BRITAIN: British government ministers have criticised Muslim leaders for drawing a causal link between Britain's foreign policy and the rise of Islamist extremism.
In an open letter to prime minister Tony Blair on Saturday, British Muslim groups and politicians suggested his policies were putting civilians at increased risk in the UK and abroad.
Its signatories included three of the four Muslim MPs, three of the four Muslims in the House of Lords and 38 organisations, among them the Muslim Council of Britain.
They said the "debacle" in Iraq and Britain's "failure to do more to secure an immediate end to the attacks on civilians in the Middle East" not only increased the risk to those living in the region, but also inspired extremists who threaten Britain.
"We urge the prime minister to redouble his efforts to tackle terror and extremism and change our foreign policy to show the world that we value the lives of civilians wherever they live, and whatever their religion. Such a move would make us all safer."
It is reported Downing Street did not know about the letter until Friday night, and ministers moved briskly at the weekend to contest it.
"I think it is very, very dangerous when people who call themselves community leaders make some assumption that somehow there's a rational connection between these two things," said foreign office minister Kim Howells. Transport secretary Douglas Alexander condemned the suggestion of a link as "dangerous and foolish".
In a statement issued by Downing Street, Mr Blair said: "We should always remember that the terrorism affecting the West today has blighted Muslim countries for several decades." He added he would be willing to meet Muslim leaders on his return from holiday.
The rhetorical force of the government's response to the letter reflects two acute sensitivities.
Since the July 7th bombings in London last year - and the subsequent release of a "martyr" video of one of the bombers explicitly invoking the war in Iraq - the government has been alert to any suggestion its actions might have made the terrorist threat worse. To do so, it holds, is to attempt a dangerous rationalisation for the killing of innocents.
More importantly, the letter comes at a time when government ministers are concertedly working to avert damage to community relations.
Fearing the potential for a Muslim backlash in the wake of the arrest of 24 suspects on Thursday, Muslim MPs and other MPs whose constituents were in custody were personally briefed by Scotland Yard and John Prescott, the deputy prime minister.
In Waltham Forest, the east London borough in which several of those arrested lived, local politicians convened a meeting of some 100 people on Thursday, including local imams, community activists and police, to discuss the situation.
Further local meetings with Muslim communities are scheduled for this week, with Mr Prescott, home secretary John Reid and police and counter-terrorism minister Tony McNulty among those who will listen to people's concerns.
In contrast with president George Bush, who upset American Muslim groups last week by twice referring to "Islamic fascism", British ministers are being careful not to allow the impression the wider Muslim community is being singled out for blame.
Dr Reid assiduously stressed that the struggle against terrorism was one that united all of Britain's communities. Asked on Friday if Muslim communities could do more to deter terrorism, he avoided a direct answer.
"The threat from terrorists is a threat to every individual in every section of British society," said Dr Reid. "Terrorists do not distinguish on the basis of sex, social background, age or religion. Terrorism is a common threat to all of us."
Others are not so coy. On Friday, the Daily Telegraph ran a leader column headlined "Only Muslim families can stop this infamy", drawing immediate criticism from the Muslim Council of Britain.
"Attempts to blame British Muslims collectively as being somehow vicariously responsible for the actions of a few are not only unjust, they are criminally short-sighted and inflame opinion," wrote Inayat Bunglawala, the council's assistant secretary-general.
The government's challenge is stark. A poll carried out for Channel 4's Dispatches last week found that one in three British Muslims aged between 18 and 24 would rather live under Sharia law than British law.
One in four said the 7/7 bombings were justified.
And on the day Inayat Bunglawala warned against inflaming opinion, police said a fire which damaged a mosque in Basingstoke, in Hampshire, might have been a "revenge" attack for the alleged bomb plot.
Sixteen firemen spent two hours trying to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the roof of the mosque but caused no injuries.