Being Muslim in London
2005-08-03 13:55
London - Iranian web designer Mehrdad Marandi left home on Monday without his customary rucksack, and carried his personal belongings in a plastic supermarket bag instead.
"I don't want people to stare at me any more," he said of his change of habit, adding that he had no particular religious affiliations.
Young Muslim men in the British capital and nationwide have been angered by an announcement by British Transport Police (BTP) that "people from certain ethnic minorities" were "more likely to be stopped and searched" in the wake of the recent bombings.
"I make a point of carrying a bottle of wine on me on the train the whole time, although I don't drink alcohol", one young Muslim told the BBC.
Another said he had found that being seen to be reading Economist magazine on the underground (tube) guaranteed a certain amount of respectability.
No joking matter
Although it is hardly a joking matter, a spoof e-mail doing the rounds in London offices advertises a transparent "No More Stares Rucksack" carrying a photograph of Osama bin Laden with a red line through his turbaned head.
Behind the joke, said the Daily Telegraph, lay a serious question understood by the three million people who used the London underground every day: "Has a bomber just got into my carriage?"
Ian Johnston, chief constable of the BTP, fanned the flames by saying that his officers were not planning "to search little old white ladies".
"These are very unhelpful and ill-judged comments", said Abdul Ullah, a member of the Metropolitan Police (MET) Authority Monday.
Conflicting message
Noting that incidences of "stop-and-search" among British Muslims and Asians had increased by 300% since the September 11 attacks in the United States, Ullah said the remarks also played into the hands of the terrorists.
"The government is sending out a conflicting message. It should engage with Moslems to help us root out these people," he said.
To do exactly that, however, is the declared goal of Hazel Blears, the government's new "anti-terrorism" minister.
She will soon set out to hold a series of meetings with Muslim leaders "to discuss the challenges they share with the government", including engaging with young Muslims and tackling extremism.
But Blears, clearly not sharing fears of a backlash against the security moves within the Muslim community, on Monday defended Johnston's proposals, saying the searches would be "intelligence-led".
"What it means is if your intelligence in a particular area tells you that you're looking for somebody of a particular description, perhaps with particular clothing on, then clearly you're going to exercise that power in that way. That's absolutely the right thing for the police to do."
Ullah said he feared that particularly Muslim women, wearing traditional dress, would become targets of the security clampdown.
Playing into the hands of terrorists
The civil rights group Liberty said the measures would play into the hands of he terrorists.
"If you search people of a particular race or description while letting others through, it doesn't take long for a terrorist group to learn ways of placing their lethal cargo with those who don't meet the profile", said Liberty chairwoman Shami Chakrabati.
For Ann Widdecombe, former conservative Home Office minister, the matter is simple.
She dismissed the idea that targeted searches could be counter-productive, or had anything to do with "race or religion".
"As long as they are treated politely, an innocent young Muslim and Asian man will not mind being stopped. After all, he is just as much at risk as your little old white lady," Widdecombe said on Monday. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA