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Indian Muslims in U.K. "shocked"

Hasan Suroor

Leaders concerned over "new trend"

LONDON: Britain's Indian Muslims have expressed concern over the alleged role of some of their community members in the abortive airline terror plot but sought to play down the talk of an "Indian connection'' to what Scotland Yard says was an attempt to commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale.''

Muslim leaders and ordinary members of the 160,000-strong community told The Hindu that they were "shocked'' and "embarrassed'' over the arrests of three persons with links to the families of Indian origin. One young student who did not want to give his name said he was "ashamed.''

"Indian Muslims have tried to stay away from the extremist fringe and now suddenly we find ourselves lumped with terrorists,'' he said.

While a majority of the 24 persons, arrested in connection with the alleged plot, are British youth of Pakistani origin three have Indian links.

They are: Abdul Muneem Patel (17), the son of an Indian immigrant in East London; Patel's wife Sofia; and Brian Young (28), a recent convert to Islam and the son-in-law of a former imam of Indian origin.

Munaf Zeena, chairman of the Council of Indian Muslims (U.K.), said the Council would have "consultations'' with other Muslim groups to discuss what he described as "this new disturbing trend''.

But he insisted that the overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims were "peace-loving.'' "Those who have been arrested were all born and brought up in Britain. I even doubt whether they have ever been to India,'' he said adding that it would not be right to condemn them until they were proved guilty.

Irfan Mustafa of the Indian Muslim Federation (U.K.) said the community was in a state of "shock''. "Everybody is talking about it and we are all greatly concerned,'' he said.

In a statement, the federation's president Shamsuddin Agha said if reports, suggesting the involvement of Indian Muslims in terrorist activities, were true it was a "new development'' and of "serious concern.''

U.S. non-committal

AFP, UNI report:

The U.S. on Tuesday refused to blame Al-Qaeda for the plot to explode U.S.-bound airliners.

``Our intelligence, at this point, does not permit us to say with confidence that that was the case,'' a White House spokesman said.

But a Pakistan newspaper quoted an intelligence source as saying someone close to Al-Qaeda's number three Abu Faraj Al-Libbi was the mastermind behind the plot. Abu Faraj Al-Libbi, a third-tier Al-Qaeda operative, is also charged with an assassination bid on President Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi in December last year in which 17 persons were killed. He was arrested from Mardan in May this year.

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