Back to you, Mr Blair
23 July 2005 - Osama Saeed
Published in the Guardian, Saturday 23 July 2005
Faced with the events of the past two weeks, it would be the easiest thing in the world for me to say the Muslim community must do more to combat terrorism. Many community figures have done just that.
Shahid Malik MP told the Commons: "The challenge is straightforward - that those voices that we have tolerated will no longer be tolerated." This raises the question: did we really hear people planning violence in this country but do nothing about it?
...By putting the onus on Muslims to defeat terror, the prime minister absolves himself of responsibility. Muslims are not in denial of our duties, but who are we meant to be combating? The security services had no idea about all that has gone on in London, so how are we as ordinary citizens to do better?
Osama Saeed lives in Glasgow and is a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain. He has spoken at a number of SACC events
