One year ago “shock and awe” visited London.  Not quite the same scale as that seen over Baghdad but not exactly unrelated.  MPACUK had warned of a fundamental disconnect between the government’s foreign policy and the feeling of large swathes of British Muslims right up until July 6th 2005 and then it happened, the event we all dreaded but very few were surprised by. 

The inevitable media frenzy that followed of course looked for a reason behind the devastating attack.  Could it be social depravation?  How about the Madrassas?  Maybe something in the Quran?  And of course the omnipotent guiding-hand of Al Qaeda?

Then came the killing of an innocent man on the tube by under-cover armed police.  After they killed this person they went on to assassinate his character, allowing lies about his clothing, his reaction and even his immigration status to circulate unchallenged.  Then a second wave of attacks that, thankfully, failed.

Getting to the truth of the matter is important both for the memory of the victims and also for the future.  Britain’s Muslims would also like to ask some questions.  Why has the government decided that an independent inquiry is too much hassle?  How dysfunctional are the intelligence services?  Are they beyond repair?  Are the police a transparent organisation?  What is fuelling the terror attacks?

Instead of trying to get to the bottom of the truth the government and in particular Tony Blair has deployed the tactic of giving the impression of consultation whilst having his own agenda and ignoring any advice given.  Remember the prominent Muslims being led into 10 Downing St. like little ducks being lined up to be shot?  Now the lecture by “honest Tone” that the moderate Muslims in Britain should police the country on the lookout for extremists.  Why weren’t such words of wisdom lavished on Britain’s Catholics in the 70’s or 80’s?

Three things seem to stand out by the government’s reaction or lack of.  Firstly despite such public interest the government has refused a public inquiry despite calls for one from so many quarters including most recently, Sadiq Khan MP (surely the best of the four Muslim M.P’s).  Secondly, the refusal to implement so many recommendations of the taskforces set up by the government.  A la Carte policy-making and little or no justification.  Lastly the curious case of Tony Blair to seem to be unable to acknowledge the role of British Foreign policy.  Now we all know that practically since the Suez crisis this country’s foreign policy has effectively been outsourced to a firm in Washington D.C called the US government.  This trend has increased to the point where subsequent British Foreign Secretaries under Labour seem to have undergone a Vulcan style mind-meld with their US counterparts.  Are we an independent nation or not?  Slavishly obeying the whims of the neo-cons in Washington is what led us into this mess in the first place.  Tony Blair’s lecture to the Muslim community is the old diversionary tactic.  Talk about anything but Foreign Policy.  The trouble is the truth keeps rearing its ugly head.  From opinion polls of Muslims to videos made by the bombers, Foreign Policy is not just a theme but the theme.  Blair’s government is not just mistaken in ignoring this most genuine of grievance it is wholly negligent in trying to make political capital out of such a serious matter.  Does he honestly think that Britain’s Muslims don’t give a damn about 100,000 Iraqis being slaughtered in an illegal war or that Palestine is being illegally occupied by a fascist state propped up by the US and now just to prove that “stupid is as stupid does”, Iran is being threatened with military action whilst Israel is free to continue to stockpile her nuclear and chemical arsenals?  Of course Britain’s Muslims should make a much bigger effort to integrate into mainstream British society.  MPACUK has campaigned vociferously for just such integration in the past.  Muslim institutions need better leadership and more democratic accountability but we do not need lectures from a man whose sole political legacy is a war whose effects are still being felt not only in Iraq but also in this country and is too cowardly to confess to his part in the motivation behind the July 2005 bombings.