The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has issued a statement on the anniversary of 911 that claims that the attack were used as a basis for a “global course of retaliatory action.” According to the statement
Ten years ago this week, we witnessed the loss of thousands of lives during the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. As Muslims we look back with sadness at what happened on September 11, 2001, it was undoubtedly an evil and criminal act of monstrous proportion. Muslims the world over have nothing to do with such an act of hate and destruction that drove the 9/11 bombers. Our prayers today are for the three thousand innocent lives lost, and thousands of other innocent men, women and children who have since lost their lives elsewhere as a result of the senseless wars unleashed in its wake. On this anniversary, we recall with regret that this attack has been used to falsely accuse our cherished religion of Islam – a religion of humanity, being a target of irrational anger and hate, setting a global course of retaliatory action with little respect for human life, national sovereignty and rule of law. Terrorism is a crime and the perpetrators are not representatives of any faith, colour or race.A lot has changed in the last 10 years but one thing remains the same: ordinary Muslims have continued to live by the values that have always made them decent, hard-working and community-oriented citizens. These were the values shown at the recent riots, where Muslims joined with people of all faiths and none to restore normality in our communities. It has been a sad decade but has ended with grounds for optimism. It began with wars, more terror and even more lives lost. But it ended with Muslims in the Arab world demanding peace, democracy and the freedom to live their lives without fear and intimidation. The Arab Uprising was the best repudiation to the terrorists of 11 September 2001. As we express our sympathy and solidarity to the families of all those who have lost their lives and suffered in 9/11 and since, let us honour their memory by rejecting the divisive agendas and placing our faith on our cherished values of global justice, freedom, and equality. We must redouble our efforts to achieve enduring solidarity amongst our diverse communities.
The MCB statement continues a long-standing Global Muslim Brotherhood theme that the West is conducting a “war on Islam.” A previous post discussed the MCB’s objection to the U.K. Government’s latest counter-terrorism review that stated “we are fced with a situation where a Muslim will be deemed extremist if defined so by neoconservative think-tanks.
The MCB is a U.K. umbrella group which acts in concert with the U.K. and Global Muslim Brotherhood and previous posts have discussed the organizations stormy relationship with the U.K government. MCB Chairman Murad is also a current trustee and former chairman of Muslim Aid, a UK charity originally founded by Yusuf Islam (fka Cat Stevens) and identified in a NEFA Foundation report as a member of the Union of Good, a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. It is headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, and most of the trustees and member organizations are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good was banned by Israel in 2002 and in 2008 was designated a terrorist entity by the United States. According to another NEFA report on the U.K .Union of Good members, a number of the organizations to which Muslim Aid made allocations have been identified by Israel and/or the U.S. as Hamas institutions.