Today I was off work. I went to Kingston, and the first place I headed was the Algerian cafe up near the mosque. On the way, I saw the Evening Standard's headline boards saying that a "cleric" had blamed the British for the bombings. Which "cleric"? Perhaps an imam from Central Mosque, or any mosque in London, or Leeds, or perhaps Damascus or Cairo? Perhaps someone from a religion that has clerics ... perhaps Cormac Murphy O'Connor?
No, it's the media's favourite "Muslim cleric", Omar Bakri Muhammad and his sidekick Anjum Choudhary. Apparently the British are to blame for the bombings because we voted Labour, the party which took us into war. Never mind the fact that the Tories, had they been in power, would most likely have done precisely the same thing.
This was front page news, and my guess is that the Standard sought this story out. Perhaps because there was no news, at least before the report about the leaked memo which shows that MI5 missed these guys who bombed London. But I can't understand why the papers care for his opinions, given that he represents such a small minority of the Muslims in London. No doubt because it allows them to make headlines at the expense of our community.
I had really planned a much ruder headline, because I was really quite annoyed at seeing that this man's opinions had made the front page of London's only evening newspaper. Literally every commuter (well, unless they cannot read the boards) knows about this. Ahmed Weir, in his sadly missed blog Levantine Historian, noted that while Muslim voices were sadly missing from the media, those voices which do get heard are those we wish would stay quiet. Rod Liddle, former editor of Radio 4's Today programme, used to invite OBM quite a lot, and I heard him interviewed by Jon Gaunt a few months ago as well.
From my observations it seems Muslims are both annoyed and suspicious about his and his boys' antics. They do not seem to care how their actions reflect on the community - the notorious US embassy rally in May for example, which was reported as a rally in which former Guantanamo internees spoke and people chanted anti-American and pro-Qa'ida slogans. My enquiries at a subsequent rally held by the same group revealed that the sloganeers were al-Muhajiroun or their remnants, and nothing to do with the rally.
Much of this annoyance and suspicion has been voiced at the MPAC UK website and forum. He is accused of making fitna (trouble), of "do[ing] the Muslim community a great deal of damage", called a "media junkie" and a "maniac muppet" and suspected of being a "Wahabi stooge" and an agent. An article on their site today "wonders why the big mouth of Britain went silent so quickly" - clearly this was written before the Evening Standard piece hit the stands today.
The opinions actually expressed are only a little bit more extreme than those in the recent Chatham House report: that the Iraq war increased the chances of the UK getting hit by a terrorist attack. The story, for some reason, is not repeated on This Is London, the Standard's website, but the "blame" comes from voting for politicians who make war on Muslims. Still, Bakri disapproves of the attacks, which given how little influence he has, makes him only one of many people without much sympathy over the recent atrocity. So why do his views make the front page of the Evening Standard?
Does Omar Bakri care about the effect he has on our community? If so, he should wake up and realise the damage he is doing. The papers who interview him are only interested in selling papers, and some have ill-intent towards our community. Omar, if you are not an agent, do us all a favour, and shut up.
Well, here in America we have serious Islamohaters who speak on behalf of Muslims because the Orientals are too stupid and dishonest be be frank and truthful. We Muslims have a religious obligation to taqiyah. Lol! But if it isnt the likes of Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, its CAIR (The Counsel on American Islamic Relations). I really hate those guys.
Anytime something happens they issue thier standard statement of condemnation. Blame U.S. foriegn policy, and go on and on about how Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Because after all we must keep of this magaizine subscription which is Islam.
It is true, however that England and Europe does get the worst of the bunch. Bakri was even in the Los Angeles Times after the London bombing in which they mentioned how he was violent but not violence, living on government handouts, and not really, but in fact the Pope of Islam.
i hate it how any crackpot shoots off at the mouth and the press jump on it as Muslim gospel
the same way every adult muslim male is a senior al qaeda operative in a sleeper cell, just waiting to act. oh well
salam
Post-London bombing interview with Omar Bakri:
http://www.sarcastica.org/2005/07/17/omar-bakri-the-media-and-me/
Salaam 'Alaikum
CAIR. The organization everyone loves to hate and the organization every Muslim is secretly glad exists.
I can see how having Omar Bakri (not to mention that guy with the hook, name escapes me) held up by the press as spokesmen for Islam must be pretty galling for many Muslims. So who would you suggest journalists should turn to as a representative voice for Islam in the UK (and in the US, for that matter)?
Part of the problem is that journalists get certain names in the address books of people whom they know will be "good value", useful for getting a good quote when there's a deadline pressing. Often those individuals will be deeply unrepresentative of the communities or interests that they claim to represent.
The key is therefore to get the right names into those journalists' address books so that the right people get contacted and quoted. So who do you suggest?
I know there are people like the Muslim Council of Britain and so on, but I think the media tends to like having "religious" leaders ("clerics") to turn to when it comes to stories on religious issues. A lay spokesman tends to be seen as "political" rather than "religious". I'm not convinced that any non-extremist imams have any significant recognition in the broader non-Islamic community here in the UK.
please could you tell me how and on what issues PRECISELY people here differ with Omar Bakri Muhammad?
many here seem to support suicide bombing as long as it is against Israelis, is not that Omar Bakri Muhammad's position?
what exactly are the differences?
In answer to your question David, in the UK I would say Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad (Aka Dr. TIm Winter) and in the US there is Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson. There are many others.
I don't think many would disagree with me here.
Time,
Who hear supports suicide bombing? It is the same no matter what country or region or enemy it is done against. Suicide doesnt not because suicide depending on the victims. At least that is what the truth tellers think.
Thats like saying oh yes, alcohol is forbidden in Europe but if you are drinking it in Lebanon for Iftar its ok. Very strange.
Umm Zaid,
Not me! I would rather they didnt exist. They always trool about Ibrahim Hooper (the white suite wearing Muslims) since he is easy on the eye, and the sister never covers when she is on T.V. They are such hizbis too. Its crazy.
Bakri popped up on the Today programme a couple of days ago... You should still be able to hear him roar if you get the chance. He is a class nincompoop.
Nobody takes Bakri serious except for western media whom he is happy to say whatever they want.
I believe Bakri will come to his senses in the near future.
He is a contrast of himself to what he was many years ago. I heard he started of with the Naqshabandis, moved on to HT, and so on....until finally now a "traitor" of the UK State.
Who taught you your ISLAM, MPAC?
Do you take your information form the Kufar without checking it? What does allah say about this?
So you dont support Alqaida? You support the UK government? Your more worried about what the Kufar thinks about the 3 million "Muslims" in the UK that are just trying to build their extensions and save up for their holidays to sharm al sheikh?
Are you a student of Habib Ali Jiffrey?
Maybe after all these years being a revert you have decided that its better to "live and let live". Where is the fire in your belly brother?
Didnt you know that it is fard for us to suport the actions of those mujahideen that are protecting the Lands where Islam first touched down?
Do you not realise that you are ling in the land of those who wish to extinguish the light of Allah?
When cartoons are published of the prophet what is the hukm for that?
Peaceful protest? Is this the deen of Ghandi?
Do you think that a student with a cause makes a Muslim?
Go and find the answers to these questions and come back to me.
And stop wasting your time scribbling a blog, and do something praiseworthy with your time.
"Do not fear the blame of the blamers"