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UK Muslims angered by raids
06/06/2006 14:41 - (SA)
Lachlan Carmichael
London - The British police were under pressure on Tuesday to clear up the confusion over last week's massive anti-terror raid or risk seeing angry Muslims "take the law into their own hands," a Muslim community leader warned.
The Muslim Council of Britain's new leader Muhammed Abdul Bari said "trust could break down" if the police failed to explain why they launched last Friday's raid, which has turned up nothing of a reported chemical weapons plot.
Relaying the sentiment that he heard during a visit late on Monday to the east London neighbourhood which was raided, Abdul Bari said "the message is the confusion, it's the frustration and to some extent anger".
'Angry people can do anything'
Police arrested Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and his brother Abul Koyair, 20, during the raid on their home at dawn by 250 officers. Abdul Kahar, who was shot and wounded, and Koyair have vehemently denied involvement in terrorism.
"People want to know what exactly happened and about the intelligence - is it genuine information, is it flawed - these are the questions police have to answer as soon as possible," Abdul Bari said.
"Trust could break down if things are not clarified," said Abdul Bari, the secretary general of Britain's largest Muslim organisation.
"Angry people can do anything, angry people can even feel that they should take the law into their own hands, so anger has to be directed into positive action," he warned.
Police had 'no choice'
The Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner Andy Hayman said police had "no choice" but to launch the raid as they worried about public safety after receiving specific intelligence of a terrorist plot.
But Hayman, who declined to comment on reports by security sources that they were looking for chemical or biological weapons, admitted that "we have not found what we went in there to look for".
He said the police have removed documents and computers from the home and that they were still conducting a live investigation.
Doubts about London police
The admission by Hayman is fuelling doubts about the London police.
Police have already endured almost a year of harsh criticism, including accusations of a cover-up, since armed officers shot dead an unarmed Brazilian man on a subway train in the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber.
Backlash
The Independent newspaper said the high-profile swoop had led to fears among local people about being branded extremists and many Muslim families were now considering leaving Britain.
The right-wing Daily Mail, meanwhile, said the "backlash" could play into the hands of extremist groups keen to capitalise on the perception that the Muslim community was being unfairly targeted in anti-terrorism operations.
- AFP
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