20.07.2005

Unreliable allies

Ater meeting with leaders of muslim 'community organisations' and the main political parties on July 19, Tony Blair remarked on the "degree of unity" found at all levels when condemning the London bombings. The leaders met in Downing Street to discuss the 'task force' which will aim to tackle the problem of islamic extremism leading to terrorism. They will seek to dissuade young muslims from straying from the straight and narrow through 'education' at their local mosque. A unique consensus has settled over parliament and the British establishment since the attacks. All agree that the time has come to confront and defeat "this evil ideology" of islamist terrorism. Muslim leaders concurred with Michael Howard that it was their responsibility to reach out to youngsters and help achieve full cooperation with the police. What is still creating tension, however, is the cause of the bombings and the reasons behind four men from Leeds becoming the country's first British suicide bombers. Tuesday's newspapers were dominated by a poll showing that two thirds of Britons believe the attacks to be linked to Britain's role in the Iraq war. Furthermore, a leaked document from the Joint Terrorist Analysis Centre claims that continued occupation of Iraq would stimulate "terrorist-related activity in the United Kingdom". This has been repeatedly denied by Blair, who prefers to notch up more repressive legislation and rush through another round of terrorism laws. Meanwhile, the rightwing media is doing its best to whip up an anti-muslim backlash by demonising leading figures from the islamic world and establishing usually extremely dubious connections between what they preach and terrorist acts. Calls for the 'soft' metropolitan police chief, Sir Ian Blair, to stop being so politically correct ring throughout the tabloids. Blair insists that there is no link whatsoever between British military action in Iraq and the bombs in London. Therefore 7/7 must have been fuelled by something else - just irrational hatred, presumably. He cannot bring himself either to admit the deep sense of alienation felt by many young muslims with the system Blair presides over. Unsurprisingly attacks against mosques or those deemed to be muslims have increased sharply since the London bombings. The Socialist Workers Party believes that in order to offer solidarity it is "vital that we contact mosques and local muslim community groups" (Party notes July 18). Liaising with the top dogs is a tactic well practised by the SWP in both the Stop the War Coalition and Respect. However, by concentrating their efforts on the muslim establishment, they end up strengthening its hand. The July 19 meeting shows how the very leaders that the SWP wish to engage with are unreliable allies, to say the least. True, the Muslim Association of Britain was not invited, but there is no reason to assume MAB would have steered clear of Blair's pro-establishment consensus-building. It is natural for petty bourgeois leaders to seek alliances at the top. For example, Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general for the Muslim Council of Great Britain, said that any initiatives by the new 'task force' should be based on a partnership between government, the police and faith organisations. The Communist Party of Great Britain has unequivocally condemned the attacks on London and following this we should be actively involved in mobilising against the 'revenge attacks' aimed at muslims. But our aim must be to break muslim workers from the mosque establishment in order to win them to the ideas of socialism and the working class l Emily Bransom