British Values under Threat
British Values under ThreatFahad Ansari
12 August 2006
Almost every day now we are all compelled to engage in a debate about the compatibility of Islamic and British values, whether it is possible for the two to co-exist or whether loyalty to one set must signal the death knell of the other. There are some values which cross the Islam-West divide, a crossing which signifies their importance in terms of human values. One of these common values is the presumption of innocence; that no individual shall be considered guilty until convicted in a court of law. So fundamental is this right to the administration of criminal law that it has been explicitly stated in almost every legal code and constitution around the world from as far back as Ancient Greece, as well as being laid down in the Shari’ah and the Old Testament.
Despite its foundational value to a fair and honourable criminal justice system, the presumption of innocence has been suspended throughout the course of the ‘War on Terror’, and most recently in the current coverage of the alleged transatlantic bomb plot. Even now, not one of the 24 individuals arrested on suspicion of involvement in the plot has been charged with any offence whatsoever. In fact, one man has been released without charge. Only time will tell whether there is any substantial evidence to charge, try and convict the remaining 23.
Yet this has not stopped the press plastering pictures of the suspects and their homes across the front pages. This has not prevented the Bank of England from publishing the names of 19 of the men, thereby destroying their reputations forever. From now on, these names and faces will forever be inextricably associated with terrorism irrespective of whether they are found to be guilty. Their families will continue to face verbal and physical abuse for the crime of being related to a “terror suspect”. They will be ostracized from not only the wider British society but also from many in the Muslim community who will shun them for fear that the next raids will be in their own homes.
In the meantime, it is worth recalling that since 9-11, almost 1000 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act, of whom only about 150 have been charged. Of these, just under 30 people have been found guilty of minor charges related to terrorism, things as insignificant as wearing a symbol of a proscribed organization. Even more noteworthy is the fact that only one person accused in any of the major bomb plot allegations over the last five years has been found guilty of terrorism in a British court of law. That person was Sajid Badat who withdrew from the plot because of his belief that such acts were prohibited in Islam. For all the hype and hysteria of other major plots to attack Britain such as that to blow up Old Trafford in 2004 or the Brazilian Bomber in 2005 or more recently, the “chemical vest” of Forest Gate , there has never been any evidence of wrongdoing. Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray summed it up when he stated, “There are two things you need to know about the ‘ricin plot’. One, there was no ricin. Two, there was no plot.” Yet, this lie was fed to the British public and the world for two years and used as a justification to go to war in Iraq, while 8 innocent men languished behind bars for possessing a substance which did not exist. In total, 109 men were arrested during the investigation. Not one was convicted of terrorism. ‘British intelligence’ has become an oxymoron which has destroyed the lives, reputations and livelihoods of hundreds of innocent people. The sad reality is that the only explosives which it has been proven are being transported through British airports are the American bombs being sent to Israel to be used to terrorise innocent men, women and children in Lebanon.
But these statistics are irrelevant. Any Muslim arrested under suspicion of involvement in terrorism is automatically convicted by the mass media, all too eager to act as judge, jury and executioner. But the judgment doesn’t end with those arrested. Each and every one of the 1.6 million Muslims in Britain is convicted of conspiracy with the terrorists. Questions are repeatedly fired at community leaders as to whether they are doing enough to root out the terrorists in their community. The implication is that Muslims in general are aware of individuals within the community plotting to blow up civilians and that they are deliberately refusing to report such individuals to the authorities. Terrorism by its very nature is something organized in secret, privately, away from the public. Nobody should know about the plot except the individuals involved. So if there are indeed individuals within the Muslim community plotting acts of terror, like the terrorists in other communities, only those involved will be aware of it. It is a racist and Islamophobic assumption that Muslims, unlike ordinary law-abiding citizens, would hesitate to report such criminals to the authorities. It is a vicious attempt to dehumanize and criminalize the entire Muslim community as a fifth element within British society.
Yes, there may be individuals within the Muslim community who may consider violence against civilians as legitimate to further the causes of the oppressed Palestinians, Iraqis or Chechens. The vast majority of Muslims support these causes although not this type of methodology. But such elements exist within all communities. Many Catholics are opposed to abortion; a minority of them believes that the bombing of abortion clinics is thereby justified. Many from the Jewish community in Britain believe Israel is justified in invading Lebanon; a minority within it believe this legitimizes their traveling to the Middle East to join the Israeli army and to drop bombs on women and children in Lebanon. A large section of British society is critical of immigration and the presence of ‘foreigners’ in Britain; a minority of these will join the BNP and engage in acts of violence against innocent people. Blowing up abortion clinics, bombing civilians from a warplane or brutally attacking people because of the colour of their skin are all undoubtedly acts of terror. Yet, the question never arises as to what the Catholic, Jewish and White Anglo-Saxon communities are doing to counter the ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’ within their own communities. The reason is simple – the majority of these communities are not responsible for the actions of a few and it would be racist to suggest that they are or that they would fail to report such individuals to the authorities.
However, to simply assume that there are some Muslims in Britain plotting to carry out acts of terrorism does not correspond with the statistics to date. To accuse the entire Muslim community of silent complicity echoes the Nazi demonisation of the entire Jewish community in the 1930s as an ‘enemy within’ colluding against the entire society and of no benefit to it whatsoever. For it, there was no presumption of innocence. For Muslims today, the presumption of innocence is equally meaningless, a Utopian ideal codified in law, ignored in practice. For the 24 Muslims arrested this week, British values will have completely lost their meaning.
