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JONATHAN EVANS STATEMENT
ON THE THREAT FROM UK TERRORISM
Published: 05/11/2007
13.30
The Ramadhan Foundation
today expresses its concern at Jonathan Evans statement today in
Manchester about the current threat from terrorism. What he has
failed to say is that the number of potential terrorists of 2000 is
from 1.6 million Muslims, it is a very small minority and this sort
of inflammatory language is not helping the campaign to rid our
country of terrorism.
We recognise that the
threat from terrorism is real and only together can we deal with
eradicating it, it will never be achieved without engaging young
people and being honest about the underlying reasons where it exists
in the first place. As Dame Stella Rimington the former head of MI5
has said we have to recognise that perceived double standards in
foreign policy and the illegal war in Iraq has put our nation at
increased risk.
The Muslim community is
changing and beginning to address the challenges we face, is this
change happening at the scale we wish to see, probably not but we
have made huge progress. The Ramadhan Foundation has been at
the forefront at dealing with extremism and terrorism and we will
continue to build bridges with all communities to promote tolerance
and respect.
Mr. Shazad Anwar, Chief
Executive comments:
“The Ramadhan Foundation
is concerned that Jonathan Evans in his speech has failed to accept
that 2000 people out of 1.6 million is a very small problem, this
sort of language is inflammatory and we urge all those involved to
speak responsibly.
Having said this there
is a real and present threat to the nation from terrorism, only
together can we defeat it. Terrorism is evil and anyone who is
involved must be engaged and convinced of why there path is wrong and
bring them back to the mainstream.
The Ramadhan Foundation
is clear of the challenges on the Muslim community in relation to
terrorism, we have seen a sea change in the past few years but we
still have a long way to go.
We are ready to talk to
the Police and security Services about how we should move forward,
but we have to be honest about why this threat has appeared, mainly
foreign policy. Only then will we be able to defeat terrorism.
END
Notes for Editors
The Ramadhan Foundation is the UK's leading
Muslim youth organisation that is working for peaceful co-existence
and dialogue for all communities. Based in Greater Manchester
and working to also create the platform for Muslim unity amongst our
communities in the UK.
For
further information contact:
Mr.
Mohammed Shafiq
Press
Spokesman
Mohammed.shafiq@ramadhanfoundation.com
07814835912
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