Correspondance with a muslim in Great Britain - Part 2

Thanks for your response again. It seems that we both have fears and both are justified. I do agree with u about the extremists. Like I said to you before in my view and (in the view of other Muslims who I know) anyone and I mean anyone who dislikes Britian for being what it is should leave if they don't like it. This is common sense, racism has nothing to do with it.

Ur welcome to put my previous letter on your blog if u want.

Now regarding your question: "why, when an atrocity occurs, don't muslims stand up and speak out against the radicals? Why? "

Let me tell u my own personal experiences regarding this problem. I went to a conference that I was invited to. There were a number of MPs there who are on government working groups. I spoke to one prominent MP who i was introduced to, who is a friend of a friend. My friend told him that i had an idea which I wanted to put to him. I said to him that us Muslims need to be seen as separate to these exetremist idiots who get so much media coverage, because both from the angle of religion as well as the angle of decent citizens of this country. We should organise a march and get all the mosques in the country to sign upto a petition to say we distance ourselves to these radicalists and that we are loyal to Britain and we condemn all forms of terrorism. I also said, I would do it myself, but I'm a nobody so who's going to listen to me? You are a face people know, so we could get it done much quicker. U know what his response was? He first laughed at me and then said to me, "Don't waste your time with it. The something or other government department is already onto it. Forget about it". And i thought to myself, this guy doesnt give a toss about the average Joe Bloggs,

Then last year, I worked with a group of four guys all of who were aged between 19 to 22. They had gone out and booked the town hall out of their own pockets and also invited a White Muslim man to give a talk about the misconceptions in Islam. They wanted to show the white indigenious population that we aren't as bad as we are potrayed to be. The idea was that non-muslims would attend and could ask any difficult questions they wanted without feeling embarssed or fear of offending someone. I saw their poster so went along to offer any help I could, whether it was even moving chairs or something. The guys had never organised anything before so left quite a lot of it too late. I contacted a number of non-muslims I knew as well as the local paper. And u know the paper didn't even give us one line! My point being that I know of quite a few initiatives that have taken place by Muslims to tackle extremism within Britain. the problem is our stories never make the news because they are not sensational enough! It does anger me. There is a huge initiative in Leeds where people have been privately funded to go around in local Muslim areas and to try and engage young people and dispel this illusion that somehow Islam allows people to target innocent people. There isn't a single texts of the Quran that allows this. Yes people do play certain verses out of context, but unfortunatley those that they convince usually have little knowledge on Islam themselves. Islam does however allow people to fight oppression and defend themselves, but there isnt any oppression here. If anyone feels that then they do have the right to leave.

U are the second person I have spoken to who has asked me why Muslims don't protest against these people. It does happen on a small scale but never heard of. One example I'll give u, is a group in Luton (I think it's Luton) where there's a group called AL Muhajroon. There spokes person was beaten up by local Muslims because he kept on coming onto tv and saying suicide bombing was ok. I think their group is led by a chap called Anjam Choudhry now. This group is banned from the local mosque and has a small number of followers. Mainly teenagers who are looking to stand out from the crowd. However they have recieved so much media coverage that the avergae person would think they are a very big organisation.

I could go on all night, but this is still no excuse. Like i said ur the 2nd person who has said this to me, so I am looking to try and organise some sort of march or something against extremism.

With regards to Sharia Law, I just want to point out that sharia law only applies to Muslims so if someone is not a Muslim they cannot be tried by sharia law. I'm not saying it's that Britain should adopt it, just merely hoping to put at rest any fears you might have. I'm no Quranic scholar but I do know that much. May Allah prevent such a calamity ever befall your daughter, for that I will pray. I hope u won't take any offense if I say this?

It's quite sad really that our politicians don't do more to unite us. Yes we have a role too and there are good and bad in all communities. Will there ever come a day when we can all be united, I don't know, but I hope. Anyway, I hope I havent strained ur eyes with such a long message!! Take care for now. Peace and good health onto you and your family.

jatt440