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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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1 August 2006

PRESS RELEASE: IHRC Response to Tony Blair’s Speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjareh said in response to Tony Blair’s extended call for a “complete renaissance” on foreign policy to combat “Reactionary Islam”:

“Sadly, Tony Blair’s comments regarding Islam and Muslims evidence a level of paranoia one would expect from a hardened conspiracy theorist telling us that the Twin Towers were bombed by Mossad.

“It is shocking to hear the level of hypocrisy and demonisation in Blair’s speech. To suggest that worldwide outrage to Israeli war crimes exemplify some sort of cynical manipulation by wrongly aggrieved fanatical Muslims is sickening enough, but to hear it come from one of the world’s most powerful leaders is also frightening.

“Blair needs to realise that in a world where tolerance and cross community alliances already exist, it is genuinely aggrieved Muslims, and people of various faiths and none whose values need to trump all forms of extremism, which are exemplified in the ideas of and justifications of egregious violence repeated by Blair.”

For more information please contact (+44) 20 8904 4222 or (+44) 7958 522196 or email info@ihrc.org.[ENDS]

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org[ENDS}