Fatchett to Britain’s Muslim Community: “We have done everything to protect the rights of UK nationals held by the Yemeni authorities.” [Archives:1999/06/Law & Diplomacy]
February 8 1999
To pacify the community, the Rt. Honorable Derek Fatchett, MP, British Minister of State with responsibility for the Middle East, wrote the following article, which is jointly published by Q-News, a British Muslim magazine published twice monthly in London, and the Yemen Times.
Proud of British Muslims:
Recent events in Yemen have sent a shock wave through parts of the Muslim communities in Britain. Some have even raised doubts about whether the Foreign Office represents all British nationals abroad equally. There is a legitimate concern that British press and public equate every British Muslim with the extremists who advocate terrorism in the name of Islam. And underneath, there is one fundamental question that goes to the heart of the identity and confidence of every Muslim community in Britain – can a Muslim really be British as well?
I believe passionately that the answer to the last question is yes. There is no contradiction between being a true Muslim and hundred per cent British.
This basic belief is at the heart of multicultural Britain. It means that we value all our citizens regardless of ethnic background, colour or religion. It means that we welcome everything that Britain’s Muslim communities have to offer, rather than expecting them to assimilate themselves into oblivion before we will accept their Britishness. It means that we value the diversity of Britons.
People – a small number on both sides of the cultural divide – have said that a Muslim can never be fully British, as their loyalty must be to Islam. The truth is that everyone has many loyalties – religious, national, and political. Being loyal to Islam does not preclude being loyal to Britain. More than that, in the increasingly inter-connected world in which we now live, the British Muslim communities are a priceless asset. They give us a unique link to the Islamic world. They understand Islam, and maintain their links with other Muslim communities, countries and governments.
Rather than isolate the Muslim communities and make them feel like strangers in a foreign land, it is all the more important that the British Government convinces them that they are an integral part of the modern Britain, that their concerns are as important as anyone else’s, and that they have a valued place in the government and the life of the nation. That is why I have made it my business to bring the leaders of Britain’s Muslim communities into the Foreign Office to discuss events of issues of mutual concern. That is why the Foreign Office is reaching out to young British Muslims to encourage them to consider the Diplomatic Service as a career. I look forward to the day when we send our first Muslim Ambassador overseas.
That is why I and the rest of the Foreign Office were so upset by the accusation that the Foreign Office was giving second class treatment to the five British nationals arrested in Yemen.
Our rule is simple. Every British national is entitled to the protection of British Embassies abroad – whatever their religion or ethnic background. I made this clear to representatives of the Muslim communities when I met them earlier this week. Baroness Symons gave the families of the detained men the same message when she met them the week before, and so did Robin Cook when he met their MPs.
As soon as our Embassy in Sana’a heard that British nationals had been detained we demanded consular access to them. As soon as we had confirmation of their names we contacted the families in the UK. And after our Consul-General visited them we told the families any news. Our officials have spoken regularly with the both the five families and their lawyers.
It took time for the Yemeni authorities to give our Consul access to all five detainees. So we, the whole Government machine, went into action. Robin Cook spoke three times to the Yemeni Prime Minister about the case. We have insisted that the five British nationals receive their rights – a trial under due process of law; proper legal representation; full consular access. What we cannot do is demand that they be given special treatment or sent home because they are British. I fully understand the anguish of their families. For them the accusations against their sons and husbands can make no sense. But we cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country – for these British nationals, or for any others. A further difficulty is the perception in the mainstream British public and press of the Muslim communities in Britain. The newspapers have revealed in detail the websites and survival camps run by extremists. The extremists in the Muslim communities have been happy to play along, giving the press endless quotes about Jihad and the legitimacy of terrorism. For the vast majority of you, this extremism is repugnant. I know you watch with weary resignation as it strengthens the stereotypes and polarizes their communities from the rest of British society. We have to fight this. Winning the argument will not be easy. It is more sensational to report extremism than moderation. The biggest obstacle to truth is a lazy journalist. But if we are going to create a genuinely multicultural society in a socially integrated Britain, then we must start to knock down the stereotypes and falsehoods that have taken root. This will need a sustained effort – from the leaders of your communities, from the theologians, the teachers, the journalists and the writers. We must reach out to the people of Britain and tell the truth – about Islam and what it really stands for, about you and all you contribute to Britain. We must show them that the extremists are no more representative of Islam than the British National Party is representative of mainstream Christian opinion.
If I was to draw one lesson from everything that has happened recently, it is that we still have a long way to go before you feel properly valued. That we still have a lot of work to do before the British press and public get an accurate picture of Islam and of British Muslims. And that no task is more important than putting this right.
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