London Muslims point to anger behind bomb attacks

By Mohammed Abbas

LONDON (Reuters) – Muslims living and working around
London’s curry capital Brick Lane struggled on Wednesday to
understand what could push four young British Muslim men to
blow themselves up, and take 52 lives in the process.

In a road more used to crowds of restaurant goers, some
speculated wars in the Middle East had hardened the bombers’
resolve, while others talked of a backlash against Muslims. All
were shocked and horrified by the attacks.

“Everyone’s just really confused and wondering ‘What kind
of people are these people”‘ said builder Feroz Ahmed, 30.

“I think being in Iraq is one of the main concerns, and
Afghanistan.

“Now people are looking at you, and making comments.
They’re calling us terrorists, when we’re just normal British
law-abiding citizens. It’s horrible to see British Muslims
involved in something as tragic as this.”

Around 1.6 million Muslims live in Britain, and most trace
their roots to the Indian subcontinent. Predominantly
Bangladeshi Brick Lane is a fairly typical example of the close
knit Muslim communities dotted around the UK.

Many of Britain’s young Muslims are second, third and even
fourth generation immigrants — the descendants of Indians and
Pakistanis who came to Britain after World War II.

The near-certainty that the suicide bombers who blew up
three underground trains and a bus were British and from a
conventional immigrant background has stoked backlash fears.

“When I went on the underground a couple of days ago, I had
people not sit next to me and move to another carriage. They
look at you and think ‘Oh, he’s a terrorist,”‘ said council
worker Mahmud Hassan, 27.

Hassan’s niece died in last Thursday’s attacks, and her
body was identified on Tuesday.

“We’re trapped like rats really. We’re not looked on as
human beings,” he added.

MUSLIM ANGER

All those interviewed on Brick Lane condemned last week’s
bombings as un-Islamic and an insult to the religion. However,
many said the attack could not be isolated from wider political
issues in the Muslim world.

“This attack is not Islamic — it clearly states in the
Koran that if you kill one person, you have killed the whole of
humanity,” said 26-year-old Jeda Hussein.

“I condemn the situation but I’m really against this
government. This government and the American government, if
they hadn’t invaded Muslim countries we wouldn’t be in this
situation,” he added.

Some pointed to indignation provoked by the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and others mentioned lingering
anger at the massacre of thousands Muslim men and boys in
Srebrenica, Bosnia, the 10th anniversary of which fell this
week.

“The war in Iraq, what’s happened to the Palestinians,
Afghanistan — it’s all linked,” council worker Hassan said.

“Now they’ve gone into Srebrenica and they’re saying
they’re sorry for what has happened when they knew what was
going on. You can’t be sorry for something that you know is
happening and you’re not willing to stop it.”

Those interviewed in Brick Lane were pessimistic about
prospects of further integration of Muslim communities into
British society after the attacks.

However, the central London road has a long history as a
relatively temporary home for recent immigrants, until its
inhabitants become more prosperous and move out to blend into
wider society.

The Brick Lane mosque was once a chapel for Huguenot
refugees and was later converted to a synagogue when the area
had a thriving Jewish community.

Britain’s Muslims have already established themselves in
white collar industries, notably in the healthcare sector.

Britons of South Asian descent — some but not all of them
Muslims — account for 20 percent of the country’s hospital
doctors, 16 percent of its family doctors and 12 percent of its
pharmacists.

Several Muslims sit in the British parliament.

But for one old man in traditional Bengali attire, the
bombings and subsequent racist harassment he had endured had
darkened his outlook for Muslims in Britain.

“We used to be happy here,” he said. “Now it’s very, very
hard to live in this country.”