Muslim Council of Britain Rejects Allegations of a TV Documentary
ASSOCIATED PRESS OF PAKISTAN: LONDON - The UK’s largest Muslim organization-Muslim Council of Britain- has rejected all allegations leveled in a TV documentary claiming that the association was attempting to turn Britain into an Islamic Republic. “We reject entirely the allegation that the MCB is “dominated” by any organisation/s. The MCB, with over 500 affiliates, has a rigorous election process with elected officials from a wide range of Islamic backgrounds.

Simply put, there is no scope whatsoever, real or perceived, for any affiliate/s or group of affiliates to dominate the decision-making process. The Dispatches programme has failed to provide even a single shred of evidence of how “undue influence” by any affiliate or group of affiliates has actually been exercised,” The MCB said in a statement in response to the programme screened on Monday evening by the UK domestic TV Channel 4.

The media spokesman Tufael Ahmed said: “Last night’s Dispatches fronted by Andrew Gilligan has once again resurrected stereotypes. Using out of context quotations, he echoes the rhetoric of far-right extremists, that British Muslims are somehow foreign, alien, extremist and imposing their way of life on the others.”

“The core of the programme accuses the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE) and the East London Mosque of fostering ‘Islamist’ extremism and that the IFE has an undue and pernicious influence over the politics of our country.” >>> APP | Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Obama to Speak at LGBT Rights Dinner
abcNEWS: President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

“We are honored to share this night with President Obama, who has called upon our nation to embrace LGBT people as brothers and sisters,” The Human Rights Campaign President, Joel Solmonese, said in an announcement today.

The dinner precedes a scheduled march on Washington by the LGBT community to take place on Sunday. The march was largely organized to draw attention to the administration’s lack on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” and the Defense of Marriage Act, among other gay rights issues.

Many leaders in the LGBT community are hoping Obama will use the platform as an opportunity to re-establish his position as a “fierce advocate” for gay rights that he solidified on the campaign trail.

White House aides say that the President has not yet written his remarks, and did not give guidance if the President will reveal any new policy.

National Security Jin Jones this weekend said that at the right time the President will deal with these issues, such as DADT – among others.

“The President has an awful lot on his desk. I know this is an issue he intends to take on at the appropriate time,” Jones told CNN.

While the gay community waits for the “appropriate time” after dedicating themselves to Obama’s campaign, discontent has continued to grow in light of the little progress that has been made since Obama took office in January.

Obama’s address on Saturday will be an historic one—as only the second sitting President ever to address a Gay rights organization. President Clinton was the first in 1997. >>> Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent | Monday, October 05, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Gay Muslims need support: Discrimination based on sexuality is as wrong as that based on religion. The Muslim Council of Great Britain can take a lead >>> Inayat Bunglawala | Monday, October 05, 2009

Muslim Feathers Ruffled Over Sarkozy’s Sensible Burqa Ban Proposal
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim leaders in Britain have warned that President Nicolas Sarkozy's calls for the burqa to be banned in France risk fuelling hostility towards Islam.

Photo: The Guardian
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Mr Sarkozy's claim that the head-to-toe garments worn by Islamic women signify subservience were "patronising and offensive".

Its criticism comes after Mr Sarkozy used a policy speech on Monday to declare the burqa was "not welcome" in France.

In a move which threatens to reignite the debate over religious clothing in the country, Mr Sarkozy said: "The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience.

"We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity."

The MCB reacted by calling on Mr Sarkozy to "desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics" towards France's Muslim population.

Dr Reefat Drabu, assistant secretary general of the MCB, said in a statement: "It is patronising and offensive to suggest that those Muslim women who wear the burqa do so because of pressure or oppression by their male partners or guardians."

Speaking for the umbrella group of more than 500 Muslim organisations including mosques, charities and community groups, she added: "Such suggestions can legitimately be perceived as antagonistic towards Islam.

"Instead of taking a lead in promoting harmony and social cohesion amongst its people, the French President appears to be initiating a policy which is set to create fear and misunderstanding and may lead to Islamophobic reaction not just in France but in the rest of Europe too."

Mr Sarkozy's presidential address to a joint session of France's two houses of parliament stood in stark contrast to comments made by US President Barack Obama earlier this month. Muslim leaders condemn Sarkozy over burqa ban >>> Murray Wardrop | Wednesday, June 24, 2009

BBC Offers £30,000 and an Apology for Question Time 'Slur' on Islamic Leaders over Anti-war Protest
Former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore 'slurred' the Muslim Council of Britain while appearing as a panellist on Question Time. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: The BBC has offered to pay £30,000 and apologise to the Muslim Council of Britain after airing claims that it encourages the killing of British troops.

The Corporation caved in after a panellist on the Question Time TV programme accused the country's most influential Muslim organisation of failing to condemn attacks on soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The broadcaster was threatened with legal action over comments by former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore during a debate about Islamic protests which marred a soldiers' homecoming parade in Luton.

Mr Moore blamed the MCB's leadership for its apparent reluctance to condemn the killing and kidnapping of British soldiers overseas. He went on to claim that it thought it was a 'good thing' to kill troops.

