Is extremism growing in Britain due to Jamaat-e-Islami’s support of terrorism?

It is evident from the attack on Baroness Sayeeda Warsi on November 30, 2009 that the extremism and radicalism is growing among the young British Muslims whose ethnic background is from South Asia. The majority of British Muslims have condemned this silly behaviour which is against Islam from a religious point of view.

It is widely known that this behaviour is rooted in the theological background of a sect within Islam which started from Saudi Arabia by a name Salafi/Wahabi or with a slightly different outfit Deobandi in South Asian region. Their ideology does not prohibit suicide bombing or Terrorism in Islam rather they remain silent on this issue and indirectly encourage attacking even innocent people. This is evident from one of the largest Deobandi group in Pakistan which has been silent to condemn terrorism in Pakistan, as reported in The News on December 9, 2009.

It is very disappointing to see that Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has not supported to declare suicide bombing and Terrorism as un-Islamic. A point to note is that JI has large presence in Britain and for many years has been supported by Labour Government through their various groups including MCB, ISB or Young Muslims, see Guardian investigation which also links MCB with JI.

Declaring suicide bombing and terrorism un-Islamic has life threatening risks associated with it as it is evident from an incident not too long ago when Mr Sarfaraz Naeemi was killed soon after he had called it un-Islamic at a conference. A point to note here is that he was from a Sunni school of thought within Islam.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri was one of the first leading authorities to accept this risk and issued a 600-page Fatwa declaring suicide bombings and terrorism as un-Islamic at a press conference via video conference from Canada on December 5, 2009. This Fatwa is particularly important for Britain due to the fact that majority of the Muslims are from South Asia who have been confused about its religious viewpoint due to the fact that groups like Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) support it.

Particularly the vulnerable western youth has been the target by the extremists and due to their ideology. Hence, this verdict received large media attention particularly in Pakistan after months of instability, insecurity and terrorism and the press conference by Dr Qadri was transmitted Live on various TV channels and published in print media including The Washington Post and BBC.

The next British Government either Conservatives or Labour, must be aware of the fact that ideology within Islam has a major impact on the behaviour of British Muslims and that organisations linked to JI and other extremist organisations have not produced results to reduce extremism in the past. Hence they need to work with more moderate organisations and open-minded and dynamic leadership who has calibre to tackle extremism in Britain.