British could alienate Muslims

2005-08-02 08:06

London - Fresh from the controversy over their shoot-to-kill tactics in the wake of the London suicide bombings, British police have sparked another furore over their latest policy to fight terror - "targeted searches".

Some Islamic groups have expressed anger at what they say amounts to a policy of discrimination whereby Muslims travelling on London's mass transport system are targeted for searching ahead of other religious and ethnic groups.

The tactic is already being used on the London Underground during the biggest police deployment here since World War II, amid fears that another Islamist terror cell is planning more attacks against the British capital.

Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston has said that his overstretched force will not waste time searching "little old white ladies" following the twin terror bombings on July 7 and July 21.

But Abdullah Allah, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, told BBC television that the policy could harm race relations at a time when many British Muslims are already feeling marginalised and scared of reprisals.

Tactic could backfire

"Since 9/11 we've seen a more than 300% increase in the number of Asians stopped and searched. This will only make the ethnic minorities feel they are under more scrutiny," he said.

Three British-born ethnic Pakistanis and a Jamaican-born Muslim convert carried out the first deadly attack on July 7, in which they killed themselves and 52 other people. The suspected July 21 bombers, who failed to repeat the devastation because their bombs did not fully go off, are mainly of east African origin.

A day after the second attack, British police fatally shot an innocent Brazilian man whom they had mistaken for a would-be Islamist suicide bomber, under a "shoot-to-kill" policy which has shocked British Muslims.

Many Muslims in London already believe that racism is common among the mainly white British police force, and fear that officers will abuse their search powers to harass innocent people rather than hunt terrorists.

"As a young Muslim man who would fit their profile (of a potential terrorist), I'm not sure it's a very clever tactic and I don't think it will work at all," Fuad Ali, a reporter for the London-based Muslim Weekly newspaper, told AFP.

"On one hand it's understandable because the profile of the people who are doing these things might fit my description, but on the other hand there's the danger that it could alienate Muslims even more."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has met senior British Muslims and called for their help in the fight against "home grown" terror, and a "major roundtable talk with Muslim leaders" has been scheduled for September 20.

Superintendent Ali Dizaei, of the National Black Police Association, said that although racial profiling was acceptable provided searches were carried out respectfully, there was a danger the tactic could backfire.

- AFP