Faced with the threat of a writ, the BBC made an offer of 'amends' and an apology on the Question Time website. But this has been rejected and the MCB is demanding an apology on air.

The Corporation's decision to pay out will raise eyebrows in Whitehall, where ministers have refused to settle a similar defamation claim over a letter written by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears.

A BBC insider said the move has also angered Mr Moore, who was not consulted over the legal response to the complaint or even informed that an offer to settle had been made.

Question Time is recorded an hour before broadcast specifically so that legal advisers can check its content for possible libels.
No legal worries were expressed over Mr Moore's remarks, which were seen as provocative but not defamatory. >>> By Paul Revoir and Abul Taher | Friday, May 29, 2009

Apology for one and not the other: Charles Moore's words compared to Hazel Blears's letter. Image courtesy of MailOnline
BBC: BBC Offers Apology to Muslim Council of Britain over Guest's Remarks

The BBC has offered £30,000 and an apology to the Muslim Council of Britain after airing accusations that it encouraged the killing of British troops.

The corporation offered the settlement after a Question Time panellist accused the council of failing to condemn attacks on British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Charles Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, made the comments on the programme in March during a debate about Islamic protests at a soldiers’ homecoming parade in Luton. He claimed that the council thought it was a “good thing, even an Islamic thing” to kill troops.

The council, an umbrella organisation representing about 500 Islamic bodies in Britain, said that his claims were a “total lie” and threatened the BBC with legal action.

It pointed to a 2007 interview with its secretary-general, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, published in a national newspaper, in which he categorically condemned attacks on British soldiers.

Last night Dr Bari said: “These kinds of statements are very damaging, and we received many complaints from our Muslim supporters who said they were extremely offended by the comments. >>> Hannah Fletcher | Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Latest Idiotic Governmental Move: Cash for Mosques and Direct Access to Government Ministers! This Government Is Just Disgusting!
TIMESONLINE: Mosques and local Muslim community groups are to be given money and direct access to government ministers under a radical plan to isolate Britain’s largest Islamic organisation, which the Government accuses of endorsing violent extremism.

The move follows criticism of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which claims to represent half of the country’s Muslims, by Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary. Ms Blears attacked the group for refusing to sack its deputy leader, Daud Abdullah, after he endorsed a pro-Hamas declaration that appeared to call for violence against Jews and Israel and condone attacks on British troops.

The Government is planning to deny the organisation’s representatives ministerial briefings across all departments in a move designed to undermine its standing among British Muslims.

Sadiq Khan, the Minister for Community Cohesion, told The Times: “The days of lazy politicians just speaking to one or two powerful community groups or leaders are gone. You need to speak to individuals and local community groups, even though there will still be a role for umbrella groups to play.”

It is understood that even some of the MCB’s supporters within Government, including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, have now turned their backs on the organisation, which has had a difficult relationship with Labour ever since it refused to attend Holocaust Memorial Day in 2006.

A Government source told The Times: “The Government is already talking about different ways to engage with the Muslim community instead of just through large organisations. It will deal with regions or trusted individuals. Why do you need to deal with national umbrella bodies?” Government Moves to Isolate Muslim Council of Britain with Cash for Mosques >>> Richard Kerbaj | Monday, March 30, 2009

Hazel Blears Cuts Ties to Muslim Council of Britain after It Refuses to Condemn Controversial Senior Member
Hazel Blears insists that the MCB take a firm stand on its deputy secretary-general, Daud Abdullah. Photos courtesy of the MailOnline
MAIL Online: Ministers have severed links with Britain's leading Muslim group in a blazing row over extremism.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears is angry that the Muslim Council of Britain has refused to condemn a senior member who signed a public declaration in support of Hamas.

The document, signed by the council's deputy secretary-general Daud Abdullah, also seemingly advocated attacks on the Navy if it tried to stop arms intended for Hamas being smuggled into Gaza.

Mrs Blears has said that until the MCB - which was once considered the Muslim group closest to Labour - takes a firm stance against Dr Abdullah, relations with the Government will be suspended.

In response, the MCB said it was 'appalled by the highhanded and condescending action' of Mrs Blears.

Yesterday, the council - which has received at least £150,000 in Whitehall grants - released a provocative statement in response to the Government's anti-terror strategy, which threatens a tougher line against groups which promote extremist views. >>> By James Slack | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Courtesy of MailOnline

Muslims Council of Britain (MCB) to End Its Boycott of ‘Holocaust Day’
TIMESONLINE: Britain’s largest Muslim organisation is to end its boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) voted this weekend to halt its protest because of concerns that it made the organisation vulnerable to charges of antiSemitism. Representatives have controversially stayed away from Holocaust Memorial Day activities, which began in 2001.

The MCB has argued for a new title such as Genocide Memorial Day which, it has said, would give greater recognition to more recent events, such as those in Rwanda and Bosnia. But this weekend its working committee voted 18 to 8 in favour of ending the boycott.

Representatives of the MCB, an umbrella organisation with more than 500 member groups, are now expected to attend the main Holocaust commemoration, which will take place in Liverpool on January 27. Muslim Council to end its boycott of Holocaust Day >>> By Fran Yeoman

Hat tip: Little Green Footballs

Mark Alexander