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Muslim leaders condemn extremists over cartoon protests

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Britain's Muslims have called for prosecution of Islamist extremists who chanted inflammatory slogans and carried provocative placards at a protest march here at the weekend against the "blasphemous'' cartoons of Prophet Muhammed published in European newspapers.

The Muslim Council of Britain, a leading campaign group, urged the police to charge the protesters with incitement for raising slogans that warned of a repetition of the July 7 London bombings.

The council spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said ordinary Muslims were "fed up'' with fringe extremist elements and they should be treated as "criminals''.

"It is time the police acted but in a way so as not to make them martyrs of the Prophet's cause which is what they want, but as criminals. Ordinary Muslims are fed up with them,'' he said.

Its general secretary Iqbal Sacraine said any breach of law by the protesters should be investigated by the police.

"The cartoons have offended every Muslim and the anger of Muslims has to be lawfully expressed. However, this outrage was used by some to induce Muslims into taking part in terrorist violence. We condemn their actions,'' he said.

A prominent Muslim human rights organisation, the Muslim Affairs Committee, said the police should have stopped the protest when such language was being used. Its chairman Asghar Bukhari said the protesters "did not represent British Muslims''.

"I condemn them without reservation, these people are less representative of Muslims than the BNP are of the British people," he said.

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