Britain's government is "creating a climate of fear" to justify its policies over Iraq and fighting terrorism, a top Muslim leader said Sunday. "I think there is a lot of suspicion, not only among Muslims but among the population at large, that all this is creating a climate of fear," Assam Tamimi, president of the Muslim Association of Britain told the independent GMTV channel.
"The war on Iraq and the alleged war on terrorism have been wars on the Muslim community," Tamimi insisted.
"When you arrest Muslims early in the morning in their hundreds and end up releasing them without charge you are creating an atmosphere of horror and fear."
A poll last week revealed that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour Party have dramatically lost the support of British Muslims, who have switched allegiance to the opposition Liberal Democrats, the nation's third main party.
Eighty percent of the country's Muslims reject Blair's claims that the war on terror was not against Islam, up from 68 percent in March, according to an ICM poll carried out for the Guardian newspaper, published on November 29.
Labour was once seen as the natural home of ethnic minority voters, with an estimated 75 percent of Muslims who voted at the last election thought to have backed Blair, the ICM poll said.
However, Labour has dropped six points to 32 percent since March, while the main opposition Conservative Party has dropped nine points to 16 percent. The Liberal Democrats are up five on 41 percent.
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