British Muslims were divided in their response to the allied strikes on Afghanistan as the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, met the leaders of some 20 faiths at Downing Street yesterday.
Within hours of the first attacks on Taliban defences, the British Muslim Council declared itself "deeply saddened and gravely concerned" that Britain and America had begun a military offensive against Afghanistan. However, a spokeswoman later explained that this statement had been prematurely issued ahead of last night's scheduled meeting of the council's affiliated bodies to see whether any "consensus" view existed.
Ahead of that meeting, Mr Khan Moghal, director of Manchester's Council for Community Relations, said the military offensive was justified. Mr Moghal said any action had to be measured and widely supported, and the action begun on Sunday satisfied that criteria.
However, Mr Sher Azam, the president of Bradford's Council for Mosques, insisted war was not the answer: "What happened in the US was wrong - but so is attacking Afghanistan and two wrongs do not make a right . . . The Taliban said it was willing to negotiate but the US did not give diplomacy a chance. If this avenue were properly explored, perhaps there may have been a satisfactory outcome without more loss of life.
"If the US wants to punish those responsible then it should go through the international courts of justice."
There was still-more outspoken criticism of the US from Islamic cleric Mr Abu Hamza al-Masri, who said the Americans had "just started putting their foot into a pot of fire that history has shown is not easy to get out of."
Predicting the allied action would increase support for Osama bin Laden, he said: "People who are not in groups will become sympathisers."
And Mr Abdul Rehman Saleem, spokesman for the fundamentalist group Al Muhajiroun ("The Exiles") said: "The government is taking the world into World War three.
"This is a terrorist attack. Our support of Osama bin Laden will continue and we are going to call for Muslims around the world to rise against three allied forces in this war which we call Jihad."
The British Muslim Council statement said: "The humanitarian needs, the right to self-determination of the Afghan people, their long neglected need for peace, security and decent living standards must be the foremost concern."