Muslims Praise PM

AFTER meeting with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Wednesday, over a hundred members of the local Muslim community walked away with a sense of relief as Rowley reiterated there was no anti-Islamic agenda by government.

Among the leaders invited to attend the meeting, head of the Jamaat al Muslimeen Imam Yasin Abu Bakr said he was cautiously optimistic that the discussions would yield positive results and commended Rowley for hosting the meeting.

Speaking with reporters outside the Centre shortly after 8.30 pm, Bakr said he was generally pleased with the assurances given by the Prime Minister. Citing the 2011 State of Emergency in which 17 Muslims were detained for a suspected assassination plot against then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Bakr said he felt the current administration responded appropriately by hosting the meeting as it eased tensions within the Muslim community.

“I must congratulate the Prime Minister because the last regime locked up 17 Muslims with absolutely no information at all, with charges they were planning to assassinate the former PM.

“The rudiments of common courtesy would dictate that she call some kind of meeting like this and apologise, but nothing like that happened and there was not as much outpouring as there is now. We should have a balance...society needs to have a balance,” Bakr said. Quoting the Holy Q’uran, Bakr urged government to be more open with the public in matters pertaining to national security, saying citizens deserve full disclosure in situations which affect their lives and safety.

For his part, businessman and broadcaster Inshan Ishmael said while he was comforted by Rowley’s reassurances and promises of support, he was not impressed with the contributions made by Ag Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams. Citing his own history of contention with the Police Service, being detained under suspicion of terrorism in 2007 and again in 2016, Ishmael said he believes Muslims are being unfairly targeted by the police.

“As someone who has had a lot of experience being targeted by police, it definitely causes some concern. I felt no comfort with words from the Commissioner, when we can hold a peaceful protest in Chaguanas and a large contingent of police shows up and treats us as opposed to others, there is a clear disparity in how Muslims are treated in this country,” Ishmael.

Despite his objections to the anti-terrorism bill, Ishmael said he and other Muslim leaders will join forces for a march against terrorism at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium this weekend. Representative of the Anjuman Sunnat ul Jamaat Association (ASJA) Arool Khan also extended his support and said they would be making submissions to the Joint Select Committee formed to review the anti-terrorism bill.