Zafar Khan, chairman of Luton Council of Faiths Posted on 08/03/2005 12:45:13 AM PDT by ChristianDefender
Zafar Khan, chairman of Luton Council of Faiths
Abdul Malik, chairman of Luton Race Advisory Forum
Police officers in England's Bedfordshire county have been told to take off their shoes and not interrupt anyone praying during raids of Muslim homes, according to leaked guidelines.
The 18-point guide, under development before the recent London bombing attacks, says "the Muslim community feels victimized and suspicious of counter terrorist police operations and in the current climate a search at a British Muslim household has the potential to become a critical incident and come under intense scrutiny."
Befordshire's largest city is Luton, about 30 miles north of London, one of Britain's hotbeds of radical Islam. A nail bomb was discovered in the trunk of a car at Luton's railway station after the July 7 attacks that killed 52 people.
The Luton Race Advisory Forum said it had been in discussions with the police before the London bombing campaign about how to raid houses, reported the local newspaper Luton & Dunstable on Sunday.
The guidelines are regularly issued to all staff as a reminder of the force protocol when entering a Muslim household, a Bedfordshire Police spokesman said.
"We take very seriously the culture surrounding all faiths and feel it is important to respect those beliefs, even while carrying out police business," the spokesman explained. "We would like to reassure all communities that any current or perceived tensions, which might be heightened as a result of recent events, will not affect how police deal with Muslims or anyone else."
The guidelines for police offers, according to the paper, include:
Rapid entry needs to be the last resort and raids into Muslim houses are discouraged for a number of religious dignity reasons.
Police should seek to avoid looking at unclad Muslim women and allow them an opportunity to dress and cover their heads.
For reasons of dignity officers should seek to avoid entering occupied bedrooms and bathrooms even before dawn.
Use of police dogs will be considered serious desecration of the premises and may necessitate extensive cleaning of the house and disposal of household items.
Advice should be sought before considering the use of cameras and camcorders due to the risk of capturing individuals, especially women, in inappropriate dress.
Muslim prisoners should be allowed to take additional clothing to the station.
If people are praying at home officers should stand aside and not disrupt the prayer. They should be allowed the opportunity to finish.
Officers should not take shoes into the houses, especially in areas that might be kept pure for prayer purposes.
In the current climate the justification for pre-dawn raids on Muslim houses needs to be clear and transparent.
Non-Muslims are not allowed to touch holy books, Qurans or religious artifacts without permission. Where possible, Muslim officers in a state of 'Wudhu' (preparation before prayer) should be used for this purpose.
Zafar Khan, chairman of Luton Council of Faiths, welcomed the guidelines but wants police to deal with all faiths sensitively, the Luton & Dunstable newspaper said.
Abdul Malik, chairman of Luton Race Advisory Forum (Photo: Luton & Dunstable on Sunday)
"Guidelines on how to deal and interact with the community in all faiths should be welcomed," he said. "It's a question of being sensitive and informed and if that makes the policing more effective and more sensitive that has to be a good thing."
Abdul Malik, chairman of Luton Race Advisory Forum, said "police need to be sensitive when they are going into the homes of everybody – not just Muslims."
"They should keep respect. Some Hindus and Sikhs have a place or a room devoted to prayer and that should be respected too," he said.
it's time to take the kid gloves off. this is getting rediculous
"We take very seriously the culture surrounding all faiths and feel it is important to respect those beliefs, even while carrying out police business"
No, it is time Muslims in Britain except British culture and become British.
No special rights.
This entire article is a very good example of how wrong things have gone.
Yeah? This'll last a real long time as soon as the first raid is conducted where the terrorists have strewn broken glass, bent razor blades and shards of metal all over the floor in fron of their doors and windows..like that'll really help the first few police that go through those doors and wndows...
..idiots!...
I wonder if an officer with a foot odor will follow this... if he will, muslims will again complain of a blasphemous odor...LOL /sarcasm
this is a joke, right?
You get this kind of crap from the left wing everywhere.
I don't imagine that the British police who have frankly so far done a fantastic job of finding and arresting people connnected with the London bombings will be taking much notice.
I didn't notice any of the British officers storming various houses and flats in the UK on the news being barefooted.
Take with a large pinch of salt.
Every Briton who fought in the Crusades is spinning in their graves at 100,000 rpm.
This is pathetic. So, Muslims are so special, they get their own rules, even when arrested?
We need to go medeival on them, now. WHO CARES if they're offended? They don't want to be "offended" by brutal, ape-like Europeans? MOVE BACK TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
I am so effing sick and tired of this.
Just watch - every point in this memo is the grounds for a lawsuit.
Deport them. Now. Or England is lost.
We're next.
Roll over Dhimmi. Good boy. But seriously this is unbelievable. Must rose petals be strewn at the feet of these people next?
LOL...
This was reported in the Sun as well. Which makes me doubt its veracity.
If they ever come to my house, they better wait until spaghetti are cooked "al dente", pay their respect to "mamma", drink a glass or two of vino and wait until everything that we "don't have' is properly disposed of
Nuts!
This has to be from The Onion.
Wrong, lock them up for life or kill them!
All deportation does is allow them to get more pissed off and go back where they were deported from or somewhere else and cause trouble.
WHY DO PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND THIS???
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