BRITAIN'S MUSLIM BACKLASH
This report from The Independent is disturbing:
Loyalist Labour MPs and ministers who backed the war in Iraq face a backlash from Muslim voters, say community leaders.
Ihtisham Hibatullah, a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain, said Labour's defeat in Brent on Thursday was a "clear warning" to other Labour MPs to change policy on Iraq and on their support for President George Bush.
Muslim activists are targeting a number of prominent MPs who hold seats with large numbers of Muslim voters, particularly the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, in Blackburn and the east London MPs Oona King, Jim Fitzpatrick and Stephen Timms.
The report is also incomplete. It never explains why Muslims object to the Blair policy in Iraq--presumably they're not just peaceniks--or asks why Britain should not support the war on terror. Do they sympathize with Saddam? Do they fear U.S. power? Do they support al Qaeda or, if not its methods, its goals? Are there important differences among British Muslims? On a story this potentially significant, reporters should ask the basic questions--and share the answers with their readers.