 LONDON - Signs of a deeping split between seething British Muslims and the rest of the community over policing and the authoritiesÂ’ reaction to information about terrorist threats emerged in a poll published on Tuesday.
British Muslims have lost confidence in the countryÂ’s most senior police officer and reject the authoritiesÂ’ right to pre-empt potential terrorist attacks, even if intelligence on the threats turns out to be wrong, according to the survey.
| They especially reject it when the intel is right. |
The ICM survey for The Guardian newspaper found that 54 percent of Muslims thought the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair should resign after a high-profile, but fruitless, anti-terrorism raid last month.
| Their opinion and two pounds will get you a decent beer in a pub. |
The poll, carried out two weeks after the raids, shows a widening gulf between BritainÂ’s Muslim community -- seen in a separate survey last week as the most anti-Western in Europe -- and non-Muslims.
Some 57 percent of Muslims believed police were wrong to pre-empt possible terrorist attacks even if the intelligence, information and warnings may turn out to be wrong. In contrast, 74 percent of the wider public said police were right to act, the survey showed. Only 31 percent of Muslims agreed.
| The other 69 percent need to pack their bags. |
Muhammad Abdul Bari, the general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, told the Guardian the lack of confidence was understandable. “The police must, of course, have the right to act upon credible intelligence and try to pre-empt potential terrorist attacks against our country,” he was quoted as saying.
“They have a duty to maintain public safety of all of us -- Muslims and non-Muslims.”
But he pointed to the hundreds of Muslims arrested in Britain since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, “the vast majority of whom were then released without charge”. He added: “Serious questions are being asked about how they (the police) have reviewed and assessed the intelligence, not just in the case of the Forest Gate, but many other similar raids since 9/11.”
| Just like intel officers everywhere. You're not right 100% of the time, but the Brits aren't wrong 100% of the time, either. |
The American Pew Foundation last week highlighted “the great divide” between Westerners and Muslims after riots over cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed, the London bombings and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. The survey, involving some 14,000 respondents in in 15 countries, suggested 61 percent of British Muslims viewed relations between Muslims and Westerners as “generally bad”.
The 1.6-million-strong British Muslim community, most of whom originate from south Asia, also appear to be the most anti-Jewish, with only 32 percent having a favourable opinion of Jews compared with 71 percent of French Muslims.
| That's hard to believe. Not the 32%, the 71%. |
British Muslims are also by far the most fond of the conspiracy theories surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, with only 17 percent believing Arabs were involved.
| Send the other 83% back to their home countries and let the seethe in solitude. |
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