In this piece, Christian Concern's Director of Islamic Affairs, Tim Dieppe, discusses news that Islamic extremism has infiltrated the police force. "The idea that our counterterrorism division would employ someone sympathetic to the Taliban, and let them continue in that role is shocking and disturbing," he writes.
He states that the "foundation of our society is at stake" and urges believers to pray that police offers would not be intimidated by fears of Islamophobia.
One might expect that those inside Scotland Yard’s counterterrorism division would not be afraid of being labelled ‘Islamophobic’. One might have thought that there would be some decent vetting system, and that those with views sympathetic to Islamists would not be employed in this division, or anywhere in the police. However, such is not the case according to Javaria Saeed who resigned this year from the counterterrorism unit, after complaining about Islamic extremism amongst her colleagues.
Saeed a practicing Muslim herself, says she was demonised by some fellow Muslim officers, labelled a "bad Muslim" for not wearing a hijab, and told she was "better off at home looking after your husband." She complained to her bosses after witnessing a fellow officer saying that FGM was a "clean and honourable practice" that "should not be criminalised." This same officer also said that female victims of domestic violence should not appeal to the police, but resolve their cases in a sharia court, except in "serious violent cases." Saeed says that her managers refused to take any action because they were afraid of being accused of racism. She says she was advised not to make an official complaint because it would "hinder" her "career progression and tarnish [her] reputation.'
Saeed says that the Met refuses to properly investigate Muslim officers for fear of being called Islamophobic. She says that Muslim officers were racist against white officers, and sexist too. "If such views were held and expressed by white officers, they would be fired." she said.
Saeed also complained that another Muslim officer said that Pakistan’s security problems would be resolved with a "strict religious solution … like the Taliban." She resigned because of the political correctness that refused to properly deal with such views in the force.
Saeed’s experiences ring all too true because we now know that the police failed to properly investigate Islamic rape gangs in Rotherham and other towns for fear of being called racist or Islamophobic. A report in the Daily Express last month revealed that child sexual exploitation is still going on today in Rotherham, with many victims complaining about the continued lack of response from the police. Allegations have also been made of Rotherham scale abuse in Telford. Street pastors have been working in the town, providing information and preventing some girls from being taken away. Street Pastors co-ordinator, the Rev Keith Osmund-Smith, doubts that the information that street pastors have been providing to the police since 2013 is always acted upon.
Meanwhile, West Midlands Police Chief Constable David Thompson has said that he would consider employing staff who wear a burka in order to increase minority ethnic representation in the force. Even the Muslim Council of Britain thinks this is a bad idea. Only a small portion of Muslim women from the most fundamentalist groups of Muslims wear burkas. The burka dehumanises the women and is a barrier to proper communication. It is a symbol of oppression. This is not something that the police should be promoting, and wearing it will not help to enforce the law.
Clearly the police have a problem. They are terrified of being called racist or Islamophobic, and as a consequence girls are being raped and crimes are not being investigated. The idea that our counterterrorism division would employ someone sympathetic to the Taliban, and let them continue in that role is shocking and disturbing. Saeed has taken a courageous and principled stance to expose this problem. Let us hope and pray that more officers will be bold enough to refused to be cowed by allegations of racism or Islamophobia. It is Christianity that provides the foundation for equality before the law since we believe and teach that every person is created in the image of God. Islam, by contrast, discriminates against both non-Muslims and women. Our police need to uphold the law and apply it equally, both within their own ranks and out on the streets. The foundation of our society is at stake.
Related Links:
British police force says it may allow female officers to wear burkas as part of uniform (Telegraph)
London counterterrorism officer quits over double standard for Muslims (Federalist)
Met ignored extremism among my fellow Muslim officers (Times £)
Horrific abuse scandal in town dubbed 'child sex capital of Britain' (Mirror)