British Secy. May calls on Muslims to respect UK values
The UK Home Secretary, Theresa May has urged British Muslims to help deal with extremism, saying the country must not tolerate citizens who fail to respect its values.
May also noted that British freedoms come with “responsibilities.”
Her comments came with the unveiling of a broad approach to tackling extremism in the UK. May said while extremism exists in racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, “Islamic extremism” is the greatest threat to the country, RT reported.
“We are free to practice any faith, follow any religious denomination, or ignore religion altogether,” she told an audience in central London.
“We are free to wear whatever clothes we choose. We are free to establish our own faith schools and give our sons and daughters the best education possible. We are free to build our own churches, temples and mosques and worship freely,” she said.
Now, the head of research of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in London, Arzu Merali believes such comments only demonize Muslims in the country.
“Unfortunately Theresa May, The British Home Secretary’s comments today, are the latest in the lined out speeches, comments, commentaries by politicians of high ranks,” She told Press TV’s UK Desk in a Monday interview.
“It creates the idea in the general public’s mind that Muslims have an inherent feeling of violence and hatred towards the majority of the society and this has been amplified right now because we are in the run-up to the general election.”
Merali said, “These kinds of accusations are not only false, but very dangerous because it is creating an enormous climate of hatred.”
This is while the UK home secretary warned of growing levels of “Islamic extremism” spreading throughout the country, citing examples of the Trojan Horse plot to take over Birmingham schools and allegations of extremist ideas being promulgated in schools.
May has been responsible for introducing a plethora of new counter-terror measures, including seizing suspects’ passports.
But she has been criticized for implementing policies that unfairly target the Muslim community.
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