A leading Muslim has accused Tony Blair of playing an “unhelpful blame game” by suggesting moderate Muslims are doing too little to challenge extreme views. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said Mr Blair’s remarks could hamper the good work being done. Moderate Muslims had promoted dialogue and peace in their communities since the 2001 attacks in the US, he said. And Mr Blair risked obscuring the real reasons for last year’s London attacks. Dr Bari said: “Blaming a community, especially those who have been working for the last five years to bringing sanity in the community, bringing peace and harmony in the community. This blaming is not helpful to us.”

BBC News, 6 July 2006