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Fresh from the controversy over their shoot-to-kill tactics in the wake of the London suicide bombings, British police have sparked another furore over their latest policy to fight terror "targeted searches."
Some Islamic groups have expressed anger at what they say amounts to a policy of discrimination whereby Muslims travelling on London's mass transport system are targeted for searching ahead of other religious and ethnic groups.
The tactic is already being used on the London Underground during the biggest police deployment here since World War II, amid fears that another Muslim terror cell is planning more attacks against the British capital.
Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston has said that his overstretched force will not waste time searching "little old white ladies" following the twin terror bombings on July 7 and July 21.
But Abdullah Allah, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, told BBC television that the policy could harm race relations at a time when many British Muslims are already feeling marginalized and scared of reprisals.
"Since 9/11 we've seen a more than 300 per cent increase in the number of Asians stopped and searched. This will only make the ethnic minorities feel they are under more scrutiny," he said.
Three British-born ethnic Pakistanis and a Jamaican-born Muslim convert carried out the first deadly attack on July 7, in which they killed themselves and 52 other people. The suspected July 21 bombers, who failed to repeat the devastation because their bombs did not fully go off, are mainly of east African origin.
A day after the second attack, British police fatally shot an innocent Brazilian man whom they had mistaken for a would-be Muslim suicide bomber, under a "shoot-to-kill" policy which has shocked British Muslims.
Muslims live in fear
Many Muslims in London already believe that racism is common among the mainly white British police force, and fear that officers will abuse their search powers to harass innocent people rather than hunt terrorists.
"As a young Muslim man who would fit their profile (of a potential terrorist), I'm not sure it's a very clever tactic and I don't think it will work at all," said Fuad Ali, a reporter for the London-based Muslim Weekly newspaper.
"On one hand it's understandable because the profile of the people who are doing these things might fit my description, but on the other hand there's the danger that it could alienate Muslims even more."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has met senior British Muslims and called for their help in the fight against "home grown" terror, and a "major roundtable talk with Muslim leaders" has been scheduled for September 20.
A Home Office spokeswoman said eight meetings would take place before parliament returns in October, ending with "concrete proposals" on key issues from Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
"The government is introducing a series of meetings during the summer to discuss the shared challenges facing the Muslim community and the government following recent events," the spokeswoman said.
But fears persist in the Muslim community that their rights will be trampled by "overzealous" police following the London bombings, fuelling radicalism rather than enlisting Muslim support to counter violent extremism.
"People wouldn't mind so much if the search policy was intelligence-led, but if it's based purely on racial profiling a lot of people will find it inconvenient to say the least," said Ali.
There are a lot of young people in this community who are trying to fit in but this will just make them feel even more alienated."
Superintendent Ali Dizaei, of the National Black Police Association, said that although racial profiling was acceptable provided searches were carried out respectfully, there was a danger the tactic could backfire.
"These are extraordinary times which require extraordinary measures," he told the BBC.
"It is communities that defeat terrorism, therefore, if we do anything that fractures that legitimacy of policing in those communities, that will be counter-productive."
(China Daily August 3, 2005)
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