the uk was a safer place until you people arrived here with your drugs, gangs of muggers fraudsters criminal and genral 3rd world scumbags with prmitive ideas if you all left tomorow you would not be missed! a british citizen

Hello at the Muslim Council of Britain,

Please do net be offended by some points I raise here. I am not trying to be controversial, but to desperately try to understand the Muslim point of view. I beg that you will try to understand my point of view too. In an attempt to understand what is going on in the world, I have been trawling the internet, magazines and newspapers from this country and abroad.

This evening, I watched a programme on Channel 4, which I thought would help. Imran Khan, who I have the greatest respect for, was trying to show why Muslims hate America. It seems that Muslims hate America because of its arrogant attitude to the rest of the world, and the way it uses money to blackmail and coerce people to do what it wants. They are absolutely right ! I share their misgivings about America. However, this does not give an excuse to murder around 7,000 non-combatant civilians. It has been reliably reported, indeed I saw it myself on television on the 11th September, that Muslims around the world rejoiced at the New York and Washington massacres. These same Muslims are now crying foul when America bombs Afghanistan and also some civilians have sadly been killed. This is a double standard of epic proportions. If representatives of the American government had been targeted, instead of civilians (including many Muslims !), I could have had some sympathy with the cause. But innocent civilians, including women and children ?

In Imran Khan's programme, it was said that the Quran tells the followers of Islam that they should settle differences by wisdom and discussion, and not by violence. Again, Islam seems to have the same double standards that America is accused of. The world seems to be full of terrorists bent on furthering the cause of Islam by violence. From Indonesia to Egypt, Algeria and Chechnya, Palestine (And I agree that Israel is a terrorist state !) and now throughout the world via Al Quaida and Usama Bin Laden. (Untried, but apparently guilty from his own mouth !) In all these places Muslims are trying to further their ends by violence. I do not understand this. The support for Usama Bin Laden is even more puzzling, when I see that the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, who have been fighting the Taliban government for some years, are also Muslims and Afghans. Why are they not supported by Muslims outside Afghanistan ? I find the whole situation totally baffling.

It is said that Islam is a religion of peace, yet from my point of view (please believe me, I speak as I see it, so you may understand the view of non-muslims) the world is full of Muslim terrorists seeking to further the aims of Islam by force of arms. The Holy Quran (I have read it) does not help the situation as it is full of peace and love in some parts yet exhortations to violence in others, and is positively against Christianity and the Jews in places (For example Sura 5: verse 54).

Please help me ! I truly want to understand why this is happening and how terrorists can possibly justify what they are doing in the name of Islam. I appeal to you in the spirit of the Quran which says we should settle differences by wisdom and discussion. Please explain how this has all come about, and how we can get out of it.

"And dispute ye not with the People of the Book....But say "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our God and Your God is One; and it is to Him we bow". Sura 29: 46. I am not in dispute with you. My God is One like yours, and to Him I bow. I merely want to understand. What may seem critical is meant for you to understand the non-Muslim point of view, and not to stir up strife between us.

Salaam.

Dimbleby programme I saw Inayat Bunglawala on Dimbelby at lunchtime yesterday, and was impressed. He spoke a lot of common sense, and managed to put Ben Bradshaw on the spot. I can understand why, as a politician, he would not give a straight answer, but I think that the time is now past when we can play diplomatic word games. A few weeks ago there was an outcry when Jack Straw suggested in Iran that there might be a link between Palestine & bin Laden. The shame is that it took the death of 3,000 people in New York for a British politician to \'state the obvious\'. The answer is of course that Israel is a terrorist state, (both now and at its inception).

The problem however is that the illegal actions taken by the UK & the USA in Afghanistan give Israel reason to believe that it can take the same sort of action in the occupied territories. How can we expect Israel to comply with UN resolutions when the UK & the USA consistently undermine the authority of the UN? And how can the USA (& the UK to some extent) condemn terror when they have sponsored terror around the world, and even have a \'School of the Americas\' to teach central & south Americans how to do it (only right wing terrorists need apply however).

