Author: Nathan Bevan
Publication: icWales.co.uk
Date: August 13, 2006
URL: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=17555315&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=welsh-muslims-say-aircraft-bomb-plot--a-fake--name_page.html
Young Welsh Muslims have accused the Government
of master-minding this week's plot to blow up transatlantic jets mid-air to
justify Tony Blair's war on terror.
Some followers of Islam have claimed the arrest
of more than 20 people on suspicion of scheming to kill thousands of passengers
travelling to America using liquid explosives is designed to bolster the Prime
Minister's flagging credibility over the Iraq and Lebanon-Israel crises.
Speaking to Wales On Sunday last night, members
of the Cathays Dar-ul-Isra Muslim Community Centre in Cardiff said it was
a ploy to reinforce Mr Blair's alliance with US President George W Bush, who
waged war on Saddam Hussein on a discredited claim that Iraq possessed weapons
of mass destruction.
"I believe this so-called plot is all
a fabrication aimed at covering up the actions of George Bush and Tony Blair,"
said Abdul Ullah, 26. "Sadly, people will believe whatever they are told
these days."
Dr Sam Ben, 29, added: "As far as I can
make out, people have been arrested but none have been charged with anything
or were caught at the scene of any crime. I believe the whole operation has
been a smoke-screen."
Another said: "It's all a lie from the
government. I think they want to cover up what's going on in the Middle East
and it's just another way to take attention away from what is happening there
and to frighten people into silence.
"It's similar to what happened with Iraq.
It will probably take years before the truth finally comes out."
Other Muslims, however, refute the idea, believing
Islam's real enemy are the extremists responsible for the alleged plot.
Plaid Cymru councillor for Riverside in Cardiff
Mohammed-Sarul Islam said: "These kind of people give Muslims a bad name.
It's just a minority courting more bad feeling and resentment towards the
rest of us. The first word in Islam is peace and this kind of behaviour is
disgraceful."
Asghar Javad Ali, chairman of Madina Mosque
in Cardiff, said: "I've never seen any mad men like that, and if this
thing is a hoax or just more false intelligence then it wouldn't be the first
time.
"If there is a contingent of Muslims
behind all this then it's a very small one, and in doing it they're killing
Islam.
"Our religion's number one priority is
to look after all human beings, not just other Muslims."
Commentators say accusations of a Government
plot arise from a home-grown threat - a disbelief that the British Muslim
community could foster suicide bombers.
But there are theories that anti-West propaganda
videos for sale in the UK, on the street and over the internet, fill the gap
left by 'out-of-touch' mosques. Indeed, on-line Muslim messageboards in Wales
show youngsters accusing mosques of being "depressing and backward".
The videos are said to capitalise on the British
and American Governments, who play down the effect of military force on foreign
soil, and breed a sense of injustice and frustration among the young.
Reflecting the threat, the UK's highest-ranking
Asian police officer has called for an independent judicial inquiry into radicalisation
of young Muslims after July 7, in which three of the London bombers were British.
Yorkshire's Mohammed Siddique Khan referred
to the Iraq situation as the reason for his 'martyrdom'.
"I am directly responsible for protecting
and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters," he said. "Until you
stop the bombing and torture of my people we will not stop this fight."
It is a sentiment not lost on Madina Mosque's
Asghar Javad Ali.
"No doubt some people see what terrible
things are going on in places like Lebanon and they lose their heads,"
he said.
"Watching other Muslims across the world
being killed can only breed hatred and as far as US foreign policy is concerned,
well, the UK just follows right behind.
"But there can be no excuse for this
sort of thing."
Last night, Downing Street denied any cover-up.
A spokesman said: "We should always remember that the terrorism affecting
the West today has blighted Muslim countries for several decades. It certainly
pre-dated our decision to support democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq and of
course the September 11 attacks. Our foreign policy is focused on supporting
the people of those countries in their desire to live in a democracy just
as we enjoy in the UK."
