Open Letter on Islamophobia
There has been a recent increase in racist hysteria directed against Muslims. We deplore Jack Straw’s remarks concerning the veil worn in public by some Muslim women. His intervention, the bullying attacks of John Reid and other Ministers, and stories in some sections of the media, are designed to isolate and demonise British Muslims. The result has been violence against, and intimidation of, Muslim people.We express our solidarity with all people in Britain of the Muslim faith, affirm their right to dress as they please and live their lives in peace and security.
The current attacks on Muslims are rooted in the disastrous 'war on terror', of which this government has been such a prominent supporter. This war has made Britain more vulnerable, not less, to terrorist attack.
We strongly oppose the government's attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Muslim communities and their mainstream organisations under the guise of reform and integration.
If the government is concerned about improving the cohesion of our communities, let it first abandon its support for the foreign policy of the US administration, including the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Open letter published in the
Guardian on 14 November 2006.
The letter has been signed by many well-known people nationally, including:
Tony Benn | Walter Wolfgang
(Labour Party
NEC) | John McDonnell MP | Tam Dalyell | Professor Steven Rose |
Prunella Scales | Timothy West | Jeremy Corbyn MP | John
Pilger | Louise Christian | Nigel Kennedy | Arthur Smith | Moazzam Begg
| George Galloway MP | Rose Gentle | Billy Hayes (Gen Sec, CWU) | Mark
Steel | Mark Thomas | Lindsey German (Convenor, Stop the War) |
Benjamin Zephaniah | Kate Hudson (Chair CND) | Michael Rosen | Prof
Moshe Machover | Tim Gopsill (NUJ) | Jeremy Hardy | Dr Azzam Tamimi |
Anas Altikriti | | Weyman Bennet (UNITE) | Cllr Salma Yaqoob | Sami
Ramadami | Chris Bambery | Rev Ray Gaston | Chris Harman | Dave Crouch
(MWAW) | Huma Mushtaq | John Rose | Cllr Oliur Rahman | Prof Tariq
Modood
The letter has also been signed by a large number of people in Leeds, although the Yorkshire Evening Post declined to print it.
Local Signatories include:
Cllr.
Roger Harrington (Harehills & Gipton) | Cllr. Rev. Alan Taylor
(Harehills & Gipton) | Cllr. Josie Jarosz (Pudsey) | Rev. David
Berryman (Beeston St Mary's) | Akhlaq Mir (Sec. Qubla Mosque
Committee) | Naveed Ahmed (UK Islamic Mission) | Kathryn Fitzsimons
(Urban Officer Diocese of Ripon & Leeds) | Stewart Regan (Chief
Exec. Yorkshire County Cricket Club) | Tabassam Ramzan (Co-Chair
Leeds Coalition Against the War) | Sam Kirk (Co-Chair Leeds Unite
Against Fascism) | John McDermott (Unison NEC) | Sally Kincaid
(Divisional Sec. Wakefield NUT) | Javed Iqbal (President Pak Kashmir
Federation Britannia) | Ghafoor Ratyal (Organiser Pak Kashmir
Federation Britannia) | Maie El-Safi (Sec. Leeds Sudanese
womens
Assoc.) | Soead Idris (Treasurer Leeds Sudanese Womens Assoc.) |
Ameena Al-Rashid (President Leeds Uni. Sudanese Society) | Osama
Zumam (NUS Black Students Officer LMU) | John Ward (Leeds No
Borders) | Steve Skinner (Vice Chair Leeds Defend Council Housing) |
Debbie Rolls (Sec. Leeds Respect) | J. King (PCS Equalities Officer)
| Sally Dodd (PCS Branch Training Rep) | G. Pickersgill (Unison
Senior Steward) | Gerard Murphy (Unison Rep) | Simon Brett (PCS Rep
HMRC) | H. James (PCS Rep HMRC) | Russell Whincup (PCS Rep The
British Library) | Mike Stirland (NUT Rep) | Martin Bennell (Unison
Rep) | Tony Walker (Unison Rep) | R. Richardson (GMB Rep) | Gwyn
Meiden (Unison Rep) | Katie Wheatley (Acting Chair Harehills Stop the
War (STW)) | Nahid Rasoul (Director Shanfona Womens Centre) |
Donald Purves (Leeds Quakers) | Anisa Javed (Harehills STW)
| Michael
Jameson (Theatre in Education) | Quentin Foster (Monthly Meeting
Secretary | Leeds Quakers) | Rukhsana Afia (Harehills STW) | Maureen
McGough (Theatre in Education) | Joanna Dales (Leeds Quakers)
|
Gill Fallon (Harehills STW) | William Needham (Leeds Quakers) |
Rachel Marsh (Harehills STW) | Yasmin Ramzan (Harehills STW) | Afreen
Javed (Harehills STW) | Shareen Javed (Harehills STW) | Umar Farooq
(Harehills STW) | Naveed Aziz (Harehills STW).
(All signatories in a personal capacity)