LONDON: Muslim leaders are discussing the idea of issuing a fatwa against suicide bombers to prevent similar attacks to those in London last week. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, on Friday raised the idea when he met other Muslim community leaders in Leeds to discuss what concrete steps could be taken by the wider Muslim community. Another measure considered was the need for anyone in the Muslim community with suspicions that extremists were moving into an area to inform police. But Sir Iqbal stopped short of supporting a Muslim hotline for people to phone if they had suspicions of extremist activities in an area. The idea was floated by Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police. Sir Iqbal said Muslims had no more responsibility for informing on criminal activity than anyone else.

Young men within the community where the presence of extremists had come to light were critical of Sir Iqbal for ignoring them during his visit. Mozam Hussain, 18, who had come out to watch him arrive in Beeston, said he would have liked to have talked to Sir Iqbal: “There is no point him standing in front of the television cameras across the road. It’s pointless him being here if he does not talk to us.” A few hundred metres away police cordoned off the Iqra Islamic bookshop where Naveed Fiaz, 29, who is being questioned by police in London, had worked as a volunteer. Arif Butt, a local businessman, said all three bombers linked to Beeston - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain, 18 — had been regular visitors to the bookshop. “Young men who had become very religious used to go there all the time,” he said.

It was one of many community buildings being examined by police. Each had a connection with Mr Fiaz, a youth worker in Beeston who is still in police custody, and at least three of the bombers. Police removed six computer hard drives from the Hamara youth access point in Lodge Lane which was said to have been used by Khan as a recruitment centre for extremists.

Sir Iqbal told members of Leeds Grand Central mosque it was not up to the community to act as police and intelligence officers. “The imams, the community leaders, are not the police. It is not for us to police or to provide intelligence.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service