A debased report
Sir: A document sent direct from Conservative Central Office is, by definition, indicative of being consistent with a range of Conservative thinking. Thus the report from the Conservative Muslim Forum recently distributed must be taken very seriously and it is regrettable to see that what should have been the opportunity to represent a consensus of our Muslim community has been debased by the extremism of several of its views: in its blatant attempt to influence the Conservative party over its attitude towards Israel; in its shrill threat that support for Israel would damage Britain's relationship with the world Muslim community; and in its abuse of the sense of purpose of the forum.
The Conservative party is enjoined to change its traditional policy towards the State of Israel. The advice shows a total ignorance of the facts on the ground. One cannot call for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories before negotiating a two-state solution.
There is a lot of common sense and meaningful platitudes in much of the report but it is the underlying comments that spoil the total impact. For instance, it advises that the history syllabus in schools should be revised to include 'full recognition to the massive contribution that Islam has made to the development of Western civilisation' and blames the Christian Churches for suppressing facts. It suggests that Iran is developing the nuclear weapon as a defence against Israel.
The report clearly reflects many of the concerns of Muslims, the vast majority of whom clearly wish to become integrated into our society, while at the same time being allowed to pursue their own religious identity. But this report, when closely studied, has clearly been hijacked by those who have a more demanding agenda, which the Conservative party will need to interpret extremely carefully.
It would have been better if this paper had not been produced under the auspices of the Conservative party, and we must ensure that every issue is fully debated and, where appropriate, rejected.
Lord Kalrns London W1
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