……meanwhile in England

Reid meets the furious face of Islam

By Philip Johnston,
Filed: 21/09/2006

John Reid, the Home Secretary, came face to face with the intolerance of militant Islam yesterday as he urged Muslim parents to stand up to the extremists and keep their children from being "groomed" to be suicide bombers.

During a speech in east London he was shouted down by Abu Izzadeen, a well-known fundamentalist who has been linked to a now banned organisation and who praised the ''martyrdom" of suicide bombers after the July 7 attacks in London last year.

The speech had been trailed by the Home Office and protesters were waiting at a youth centre in Leytonstone waving placards with the slogans ''John Reid go to Hell" and ''John Reid you will pay".

Mr Izzadeen, dressed in a long white robe and turban, told Mr Reid: "How dare you come to a Muslim area when you have arrested so many Muslims in this area?

"I am furious. I am absolutely furious — John Reid should not come to a Muslim area. We do not want to see him. Shame on all of us for sitting down and listening to him."

He shouted: "John Reid, Tony Blair and George Bush's crusade can all go to Hell."

The outburst lasted about five minutes before the heavily built Mr Izzadeen, 30, was ushered out of the building to continue his demonstration in the street.

Mr Reid was addressing a small group of Muslims about the dangers of fundamentalism, while praising the commitment of the majority to the ''shared values" of equality and justice.

It was as he was listing the Muslim countries that had been attacked by terrorists that Mr Izzadeen started to berate him. A woman who tried to intervene was told to shut up.

Mr Reid said he was used to being heckled but was angered by the suggestion that he should not be in "a Muslim area". He said there were no places in Britain where a home secretary could not go.

''We must never allow ourselves to be intimidated or shouted down," he said. "There will always be people who are not prepared to take part in a dialogue… They are not confined to the Muslim community."

In his first speech to a Muslim audience since he became Home Secretary, Mr Reid sought to join Cabinet colleagues in "a hearts and minds" assault aimed at separating the mainstream Muslims from the extremists.

He dismissed the idea of "a clash of civilisations" between the West and Islam, a debate that has been renewed since Pope Benedict's comments last week.

Mr Reid said the perception of Islam had been hijacked by activists who used religion to cloak their militancy. He said they were not Muslims "in the true sense of the word" but were waging a violent and indiscriminate war.

The communities that harboured them should be more aware of their presence and be prepared to stand up to them, although he knew that was not easy.

Mr Reid was especially anxious to send a message to Muslim parents about the dangers posed by extremists.

"These fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children, for suicide bombings," he said. "Grooming them to kill themselves to murder others.

"Look for the tell-tale signs now and talk to them before their hatred grows and you risk losing them for ever."

Mr Reid was then interrupted by Anjem Choudary, a leading Islamic militant, who held up a placard and shouted: "Enemy of Islam and the Muslims."

Mr Choudary said later that he objected to the insinuation that Muslim children might be brainwashed.

"Muslims do not need British values," he said. ''We believe that Islam is superior; we believe Islam will be implemented one day.

"It is very rich for you to come here and say we need to monitor our children when your Government is murdering people in Iraq and Afghanistan." Residents were also unconvinced by the message. Shankat Khan, 55, said that Mr Reid should not single out Muslims. "What about the British parents?" he asked. "We are as worried as other parents but we need to be part of a wider society."

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Dialogue?

Abu Izzadeen is not interested in the dialogue that the heckle by its very nature is supposed to encourage. He simply wants to shut down free speech. A rabble-rouser, he has praised the "courage" of the July 7 bombers, described their victims as "animals" and "cowards", and said that Christians and Jews are bound for "hell-fire".


Just the sort of man, you would have thought, who should be dealt with under the 2006 Terrorism Act, which makes it an offence to say anything which "glorifies the commission or preparation" of acts of terrorism. Fat chance. There has not been a single prosecution under this legislation, so pusillanimous are the authorities when dealing with Muslim fanaticism.

Yet while Abu Izzadeen is free to preach his loathsome message, he reacts like a scalded cat when the Home Secretary delivers an uncompromising message to the Muslim community. [.]

Regrettably, Abu Izzadeen's objection to Mr Reid's "lecturing" Muslims is shared by many in the wider Muslim community who argue that they are being unfairly targeted. It is easy to appreciate their frustrations but the sad truth is that it was Muslim fanatics – not Christian or Jewish or Hindu – who murdered 52 people last July, and the notion that this reality cannot be recognised for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities is dangerous.