bE AwaRE!!!!!!
teRror is EvERywhERE!!!
Posted on 05/13/2004 10:40:12 PM PDT by ambrose
Muslim groups infuriated by anti-terrorism poster
Leading Islamic organisations say image is unfair, counterproductive and a 'stupid mistake'
Vikram Dodd
Friday May 14, 2004
The Guardian
Muslim groups have demanded that police withdraw an anti-terrorism poster, saying it unfairly links Islam to acts of violence. The poster, distributed across England and Wales, urges people to ring a confidential hotline with information about terrorism.
It depicts a pair of eyes surrounded by a black background, which British Islamic groups say looks like a Muslim woman with most of her face covered.
Leading mainstream Muslim groups pressed senior anti-terrorism officers to withdraw the posters at a Muslim Safety Forum meeting on Wednesday at New Scotland Yard.
The Welsh assembly has banned the poster and pulled down copies.
Muslim groups say the poster is counterproductive and mosques have refused police requests to display it. One Muslim leader branded it as yet another "stupid mistake" by the authorities.
Abdur Rahman Jafar, who represents the Muslim Council of Britain on the safety forum, said: "We are quite infuriated by it.
"It looks like a woman with a niqab on, which is one version of the veil where women cover up their face and the top of their head."
Police have been working to assuage Muslim suspicions about harassment so Muslims are more likely come forward and give information about possible terrorist activity.
There are at least three versions of the poster. In one the eyes appear to belong to a white female, in another to an Asian male, and in another to a black woman.
Massoud Shadjareh, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "It gives the wrong association between Islam and Muslims and terrorism: the police themselves say they don't want to make that association. It alienates the very people the police need to fight terrorism. We want it withdrawn. We want to make sure when the police are designing this kind of poster they should consult the community. We're here to help.
"It associates terrorism with Islamic women's dress. I don't know why they keep making these stupid mistakes."
He said other mistakes included police linking the placing of tanks outside Heathrow to the Muslim festival of Eid.
The wave of arrests as police tried to stop a bombing on British soil after the September 11 attacks has angered Muslims, who say the majority were blatantly unjustified. More than half of 572 people arrested were freed without charge.
In predominantly rural areas such as the west country small Muslim communities fear the poster will stoke tensions.
Kauser Ahmed, of Exeter's Mosque and Islamic Centre, refused to put the poster up.
She said that in her area "there are very few people of colour or who are Muslim, so they stand out, and we will be the target of suspicion and hostility.
"We already feel very marginalised, ignored by the authorities until it suits them. It was very obviously Asian eyes.
"During the IRA bombings in the 1970s and 80s the posters did not depict someone's eyes, it had a picture of a bag."
After the September 11 attack the Exeter mosque was desecrated by youths who placed severed pigs' heads outside it.
Jocelyn Davies, a Plaid Cymru member of the Welsh assembly, said: "The poster sends a mixed message and images can be very powerful things.
"I appreciate the intention is about people being vigilant, but it looks like a Muslim woman in a headscarf and the subconscious implication is that she could be a terrorist."
Muslim sensibilities are more important than the war on terror.
But then I did hear something about a fellow named Berg. What was that all about?
Oh that’s right just because all terrorist for the last 20 years have been Muslims, and half of the 9/11 terrorist were named Mohammad, there should be no poster connecting Muslims to terrorist. They would probably be happy if they depicted terrorist as looking like the Swedish Bikini team.
Yeah, the poster should depict a smiling red-headed freckled Scot.
or likely Eskimos in disguise, perhaps?
bE AwaRE!!!!!!
teRror is EvERywhERE!!!
Yes, that's definitely an accurate reflection of your typical terrorist.
well, you can't be too careful. if you accuse these mohammedans of being violent, they're apt to start killing people.
Bump!
Travis McGee: "the poster should depict a smiling red-headed freckled Scot"
Why would it be appropriate to use a red-headed Scot? What I mean is, couldn't the Scots then complain that it unfairly implicates them as terrorists? Methinks the Muslim community protests too much because the posters hit close to home. Why complain at all, for example, if the links between Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism are completely unfounded?
Of course, not ALL Muslims are bad. On the other hand, the 1% (or more) who are fundamentalists are in fact a threat, no matter what the rest of the Muslim community thinks.
And you'd better do what they say, or they'll cut off your head.
How do we know that all Muslims aren't bad? They don't condem or decry any of the actions of the so called 1% of the extremists, they swear allegience to their "nation", the are willing to kill all Jews and non believers, they believe that the Koran is not only the word of Allah but that it cannot be translated or updated or innovated or modernized in anyway. They want a 7th century civilization and NO FREEDOM . To me I have come to believe that in fact Islam is evil incarnate
Or Nick Berg's head being held up.
Is there anything they are not offended by?
Murdering and raping infidels.
jnarcus: "To me I have come to believe that in fact Islam is evil incarnate"
I actually agree. However, it doesn't mean all Muslims are a threat. I haven't studied the Koran extensively, but I've read some. It appears the Islamic fundamentalists are following at least parts of the Koran, even if they are taking them out of context. Muslims who don't believe in jihad are like Christians who claim homosexuality is OK. Neither group is really following the strictures of the very faith they claim to be part of. It's OK to believe homosexuality is OK, but don't claim to be following the Bible. Likewise, don't claim to be Muslim if you don't believe you are obligated to go forth and attempt to convert the rest of the world to Islam (whether by force or by persuasion).
So, the Muslims who are perverting the Koran by ignoring the call to jihad aren't a threat. Only the ones who are attempting to convert the rest of the world by force need to be dealt with. AND, we should do everything in our power to send them quickly to their virgins!
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