Bombing: Muslim MPs demand shift in UK stand


By Qamar Ahmed

LONDON, Nov 4: Five Muslim Labour members of parliament after their initial backing of Prime Minister Tony Blair has now revolted against his 'bombing Afghanistan' policy.

Claims of the Muslim MPs' exaggerated support for military action by the government has also angered the Muslim community in Britain.

MPs Mohammad Sarwar and Khalid Mahmood, and peers Lord Ahmed, Lord Patel and Baroness Uddin in the House of Lords on Wednesday asked the prime minister for a complete halt to the attacks on Afghanistan.

The five wrote to Mr Blair in no uncertain terms that they strongly believed that the bombing should be stopped or there would be serious backlash amongst the British Muslims.

Baroness Uddin said on Saturday: "We have to reassess what will be achieved by continuous bombing. It would be better to deal with this conflict in another way. "Raids in Ramazan could cause unhappiness not just in this country but in Muslim countries across the world. "Some people in Britain saw the crisis as a good excuse to bash Muslims here, because they have always wanted to," she claimed.

The contents of the letter written by the MPs were leaked to Mail-on-Sunday newspaper.

The five offered to act as envoys to Muslim countries and to take humanitarian aid for the Afghans but they were told that they cannot have government money.

Opposition in the Commons by the five MPs has come as a severe blow for Mr Blair at a time when he is struggling to muster support at home and abroad.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: "As a British Muslim I supported the prime minister's commitment to stand with George W. Bush to overcome the threat to the world posed by Osama bin Laden. And I supported military action because I believed it was an inevitable consequence of the unforgivable actions of Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime.

"...I say now to Tony Blair it is time to review the policy on Afghanistan. Before the bombing started we were told the campaign would be measured, targeted, proportionate and limited. But relief agencies such as Red Cross, the United Nations and the Red Crescent have also been hit.

"We were told this would be not only a military campaign, but a humanitarian and political one too. But we have seen woefully inadequate humanitarian efforts. If the aim is to catch Osama and Al Qaeda terrorists, why has there been such a loss of civilian life. I fully accept that this is not war against Islam, but perceptions are changing."

Lord Ahmed also said: "It is foolish to think that the Northern Alliance which carried out genocide against other minority ethnic groups, can provide some kind of quick fix to Afghanistan's problems."