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British minister: Muslims feel like Jews of Europe

UK's first Muslim minister attacks growing culture of hostility against Muslims in kingdom. 'I don't mean to equate that with the Holocaust,' he stresses, 'but in the way that it was legitimate almost – and still is in some parts – to target Jews, many Muslims would say that we feel the exact same way'

Britain's first Muslim minister has said that many Muslims in the United Kingdom feel targeted like "the Jews of Europe," The Independent reported Friday.

 

Shahid Malik was appointed as a minister in the Department for International Development (Dfid) by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last summer.

 

In an interview scheduled to be broadcast on Monday in a Channel 4 Dispatches program marking the third anniversary of the London bombings of 7 July, Malik attacked the growing culture of hostility against Muslims in the UK.

 

He said it has become legitimate to target Muslims in the media and society at large in a way that would be unacceptable for any other minority.

 

"I think most people would agree that if you ask Muslims today what do they feel like, they feel like the Jews of Europe," Malik said.

 

"I don't mean to equate that with the Holocaust but in the way that it was legitimate almost – and still is in some parts – to target Jews, many Muslims would say that we feel the exact same way. Somehow there's a message out there that it's okay to target people as long as it's Muslims," he noted.

 

Malik said he himself had been the target of a string of racist incidents, including the firebombing of his family car. In 2002, he narrowly escaped serious injury when a car was driven at him at a petrol station in his home town of Burnley. Malik said he regularly receives anti-Muslim hate mail at his constituency office.

 

"It's almost as if you don't have to check your facts when it comes to certain people, and you can just run with those stories. It makes Muslims feel like aliens in their own country. At a time when we want to engage with Muslims, actually the opposite happens," he added, addressing the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media, including false stories run by several national newspapers.

 

According to The Independent, a poll conducted in Britain to accompany the documentary highlights the growing polarization of opinion among Britain's 1.6 million Muslims, who say they have suffered a marked increase in hostility since the London bombings.

 

The ICM survey found that 51% of Britons blame Islam to some degree for the 2005 attacks while more than a quarter of Muslims now believe Islamic values are not compatible with British values.

 

While 90% of Muslims said they felt attached to Britain, eight out of 10 said they felt there was more religious prejudice against their faith since the July bombings.

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.04.08, 07:57
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