London’s Muslims Voice New Fears

The Muslim community here already felt the glare of suspicion in the wake of the deadly bombings that have terrorized London.

Then came an admission by police Saturday that they had gunned down an innocent Brazilian on Friday who they thought was a would-be bomber.

That, some in the community said, put London’s Muslims in a double bind: afraid of the militants, and afraid of the police.

“All of us must help police identify these suspect bombers and bring them to justice -- yet yesterday’s events make it harder for us,” said Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the mainstream Muslim Council of Britain. “If people believe that the individuals they are informing on may be shot dead before it’s even verified they’re a threat, they’re going to be reluctant to tell the police.”

Police continued to hunt for four attackers who tried to detonate homemade bombs on three Underground trains and aboard a bus Thursday. The failed attempt came exactly two weeks after four Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 commuters, also on three subway trains and a bus.

Most London police are unarmed, and police shootings in Britain have been extremely rare, adding to the shock and disbelief over Friday’s killing in front of astonished Underground passengers. That the man turned out to be innocent confirmed the worst fears of some people.

Some minority members worry that they could be victimized by police using a shoot-first, ask-later policy. Others are concerned about a possible backlash against Muslims, Pakistanis or dark-skinned people in general if they become connected in the public’s mind to terrorism.

Since the first wave of bombings, there have been 300 reports of vandalism or violence against mosques, Muslim-related businesses or members of the community, said Ahmed J. Versi, editor of the monthly Muslim News. Some people report being spat upon or shoved, or hearing ugly epithets, when they walk down the street.

Although the reaction has been milder than what American Muslims and South Asians faced after the Sept. 11 attacks, it has compounded the direct hit London’s Muslims took in the bombings, Versi said.

“The terrorist attacks were in areas that are heavily Muslim, and more than 10% of the victims were Muslims,” he noted.

Muslims find themselves “under increasing suspicion by their fellow Londoners when they get on the Underground, when they get on the buses,” said Bunglawala of the Muslim Council, which represents 400 Muslim groups in Britain.

“We have been getting reports that police have been challenging young Muslims, forcing them onto the ground, opening their bags and packages,” he said. “In some reports, the policemen almost seem to be enjoying what they’re doing. They’re shouting, ‘Don’t you dare move or we’ll fire.’ The police themselves are not entirely calm.”

Imran Saithna, 27, a project manager for the Muslim Youth Helpline, which provides counseling for young Muslims, predicted a “massive increase in stop-and-search” by police -- developments he called “understandable.”

“Do I have a problem with that? I’m not convinced that it is a bad thing, actually,” he said.

Yet Saithna said his parents had begged him to shave off his beard so as to lessen the chances he’d be stopped by police. He thinks twice before taking his computer case onto the Underground late at night, lest someone think it is a bomb, he said.

And Friday’s shooting has shaken him.

“That guy was shot five times and then the Metropolitan Police say, ‘Whoops. Mistake.’ I mean, that could have been me shot five times,” he said.

“I think generally we’re quite scared,” Saithna said about London’s Muslims. “We actually feel that we are being attacked in more than one way.... We feel that these terrorists have blown up our country too.”