Readers may remember that back in April, counter
terrorism officers arrested
12 students in the North West of England as part of Operation Pathway. The government has now released an update
about the arrests and subsequent detentions, which have caused much consternation
among some British Muslims, who (in some cases justifiably) saw the arrests as another
example of the increased suspicion and victimisation of Muslims in the UK.
In my last blog, I wrote about the decision to ban an
al-Qaeda supporter from a London local council. The government's
Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) have now released a
statement about this move.
Imagine this
scene: One of the senior leaders of a movement the European Union has
designated a "terrorist entity," and that for the last two decades
has based a good part of its military strategy on attacking civilians; that has
repeatedly heightened the prospect of conflict whenever there has been an
increased probability of peace; and that has a founding Charter effectively
advocating the elimination of a United Nations member state, is allowed to
address the government of a European nation in the heart of its democratic
institutions, with no strings attached.
Al-Qaeda supporters have voiced their anger at Al Jazeera Network for airing an audiotape of Osama bin Laden that made him appear “unusually” humble.
In the video, bin Laden admitted that al-Qaeda's organisation in Iraq had made mistakes and called for unity among Muslims.
Yesterday saw the publication of a report on the Middle East by a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Media accounts of it have largely focussed on one of its principal recommendations. This is that the Government ‘should urgently consider ways of engaging politically with moderate elements within Hamas as a way of encouraging it to meet the three Quartet principles’.
The Islam Channel has been fined £30,000 by Ofcom, the media regulator, for breaking the UK's broadcasting code.
Ofcom said the channel had been wrong to allow presenters who were standing in an election to use their own television shows to promote their campaigns.
It also said that the channel had often failed to provide balance in its reporting - citing one example where a report on Jerusalem's disputed status contained only Palestinian points of view.
‘The noble Lord Hannay … will understand better than most the importance of a united position around the UN principles. Our policy has not changed. We expect Hamas to adhere to the principles set by the Quartet in January 2006. These are to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept all previous agreements and obligations, as set out in the road map. I hope that it does that and that it takes the opportunity for dialogue and progress, but a political dialogue is impossible as long as Hamas dedicates itself to violence and destruction.’
Thus remarked Baroness Royall of Blaisdon earlier this month in the House of Lords, winding up for the government there a debate on Palestine and the Occupied Territories.
