London - An influential Muslim leader in Britain Thursday accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of playing an 'unhelpful blame game' by suggesting that moderate Muslims were doing too little to combat terrorism in their communities. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a large and overwhelmingly moderate umbrella organization, said Blair's remarks could hamper the good work being done since the London bombings a year ago...
Blair risked 'obscuring the real reasons' for last year's London attacks, adding that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had an impact on the younger generations of Muslims in particular. 'Blaming a community, especially those who have been working for the last five years to bring sanity in the community, bring peace and harmony in the community, is not helpful to us,' Bari told the BBC.
He condemned the violence of last July but called for a public inquiry to reveal the factors behind it. That would allow Britain to move on from an 'unhealthy debate' focusing only on extremists, added Bari.