The head of the Muslim Council of Britain MCB), the U.K. umbrella group associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, has denied that a statement he made in an interview with a local newspaper compared Britain to Nazi Germany. The Daily Telegraph reported Dr. Bari’s remarks as follows:
Britain must, he warns, beware of becoming like Nazi Germany. “Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn’t lead us to a time when people’s minds can be poisoned as they were in the 1930s. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for any society.”
In a statement, the MCB objected to the Telegraph’s characterization:
The account as published only included selections,which is understandable given the limitations of space on the printed page. However what is inexcusable is an editorial insertion which has upset many and led to the MCB receiving abusive calls and hate mail. The Daily Telegraph insertion was a statement never made by Dr Bari: “Britain must, he warns, beware of becoming like Nazi Germany”.
Given the reference to the 1930’s, it would seem clear that Dr. Bari was indeed making an analogy to Nazi Germany. As a previous posts have discussed, groups and individuals tied to the Muslim Brotherhood frequently make the claim that Muslims are the “New Jews” and make the analogy to Nazi Germany. For example, the chairman of the elders of the Birmingham Central Mosque, a member of the MCB, said in July:
The German people were told the Jews were a threat. The same thing is happening here.
It would seem that in this case of Dr. Bari’s latest attempt to make this comparison, the public reaction was greater than anticipated.