The Moazzam Begg case shows how Muslims are criminalised

<div class="field_article_img"><div><b>Image:</b></div></div><div class="field_article_author"><div><b>Written By:</b></div>Editor </div><div class="field_extract"><div><b>Extract Summary:</b></div>This letter from a number of prominent human rights academics, activists and lawyers was published in the Guardian in response to revelations that a number of British government agencies were responsible for detaining Moazzam Begg unlawfully and the wider implications this has had on the Muslim community.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This letter from a number of prominent human rights academics, activists and lawyers was published in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/oct/03/moazzam-begg-musliums-criminalised">The Guardian</a> in response to revelations that a number of British government agencies were responsible for detaining Moazzam Begg unlawfully and the wider implications this has had on the Muslim community.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><i>(Image courtesy of <a href="https://twitter.com/harryfear/status/517318077823070208">HarryFear </a>on Twitter)&nbsp;</i></div></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>On 1 October, Moazzam Begg was released after seven months in detention because of allegations arising from his time in Syria which included charitable and investigative work (<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/01/moazzam-begg-freed-case-collapses">Report, 2 October</a>).</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Days before a much-delayed court hearing, all charges have been dropped. Begg has been a role-model and mentor to many, young and not so young, and this new period of detention has caused great distress among those who look to him for inspiration. The manner in which he has been targeted and detained &ndash; with, ultimately, no evidence being brought against him in an open court &ndash; will confirm the view that this is a concerted campaign of intimidation, designed to scare Muslim communities away from active engagement in public life. While we celebrate his release, we remain concerned that he has spent another lengthy period in detention because of laws that are fundamentally unjust.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>We write to express our extreme concern about the use of allegations of terrorism and the arrest and detention of charity workers to slur and curtail the work of Muslim charities and organisations such as CAGE, Interpal, Ummah Trust and HHUGS, including through closing bank accounts, lengthy investigations into charitable status and, at the extreme, the arrest and detention of high-profile campaigners.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>While we recognise and support the role of the charity commission in regulating the charity sector, it is inconceivable that the simultaneous investigation of such a number of Muslim charities at this sensitive time has arisen without political pressure. Recent history has meant that many Muslim charities are working with communities living through conflict &ndash; in Afghanistan and Palestine, in Syria and Iraq. Who can doubt that there is real human need in such locations? In common with many other charities, these organisations have sought to campaign for justice as well as raising funds for the needy. The concerted attack on such charitable activity when undertaken by Muslims threatens to further alienate a generation of young people politicised by the relentless images of suffering from Syria and Gaza.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>We fear that we have drifted into a situation where the charitable giving of Muslim communities is regarded as &ldquo;suspect&rdquo;. We urge all people of goodwill to resist the attempt to criminalise the charity of some communities and we ask the charity commission to enable the organisations in question to resume their invaluable work.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><b>Professor Bill Bowring</b>, Birkbeck University of London</div><div><b>Professor Marie Breen-Smyth</b>, Associate dean, international faculty of arts and human sciences, University of Surrey</div><div><b>Jeremy Corbyn</b>, MP</div><div><b>Zita Holbourne</b>, Co-chair BARAC</div><div><b>Caroline Lucas</b>, MP</div><div><b>Malia Bouattia</b>, NUS black students&rsquo; officer</div><div><b>Professor Richard Jackson</b>, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand</div><div><b>Sheila Coleman</b>, Hillsborough Justice Campaign</div><div><b>AL Kennedy</b>, Writer</div><div><b>Dr Phil Shiner</b>, Solicitor</div><div><b>Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya</b>, University of East London</div><div><b>Hamja Ahsan</b>, Free Talha Ahsan</div><div><b>Amrit Wilson</b>, South Asia Solidarity Campaign</div><div><b>Dr Shahrar Ali</b>, Deputy leader, Green party</div><div><b>Saleh Mamon</b>, Campacc</div><div><b>Les Levidow</b>, Campacc</div><div><b>Muhammad Rabbani</b>, Managing Director, CAGE</div><div><b>Dr Charlotte Heath-Kelly</b>, Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick</div><div><b>Eeva Heikkilä</b>, Barrister</div><div><b>Dr Ruth Blakeley</b>, University of Kent</div><div><b>Tafazal Mohammad</b>, Muslim Youth Skills</div><div><b>Toby Cadman</b>, Barrister</div><div><b>Andy Worthington</b>, Journalist</div><div><b>David Young</b>, Barrister</div><div><b>Dr James Fitzgerald</b>, Dublin City University</div><div><b>Saghir Hussain</b>, Solicitor</div><div><b>Shakeel Begg</b>, Lewisham Islamic Centre</div><div><b>Paul McNab</b>, Public Interest Lawyers</div><div><b>Yusuf Patel</b>, Activist</div><div><b>Dr Christopher Baker-Beall</b>, Nottingham Trent University</div><div><b>Nadya Ali</b>, University of Reading</div><div><b>Mitch Mitchell</b>, Defend the Right to Protest</div><div><b>Mohammed Kozbar</b>, Finsbury Park Mosque</div><div><b>Rachel Harger</b>, Bindmans</div><div><b>David Renton</b>, Barrister</div><div><b>Bethany Shiner</b>, Public Interest Lawyers</div><div><b>Emily McFadden</b>, Public Interest Lawyers</div><div><b>Klara Holdstock</b>, Public Interest Lawyers</div><div><b>Leisha Shiner</b>, Public Interest Lawyers</div><div><b>Imam Abdullah Hasan</b>, UKIM Masjid Khadijah, Imams Against Domestic Abuse</div><div><b>Mary Nazzal-Batayneh</b>, Barrister</div><div><div><b>Abdur Raheem Green</b>, Chairman of iERA (Islamic Education &amp; Research Academy)</div><div><b>David Gottlieb</b>, Barrister</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Disclaimer: This letter was first posted in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/oct/03/moazzam-begg-musliums-criminalised">The Guardian</a>&nbsp;with some additional signatories.&nbsp;</em></div></div>