Gov’t Letter on Extremism Angers UK Muslims
"When has a minister ever written to other religious groups like this?" Ibrahim Mogra, the assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, told The Telegraph.
He added that the letter will offend some imams as "hypocritical", with Muslims being "picked on" at a time of rising far-Right extremism.
The uproar started when Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, wrote to 1,100 imams and Islamic leaders urging them to publicly condemn extremists behind the Paris massacres.
In the letter Pickles, the communities minister, said imams must declare “more clearly than ever before” that Muslims should be proud to be British.
Young Muslims must be told that there are “other ways to express disagreement” and that jihadism has “nothing to offer them”.
The MCB leader warned that that divisive letter has singled out Muslims to associate with radicals.
He added that imams had been working for years to "better educate" young people angered at Western foreign policy, warning that the demand could fuel anti-Muslim sentiments in British society.
He warned that young Muslims are becoming angry at imams who feel obliged to condemn terrorist attacks that they have no culpability for.
The main source of radicalization is the internet, not mosques, he said. "This is not a problem we can lay at the doorsteps of imams and mosques for them to solve."
Pickles’ letter comes at a time when tension between communities in Britain is running high.
