In an address to a conference on terrorism called by the Muslim Council of Britain last week, the MCB Secretary-General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari made the following rather tortured statement:
At the MCB we are aware that in not raising the issues of our government’™s foreign policy at this moment we may alienate ourselves from sections of the Muslim community. Many Muslims believe that addressing foreign policy issues, as part of the root causes of terrorism, must come hand in hand with an unequivocal condemnation of all terrorist acts. In response, I would like to reiterate that it would be wrong, to think that the MCB has abandoned its call for justice and fair play; for the alleviation of the suffering of humanity, both at home and abroad. As such, we will continue to make representations to our government. But I say this, when our house is on fire, we must not busy ourselves in apportioning blame, but try to extinguish the fire first. It is no secret that this unequivocal condemnation of terrorism by the MCB will not on its own convince would be terrorists to lay down their arms. It is imperative that our government consider the long-term issues and does not shy away from discussing the root causes. By addressing the root causes, we will deprive terrorists of excuses and ammunition to gain recruits and radicalise our youth. More importantly, our common humanity demands that we take a proactive role in the campaign to achieve peace and justice for all, around the world.
It would appear that Dr. Bari could not resist discussing the “root causes” of terrorism even after he had just stated explicitly that he would not do so. The idea that foreign policy is the cause of terrorism in that country has been a central theme of U.K. Muslim Brotherhood groups.