British Party Punished For Anti-Islam Remarks

The bank’s decision was taken following the BBC airing of a documentary showing senior BNP members gloating over racist attacks on Muslims and deriding Islam as a "wicked religion".

The BBC expose brought furious reactions from Muslims and the government, whose leader in Parliament said the BNP is "a vile party of Nazi thugs".

The Barclays, Britain’s third-biggest bank which has a significant number of Muslim clients, was the first institution to take condemnation into action.

Although the bank was reviewing its position on the BNP before the BBC film was broadcast, the step is considered a success to a relevantly nascent campaign by British Muslim groups against racist acts.

"The bank has a significant number of clients who are Muslims or from other ethnic groups in Britain. Its officials are aware of the concerns of their clients," said Shabana Khan, the spokesperson of the Muslim Association of Britain.

Rising Clout

Khan attributed the quick response of the bank to the party’s anti-Islamic statements to one main fact; "The constructive campaign by Muslim groups and other parties against the racist ideology".

"Given the obvious clout of Muslims after their votes were proved decisive in municipal and European Parliament elections, the community members are turning lobby-minded with growing influence," Shabana told IslamOnline.net over the phone.

Barclays was quoted by the press as saying that it may close an account if a customer could damage the bank’s reputation or cause loss of other business.

It could have feared a repeat of the damage the bank incurred when it was forced to shut its South African business in 1986 after UK students boycotted the bank – over apartheid policies – denying it potentially affluent customers.

On Friday, July 16, a minority party made use of Muslim votes to overturn a Labour majority of over 13,000 in the central city of Leicester and win a once-safe parliamentary seat in by-elections .

The constituency has a large number of Muslim populations, and the stinging defeat of the Labour came after vigorous campaigns by Muslim groups asking voters to go to vote against the pro-Iraq war party.

Must Be Emulated

Muslim leaders, on their part, welcomed the reaction of Barclays, hoping this will be repeated by other companies in an effort to crack down on racists.

"This is a truly commendable act which must be emulated by other civic institutions. It is only by such decisive action would this cancerous phenomenon be eradicated from our society," said Ahmed Al-Sheikh, President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB).

In a press release Saturday, July 16, MAB called upon its regional chapters, sister organizations and Muslims throughout the country to write letters of thanks to Barclays for "their principled and courageous stand".

The group had played a key role in foiling bids by right-wing propaganda to expel Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi during his one week visit. The request by the Board of Deputies of British Jews to prosecute the Muslim scholar during his one-week visit was also turned down.

"We has come out to defend ourselves," Ihtisham Hibatullah, head of the media office in the MAB, told IOL Monday.

Hibatullah said Barclays officials were contacted by his group for a "thank-you".

In June, British Muslims called for a boycott of more than 40 UK firms which are involved with the US-owned corporation accused of directing the torture of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

Among the firms which use CACI in the UK was Barclays along with Honda, Renault, Barclays, AXA Direct, Friends Provident, House of Fraser, The Woolwich, Cadbury, Unilever, Danone, The Co-op, WH Smith, the Royal Mail, Peugeot, O2 and British Gas. CACI also works for a number of local authorities including Greater London, and British Telecom.

Government Support

Analysts also paid attention to steps taken by the government to halt racist statements and actions against Muslims and other ethnic groups, especially after the Iraq invasion.

"There is a realization how dangerous this [racism] is," said Tonny Benn, a retired Labour MP and renowned broadcaster.

Speaking to IOL over the phone, Benn also asked for "argument to be placed" over racial hatred for reaching appropriate solutions to racial hatred.

As Muslims think they should lobby for more rights and empathy after the success of their recent campaign, Benn stresses that time is ripe for this.

With their clout manifested in elections and goring power, the situation of Muslims is now "encouraging and helpful".

Muslim leaders in Britain also hope for their counterparts in other European countries, estimated at about 20 million, to follow suit.

Britain unveiled last week plans to put forward a legislation making it a crime to incite religious hatred, including against Muslims.

Inciting hatred against other races is already a crime in Britain but there is no equivalent law protecting all religions.

In secretly recorded footage by the BBC, BNP leader Nick Griffin – who recently hosted French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen – railed against the Noble Qur’an and acknowledged his views were legally dangerous.

Other footage in "The Secret Agent" showed a BNP member expressing a wish to blow up mosques with a rocket launcher and to machine-gun worshippers with "about a million bullets".

Another member told how he put dog faeces through an Asian shop’s letterbox, while a third describes how he beat up a Muslim man. "I’m kicking away … it was fantastic," he said.