Posted
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/12/2088617.htm
Women at an anti-terrorism demonstration in Glasgow, Scotland July 7, 2007. The peaceful protest was organised by Muslim groups after the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow. (Reuters: David Moir)
Muslims in Britain are warning that intolerance in the United Kingdom is reaching dangerous levels and they are drawing parallels with Nazi Germany.
The Muslim Council of Britain says perceptions of Islam are so negative there is now a danger people's minds will be poisoned against Muslims as they were against the Jews in Germany in the 1930s.
Last week the head of MI5 revealed that Britain's security organisations are tracking 2,000 people living in the UK who pose a security threat, and that teenagers aged 15 are being groomed to be suicide bombers.
A day later, the Brown Government unveiled details of its tough new anti-terrorism laws, which double the period of detention without charge to 56 days, allows for questioning suspects after they have been charged and a ban on foreign travel for convicted terrorists.
While it is never openly stated, there is little doubt that the majority of the possible terrorists in the UK are Muslims.
Now, the Muslim Council of Britain has accused the Government of stoking tensions, arguing the amount of debate relating to Muslims is disproportionate.
Citing Nazi Germany in the 1930s as an example of how people's minds could be poisoned against a community, the Muslim Council says the air is thick with suspicion and unease about Muslims.
Inayat Bunglawala is the assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council.
"What you had in the 1930s was all sorts of popular fictions were spread about the Jewish community, that they were in control of money in Germany, they were responsible for all the ills that were occurring to Germany," he said.
"I mean, they were made into the folk devils, and I think there is a danger that the word 'Muslim' in the UK is becoming synonymous with bad news.
"I think just as in the 1930s, the Jewish community in Germany was collectively vilified and we saw what happened. I think we need to be careful."