12 August 2006
Almost every day now we are all compelled to engage in a debate about the compatibility of Islamic and British values, whether it is possible for the two to co-exist or whether loyalty to one set must signal the death knell of the other. There are some values which cross the Islam-West divide, a crossing which signifies their importance in terms of human values. One of these common values is the presumption of innocence; that no individual shall be considered guilty until convicted in a court of law. So fundamental is this right to the administration of criminal law that it has been explicitly stated in almost every legal code and constitution around the world from as far back as Ancient Greece, as well as being laid down in the Shari’ah and the Old Testament.
Despite its foundational value to a fair and honourable criminal justice system, the presumption of innocence has been suspended throughout the course of the ‘War on Terror’, and most recently in the current coverage of the alleged transatlantic bomb plot. Even now, not one of the 24 individuals arrested on suspicion of involvement in the plot has been charged with any offence whatsoever. In fact, one man has been released without charge. Only time will tell whether there is any substantial evidence to charge, try and convict the remaining 23.
Yet this has not stopped the press plastering pictures of the suspects and their homes across the front pages. This has not prevented the Bank of England from publishing the names of 19 of the men, thereby destroying their reputations forever. From now on, these names and faces will forever be inextricably associated with terrorism irrespective of whether they are found to be guilty. Their families will continue to face verbal and physical abuse for the crime of being related to a “terror suspect”. They will be ostracized from not only the wider British society but also from many in the Muslim community who will shun them for fear that the next raids will be in their own homes.
In the meantime, it is worth recalling that since 9-11, almost 1000 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act, of whom only about 150 have been charged. Of these, just under 30 people have been found guilty of minor charges related to terrorism, things as insignificant as wearing a symbol of a proscribed organization. Even more noteworthy is the fact that only one person accused in any of the major bomb plot allegations over the last five years has been found guilty of terrorism in a British court of law. That person was Sajid Badat who withdrew from the plot because of his belief that such acts were prohibited in Islam. For all the hype and hysteria of other major plots to attack Britain such as that to blow up Old Trafford in 2004 or the Brazilian Bomber in 2005 or more recently, the “chemical vest” of Forest Gate , there has never been any evidence of wrongdoing. Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray summed it up when he stated, “There are two things you need to know about the ‘ricin plot’. One, there was no ricin. Two, there was no plot.” Yet, this lie was fed to the British public and the world for two years and used as a justification to go to war in Iraq, while 8 innocent men languished behind bars for possessing a substance which did not exist. In total, 109 men were arrested during the investigation. Not one was convicted of terrorism. ‘British intelligence’ has become an oxymoron which has destroyed the lives, reputations and livelihoods of hundreds of innocent people. The sad reality is that the only explosives which it has been proven are being transported through British airports are the American bombs being sent to Israel to be used to terrorise innocent men, women and children in Lebanon.
But these statistics are irrelevant. Any Muslim arrested under suspicion of involvement in terrorism is automatically convicted by the mass media, all too eager to act as judge, jury and executioner. But the judgment doesn’t end with those arrested. Each and every one of the 1.6 million Muslims in Britain is convicted of conspiracy with the terrorists. Questions are repeatedly fired at community leaders as to whether they are doing enough to root out the terrorists in their community. The implication is that Muslims in general are aware of individuals within the community plotting to blow up civilians and that they are deliberately refusing to report such individuals to the authorities. Terrorism by its very nature is something organized in secret, privately, away from the public. Nobody should know about the plot except the individuals involved. So if there are indeed individuals within the Muslim community plotting acts of terror, like the terrorists in other communities, only those involved will be aware of it. It is a racist and Islamophobic assumption that Muslims, unlike ordinary law-abiding citizens, would hesitate to report such criminals to the authorities. It is a vicious attempt to dehumanize and criminalize the entire Muslim community as a fifth element within British society.
Yes, there may be individuals within the Muslim community who may consider violence against civilians as legitimate to further the causes of the oppressed Palestinians, Iraqis or Chechens. The vast majority of Muslims support these causes although not this type of methodology. But such elements exist within all communities. Many Catholics are opposed to abortion; a minority of them believes that the bombing of abortion clinics is thereby justified. Many from the Jewish community in Britain believe Israel is justified in invading Lebanon; a minority within it believe this legitimizes their traveling to the Middle East to join the Israeli army and to drop bombs on women and children in Lebanon. A large section of British society is critical of immigration and the presence of ‘foreigners’ in Britain; a minority of these will join the BNP and engage in acts of violence against innocent people. Blowing up abortion clinics, bombing civilians from a warplane or brutally attacking people because of the colour of their skin are all undoubtedly acts of terror. Yet, the question never arises as to what the Catholic, Jewish and White Anglo-Saxon communities are doing to counter the ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’ within their own communities. The reason is simple – the majority of these communities are not responsible for the actions of a few and it would be racist to suggest that they are or that they would fail to report such individuals to the authorities.
However, to simply assume that there are some Muslims in Britain plotting to carry out acts of terrorism does not correspond with the statistics to date. To accuse the entire Muslim community of silent complicity echoes the Nazi demonisation of the entire Jewish community in the 1930s as an ‘enemy within’ colluding against the entire society and of no benefit to it whatsoever. For it, there was no presumption of innocence. For Muslims today, the presumption of innocence is equally meaningless, a Utopian ideal codified in law, ignored in practice. For the 24 Muslims arrested this week, British values will have completely lost their meaning.
posted by Abu Abdullah @ 10:50 p.m.
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