactive Wall Street Journal with regard to the ongoing bombing investigation.
~ Blue Jays ~
When they come out by the thousands waving British and American flags and condemn the bombings......oh wait, they've been told to stay home.
Because they know what hell-holes their countries of origin are.
Now...who made those countries hell-holes? Who keeps them that way? Could it be the same folks filling up the mosques?
Bottom line, they want to make our various nations into nasty places, just like the areas they came from. So maybe we should ship them back to their nation of origin.
"Muslims . . . Fear Backlash in Aftermath of Bombings."
Good. There should be a backlash. They should all be deported back to their Muslim holy lands. Only then can Britons feel safe from a fifth column in their own land.
Oh well the same fluff was said by hair splitting politicians after 9/11. Ok not all Muslims approve of terrorism, most are too busy busting their butts trying to make a buck. But at the same time Muslims by their relative silence and weak statements have given the nod to jihadis that they'll get little flack from the Muslim community in Europe or America. Most of the weak statements have been of the save yo ass type....oh Islam doesn't condone this behavior, and they will pull out a passage from the Quran. But child, look at all those passages where the Quran, the Hadith and the rest of Islamic scripture or pseudo scripture urges such actions.
On being asked - are you a Christian? - you queried the questioner. As for me ,er, it don't matter chum, as long as you are wiv us. Every one pull together on this one. Jewish people, Atheists all welcome!
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