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The Civitas, an important think-tank in
Britain, has in a study report titled "The West, Islam and
Islamism" asked Islamic religious leaders living in the country to
accept the values of liberal democracy like Hindus, Sikhs and Jews have
done. It has demanded that the
fanatical Islamists who preach hatred of western values should be
prevented from coming to work in Britain. It has also called for an
immediate reform of immigration process " to prevent a further influx of
Islamist ideologues".
Immigrants must accept liberal values including
equality of opportunity women and freedom of speech, says the report. They
must acknowledge they are better protected and freer than they would be in
almost any Islamist country.
The warning against Islamist fanatics by Civitas has
come in the backdrop of the banning of the radical cleric Abu Hamza from
preaching at Finsbury Park mosque in north London. Evidence has now
surfaced indicating that he has had close links with the al-Qaeda.
Many MPs have also been, albeit discreetly, asking
the Government to vet carefully applications by clerics from countries
like Pakistan for coming to Britain for becoming Imams and preachers at
mosques here. There are reportedly around 1200 mosques in the UK.
The study suggests that fundamentalist Islam is
incompatible with western values and should be disavowed by British
Muslim. The report while drawing distinction between moderate Muslim and
Islamists says, "The distinction depends in practice on moderate Muslims
being more forthright in distinguishing themselves from their ideological
co-religionists."
It also says that it seems to be extremely difficult
for most moderate Muslims "to take up any public position against those of
ideological Islamists and to retain credibility within their own
community."
Authors of the report Lady Cox, a prominent human
rights campaigner and John Marks, Director of the Education Research Trust
said that the concept of Islamophobia developed in a 1997 report from the
Runnymede Trust is used to close down criticism of the religion. |