For a few days after September 11 I felt that the world might now change for the better. That belief soon disappeared with the realisation that the status quo would be reinforced, and that totalitarian regimes would be given free hand to deal with anyone they defined as a terrorist. Inayat suggested that democracy should be encouraged - not a chance! The US/UK would much prefer \'friendly\' dictators than democracies of unknown allegiance. (The future of the west depends on oil). Even Musharaf has now been given legitamacy by the west. The only thing that will be encouraged in states from Israel & Saudi Arabia through to Pakistan & India will be state repression.

i wonder if someone would be so kind as to explain the above subject in full detail as to why the muslim community fill that the rest of the people in this country are agaisnt them.. since sep 11.their have been 15 racial attacks 8 on whites and seven on muslims.so i wouldnt see that as prioty for you to beleave that that you are just the main target for a racial attack not at all if you look into the most recent home office reports you will see that the whites are more prone to attack from minoritys rather than the other way round.

so with thease figures i dont beleave that your community can say that you are the main victims of race hate crime.and the fact that thease attacks have increased since sep 11 is pure nonsense. i do not condone any sought of violence and the people who have perpatrated thease crimes should be punished . however when i see reports from your community claiming that their is this islamiphobia.i truly beleave that that is not true what so ever and you should acknowledge that fact. so theirfore i dont think that you should jump to this conclusion that everyone is agaisnt islam and that every other person in this country beleaves that the muslim living next door is a terrorist.how did you come to that conclusion.bearing in mind that the goverment have said that this is not a war on islam but on terrorism.

now most people in this country understand that fully but the muslim community not all but a large number mainly young muslims dont and have made that point absoultley clear.with a recent poll that was done on the war mainly aimed at muslim communitys 57% beleave that this is a war against islam and do not support the goverment on this and the fact that another 43% do not class theirselves as british.which may i add is quite frightning. you only have to look back to the riots that occured this year and the racist attitude and attacks that were mainly from young muslims.not just on whites but hindus blacks and so forth.if you need further proof of this you only have to contact the hindu community within those areas and ask them why they had sent out leaflets to their communitys warning them of possible trouble from the muslim community.why we dont know.but the (cre) came to the conclusion that it was the (nf) or (bnp) that were soley responsible for the trouble yet that wasnt mentioned at all in the leaflet that was handed out weeks before rioting broke out from the hindu community.

so i say to you know start addressing the issues in your own communitys before you come up with thease untrue allegations of islamiphobia in the uk.then tell the people of the uk why you let the likes of abu hansa have a free run in your mosques up and down the country preaching religeous hate to the young muslims and inciting them to bring blood on to the streets of the uk.(channel 4 dispatches programme aired in 98 three years before the riots............

thankyou

asalaam alaykum

i have a question that i would like your opinions on.. since sept 11th, islam has been wrongly hijacked by extremists and islam clearly teaches that these are the people who will damage islam, since you are the leading body representing muslims in the U.K i would like to know what attempts are being made to correct peoples perceptions about islam, and what is being done to educate the younth of inner cities on the tru teaching of islam. and were possible i would like to offer my services in this cause.

As you are aware imagery and media are very potent tools in swaying public perception, i feel that the information delivered on your website is too self rightous.. jewish and christian websites and sources of information are very proactive in thier information, in promoting lifestyle, community, events, pictures of happy people having fun,you seem to be only concirned with your own events and opinions, you are not doing enough to promote the unity of muslims and the representing the muslim voice, however this is a common problem in islam, too many chiefs and not enough indians.. you should be a body that can silence outspoken fanatcis that are destoryign our faith, if you bear the name muslim council then please act appropriatly, everything seems to be MCD condems this and that, you need to alter your tone to represent muslim of the whole country and not what the council thinks, we need to hear what everyone thinks, and also an observation of the site in genral is the colors used, crimson/red are colours that represent danger and aggression and also confusion, i have gone to great lengths to study the art of colour in relation to emotions and your site gives off all the wrong signals for a representative of the mulsim council... please do not take these comments as bad critisism, i am just concirned that the good name of islam is begin destroyed before our very eyes to the point were it is permanently damaging and our people don't seem to be making enough noise and not using the skills that allah has granted us to the fullest, so if i have said anything offensive it is not ment to be i am just concirned and feeling helpless.