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So this is what they mean by moderate voices By RICHARD LITTLEJOHN Last updated at 22:19pm on 11th September 2006 With exemplary tact and exquisite timing, the 'leader' of Britain's Muslims chose the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 to warn that we are facing the threat of two million home-grown Islamic terrorists. The preposterous, self-aggrandising 'secretary-general' of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Muhammad Abdul Bari, predicted an angry backlash against what he perceives as widespread 'Islamophobia' in this country. To be honest, I did wonder whether it was worth even dignifying this garbage with a reaction, especially when it comes from a man who appears to wear a ginger wig with a grey beard. But someone's got to do it. Bari and his sidekicks are regularly wheeled out as the authentic voice of 'moderate' Islam. Their victimhood shtick is treated as gospel by broadcasters and they are taken seriously by government ministers and senior police officers. They never miss an opportunity to advance their own agenda. It always the same old song. They utterly condemn terrorism, you understand, but unless we give them exactly what they want, they can't be held responsible for the actions of the more excitable members of their community. Criticise them and you are damned as an 'Islamophobe'. When I described the MCB as a 'self-appointed bunch of chancers' a few weeks ago, Bari's ridiculous Mr Bean-lookalike press officer Inayat Bunglawala wrote accusing me of being a bigot. Yet nothing in that column could remotely be construed as an attack on the Muslim religion, any more than taking the mickey out of trendy vicars is an assault on Christianity. Far from being a bigot, I judge the MCB on exactly the same terms as any other bunch of spivs and opportunists. They are the ones hiding behind religion for political ends. I certainly don't need any lessons in bigotry from someone like Bari, who invites as an honoured guest to his East London mosque a 'radical' cleric who describes Jews as 'monkeys and pigs'. Perhaps while the Muslim Council is accusing others of bigotry it would like to share with us its enlightened views on homosexuality and arranged marriages. 'Islamophobia' is just another of those catch-all, smear-the-messenger fantasies dreamed up to close down debate and stifle free speech. When you examine closely Bari's latest outburst, it is nothing short of monstrous. What he is saying is that every Muslim in this country is a potential terrorist. If anything is guaranteed to increase suspicion of Muslims it is incendiary statements like that. The anniversary of the attacks on America should be an occasion for sober reflection and remembrance. But the MCB has never met an atrocity it didn't try to exploit. Their tactic is always the same. After their perfunctory condemnation of terrorism, there's always the caveat about British foreign policy in the Middle East and the assertion that the real victims are not those who have actually been blown to smithereens but Muslims themselves. While they could never condone what has happened, we are invited to understand the anger and alienation which cause young men to turn themselves into human bombs. The fact is that this jihad started long before 9/11, years before Iraq and Afghanistan. The first attack on the World Trade Centre was in 1993. And I still fail to understand how the mass murder of thousands of people, among them many Muslims, could inspire anyone to become 'radicalised'. You'd expect it to have precisely the opposite effect. Young British Muslims are being poisoned by fanatical elements within their own faith - by the kind of maniac Muhammad Abdul Bari thinks is a suitable person to preach at his mosque. There is undoubtedly alienation and anger out there. And not just among young Muslims. Poverty, discrimination and unemployment is not the exclusive preserve of any one religion or racial background. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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