QUOTE(barmyrob @ May 6 2008, 02:39 PM) 
QUOTE(Lee_Harvey_Oswald @ May 6 2008, 02:01 PM)
Dr al-Qaradawi is described by the Muslim Council of Britain, the moderate umbrella group representing the majority of Muslims in Britain, as "the most authoritative Islamic scholar in the world". Western academic experts on Islam agree with this.
Hilarious!
The MCB, whose previous leader was Iqbal 'Death's too good for Rushdie' Sacranie.
I think even the government is distancing itself from the MCB these days.
The government or rather the tories and new labour should also say sorry as they help create the muppets council of Britain. And where do people get off by say that they are representing the majority of Muslims in Britain and other community leader bollox. That pisses me right off.
QUOTE
Community ‘leaders’
JUST AS THE criteria of the imperialist powers internationally for their cooperation with Islamic forces has nothing to do with the latter’s ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ outlook, but only their usefulness in furthering the interests of imperialism, the same is true of Blair’s attitude to Islamic figures in Britain.
When it was elected in 1997, the New Labour government moved to complete the setting up of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a process which the previous Tory government had begun. The ruling class was, and is, worried about the potential instability that could be created by the alienation of many Muslims from British society, and this was a conscious attempt to develop ‘spokespeople’ for the Muslim community who, it was hoped, would act to cut across alienation and build support for the government amongst Muslims. Other measures were also taken, including four Muslims being given seats in the House of Lords.
After 2001, with the riots that took place in the North West of England and 9/11, increasing the social stability of the Muslim community via the MCB and other figures became even more important for the government, and for the ruling class as a whole. The MCB has loyally played its part by, for example, virtually calling for a Labour vote in the most recent general election. At a time when Muslims were breaking with Labour en-masse, Inayat Bunglawala, MCB spokesman, explained that Muslims were angry over the Iraq war but went on to say: "If we take a policy-by-policy look, it appears the Labour party are offering more". Others, such as Lord Ahmed, have been anxious to praise the British establishment’s attitude to Muslims, declaring that it is "more welcoming to Islam than any other country in Europe".
It is this willingness to praise New Labour and the British ruling class that has led to the elevation of these individuals, rather than them representing either ‘moderate’ strands of Islam, or having a real base in Muslim communities. The MCB certainly does not represent the ‘moderate’ strands of Islam that Blair claims he wishes to promote. On the contrary, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the MCB, and recently knighted by New Labour, has links to Jamaat-i-Islami, a Pakistani party based on a highly reactionary type of political Islam. In April 2001 he stated that Osama bin Laden was a ‘holy warrior’. However, because he is prepared to act as a spokesperson for New Labour within Britain’s Muslim communities, it is quite prepared to turn a blind eye to his ideas. Whilst the government’s proposed laws on ‘glorifying terrorism’ would certainly leave Sacranie open to prosecution, it is most unlikely he will be charged!
Nor are the government’s chosen spokespeople particularly representative of Britain’s Muslims. As Muslim Labour peeress Lady Uddin admitted, loyalty to her party and credibility among ordinary Muslims are becoming ever harder to combine. In contrast to Lady Uddin, the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) has felt the need to keep its distance from the government and to protest at its attempts to blame Muslims for 7/7. Osama Saeed, a spokesperson for MAB, explained in The Guardian: "I’ve found it strange that many Muslim leaders have offered to look deep within our community now. It’s a tacit acceptance of negligence that I simply do not accept. The prime minister has of course welcomed this attitude. Indeed he has led from the front, ratcheting up the rhetoric against Muslims, laying the responsibility solely on us".
MAB played a significant role in the anti-war movement and has taken a different electoral approach to the MCB’s implied support for Labour in recent elections. MAB called, for example, for a vote for George Galloway of Respect in Bethnal Green and Bow, East London, as well as for some other Respect candidates in the general election. However, it did not support Respect in every seat where they stood – and it also supported a number of Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, and New Labour candidates. Its criteria were based on the attitude that those candidates took on Iraq, Palestine, religious hatred legislation, and attacks on civil liberties. What was not taken into account was the attitude of the candidates on any other issues. To give one example, Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate MAB supported in Tooting, South London, had been responsible for the privatisation of council housing on Wandsworth council. And particularly where the candidate was a Muslim, their record was not always flawless even on the basis of MAB’s limited criteria. Mohammed Sarwar, Labour candidate for Glasgow Govan, for example, while he voted against the invasion of Iraq before the war started, has since voted with the government on almost all votes relating to Iraq.
