Author: David Charter
Publication: The Times, UK
Date: May 13, 2002
Peter Hain, the Europe Minister,
was criticised yesterday for describing a tendency among Muslims to be
"very isolationist".
Mr Hain a veteran antiapartheid
campaigner, said that problem arising from religious differences could
bemore dangerous than problems of racial difference Simon hughes, the Liberal
Democrat Home affairs spokesman said however, that identifying Muslims
as the group most guilty of separatism was simplistic and dangerous.
In an interview with The Sunday
Times, Mr Hain aid: "Islam is now a much bigger factor than recial tension
and we are going to need to resolve that together not by targeting Muslims
as [the Dutch politician Pim] Fortuyn was doing but sending a clear message
the British Muslims are welcome here and enrich our culture, but also that
they must be part of our culture.
"Muslim immigrant can be very isolations
in their own behaviour and their own customs. That in the end is going
to create real difficulties and is likely to be ripe for exploitation by
extremists, whether it is followers of bin Laden on the one hand or racists
on the other."
Mr. Hughes said at a speak out Against
Racism rally in London: "Identifying Muslims as they group most guilty
of separatism in the UK, as the Minister for Europe has done, is simplistic
and dangerous. There are many national, recial and faith communities where
lack of good English and different religious traditions keep them away
from too much of mainstream British culture and participation.
"The tendency to isolationism is
also much more common in certain age groups, whatever their faith, and
in several communities amongst women rather than men. Until we establish
religious equality in this country we cannot expect equally of political
participation.
