Stand As One to Defend the Rights of All!

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Police Arrests of Muslims in Birmingham:
Stand As One to Defend the Rights of All!

Birmingham arrests
Report of the Muslim Council of Britain

Released without charge - Again!

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The arrest of nine Muslim men in Birmingham and the high profile and sensational manner of the arrests are to be condemned. WDIE calls on the working class and people to stand as one with the communities in Birmingham who have expressed anger, outrage and disbelief at the police arrests and tactics.

Abu Bakr, one of the two men released without charge on February 8 after a week in custody told the BBC that Britain is "a police state for Muslims" and that the "terror laws are designed specifically for Muslims". He went on, "That's quite an open fact because the people who have been arrested under terrorism laws, the groups that have been banned under the terrorism laws, the people that have been affected by terrorism legislation, have been Muslims. So we are feeling the brunt of it all. We are the ones that are being locked up, detained, and then told to go back to our lives."

It is the case that the state is singling out those of the Muslim faith and outlook for attack under the guise of waging war against "Islamic extremism". It is doing so in conjunction with the propaganda about the "threat" to "our" values and way of life, couched in such a way as to place Muslims beyond the pale, as intent on "separation" and in extremis going so far as to kill indiscriminately or wage a jihad against those that threaten their beliefs.

These attempts to ghettoise Muslims in the name of opposing "separation" must be rejected and are being rejected both by Muslims under attack and by the people as a whole. It has long been a tradition of the working class and people that an attack on one is an attack on all, and this is the sentiment that is being upheld in the case of the anger against these arrests. WDIE calls on everyone to oppose the criminalisation of Muslims and to unite in defence of the rights of all.

The issue that the "anti-terror" laws and racial profiling have been used against Muslims, particularly those of South Asian or Arab origin, and in a profoundly racist way, does not mean that it is an issue of concern only to Muslims. The issue of defence of "values" is being used precisely because the values in question are in severe crisis and are being broadly rejected by the people. It is not an issue of the "way of life" of the so-called "host" community needing to be defended. It is being posed in this way to create and incite sectarian divisions, in a feverish atmosphere of suspicion and prejudicial statements and reporting. The aim is to attempt to shatter the resistance and struggle to the aggression and attacks on rights and freedoms carried out in the name of the "war on terror", as well as to the attacks on social programmes. In this context, the government and its propaganda machine is branding resistance as "extremism" and calling the "moderate" forces to defend "civilised" values and defend the status quo.

In this respect, it is asking the people to put their trust in the intelligence and security measures of a strong government, one that not only knows best but also is privy to information that the populace cannot be told about. However, the people are rejecting this claim. They have the experience of Forest Gate, of all those arrested with great fanfare who have then been released without charge or have been tried and acquitted. They have the experience of the deliberately arbitrary measures, such as the ban on carrying liquids onto planes, that have been implemented, relaxed or intensified.

The government is expressing concern for the young Muslims who are being "radicalised". But it is a fact that broad sections of the people of Britain have been politicised by the warmongering and repressive actions and policies of the government, as well as the barbarism and degeneracy of Anglo-US imperialism as a whole. And one aspect of the recent arrests that is of note and which has angered people is that they have been of respected Muslim members of the community.

WDIE reiterates its condemnation of the content and manner of these arrests. There is no justice evident in them. A police state is a police state for all who live in it. The watchword of the people is that an injury to one is an injury to all, and we are confident that, as is happening, the people will unite and take a stand in defence of the rights of all!

Wednesday, 7 February, 2007

Dr Bari and colleagues from the MCB's Legal Affairs Committee met with family members, Muslim community leaders in a visit to Birmingham on February 6. Discussions were also held with senior police officers. The local community expressed its shock at the media reporting and the damage caused to community relations. There is widespread concern on the ground that misleading leaks to the press were prompted from within government circles.

Respect – The Unity Coalition, 07/02/2007

The government has much to answer for in justifying how exactly the rights and freedoms of the two Birmingham "terror plot" suspects, released without charge this morning, were safeguarded by the British justice system. Even after being released, they were given no explanation as to why they were held. All they were left with were allegations in the media of plotting to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier.

The stated priority of the Crown Prosecution Service, responsible for the investigation of the nine men held without trial or charge in Birmingham last week, is to balance the needs between the safety of the public against the rights of the men in custody. Neither is being served with current anti-terrorism measures.

It is widely recognised that the British public is not safer after Tony Blair introduced anti-terrorism legislation allowing a suspect to be kept in custody for up to 90 days without trial or charge. Rather, there is growing confusion and anger over restrictions on civil liberties.

Following the anti-terror raids in Forest Gate last summer, in which not a single suspect was ever charged or convicted, is it surprising that Muslims across Britain are concerned about being victimised by anti-terrorism legislation, and about community relations? Is it surprising that they are angry at being demonised by the media? If this government is serious about "winning hearts and minds," presumably to prevent extremism, then it must do more to counter the creation of false perceptions that Muslims are to blame.

The very fact that a £5m fund has been set up to help town halls "lead the fight against Muslim extremism" only serves to maintain perceptions among the public that Muslims in particular are the problem. But it is clear that this government is using the restrictions on civil liberties – and on Muslims in particular – to justify its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Only the end to these wars will effectively deal with the terrorist threat.

Neither Spectator, Nor Victim!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Trinity House Social Centre, 134 Laygate lane, Laygate, South Shields. (Nearest Metro Chichester)

6.30pm - 8.30pm

Contributors: Phil Talbot, Roger Nettleship, Nader Naderi, Alan Newham and others

 

Whoever we are, whether Muslim or Christian, whether student or worker, whatever walk of life or political allegiance we have a common cause in defence of our dignity and the rights of all. We ought not to submit to the role assigned to us by the Bushes and Blairs of this world. We ought not to submit to the role of being spectators or victims. Let us stand as one with the resistance throughout the globe, including the people of the United States who are defiantly resisting the wars and anti-humanitarian measures of the Bush administration. The task is to consolidate the anti-war movement to bring to power an anti-war pro-people government with arrangements that put human beings at the centre. This is the task of the hour.

Bring all the troops home from foreign soil!

End the attack on humanity!