JUST AS THE criteria of the imperialist powers internationally for their cooperation with Islamic forces has nothing to do with the latter’s ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ outlook, but only their usefulness in furthering the interests of imperialism, the same is true of Blair’s attitude to Islamic figures in Britain.
When it was elected in 1997, the New Labour government moved to complete the setting up of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a process which the previous Tory government had begun. The ruling class was, and is, worried about the potential instability that could be created by the alienation of many Muslims from British society, and this was a conscious attempt to develop ‘spokespeople’ for the Muslim community who, it was hoped, would act to cut across alienation and build support for the government amongst Muslims. Other measures were also taken, including four Muslims being given seats in the House of Lords.
After 2001, with the riots that took place in the North West of England and 9/11, increasing the social stability of the Muslim community via the MCB and other figures became even more important for the government, and for the ruling class as a whole. The MCB has loyally played its part by, for example, virtually calling for a Labour vote in the most recent general election. At a time when Muslims were breaking with Labour en-masse, Inayat Bunglawala, MCB spokesman, explained that Muslims were angry over the Iraq war but went on to say: "If we take a policy-by-policy look, it appears the Labour party are offering more". Others, such as Lord Ahmed, have been anxious to praise the British establishment’s attitude to Muslims, declaring that it is "more welcoming to Islam than any other country in Europe".
It is this willingness to praise New Labour and the British ruling class that has led to the elevation of these individuals, rather than them representing either ‘moderate’ strands of Islam, or having a real base in Muslim communities. The MCB certainly does not represent the ‘moderate’ strands of Islam that Blair claims he wishes to promote. On the contrary, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the MCB, and recently knighted by New Labour, has links to Jamaat-i-Islami, a Pakistani party based on a highly reactionary type of political Islam. In April 2001 he stated that Osama bin Laden was a ‘holy warrior’. However, because he is prepared to act as a spokesperson for New Labour within Britain’s Muslim communities, it is quite prepared to turn a blind eye to his ideas. Whilst the government’s proposed laws on ‘glorifying terrorism’ would certainly leave Sacranie open to prosecution, it is most unlikely he will be charged!
Nor are the government’s chosen spokespeople particularly representative of Britain’s Muslims. As Muslim Labour peeress Lady Uddin admitted, loyalty to her party and credibility among ordinary Muslims are becoming ever harder to combine. In contrast to Lady Uddin, the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) has felt the need to keep its distance from the government and to protest at its attempts to blame Muslims for 7/7. Osama Saeed, a spokesperson for MAB, explained in The Guardian: "I’ve found it strange that many Muslim leaders have offered to look deep within our community now. It’s a tacit acceptance of negligence that I simply do not accept. The prime minister has of course welcomed this attitude. Indeed he has led from the front, ratcheting up the rhetoric against Muslims, laying the responsibility solely on us".
MAB played a significant role in the anti-war movement and has taken a different electoral approach to the MCB’s implied support for Labour in recent elections. MAB called, for example, for a vote for George Galloway of Respect in Bethnal Green and Bow, East London, as well as for some other Respect candidates in the general election. However, it did not support Respect in every seat where they stood – and it also supported a number of Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, and New Labour candidates. Its criteria were based on the attitude that those candidates took on Iraq, Palestine, religious hatred legislation, and attacks on civil liberties. What was not taken into account was the attitude of the candidates on any other issues. To give one example, Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate MAB supported in Tooting, South London, had been responsible for the privatisation of council housing on Wandsworth council. And particularly where the candidate was a Muslim, their record was not always flawless even on the basis of MAB’s limited criteria. Mohammed Sarwar, Labour candidate for Glasgow Govan, for example, while he voted against the invasion of Iraq before the war started, has since voted with the government on almost all votes relating to Iraq.
the big quote is form this link http://www.socialismtoday.org/95/muslims.html
- and compare it to what geoff has said recently).
)
