PM David Cameron defends letter to Islamic leaders
The Muslim Council of Britain said the letter appeared to suggest - "like the far right"- that Muslims and Islam were inherently apart from British society.
Mr Cameron said the letter, written by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, was "reasonable, sensible and moderate"
The letter was sent to 1,000 Muslim leaders after the attacks in Paris.
The prime minister said Mr Pickles was "absolutely right" to write the letter urging leaders to do more to tackle extremism.
"Anyone who reads this letter - and I've read the letter - will see that what he is saying is that British Muslims make a great contribution to our country, that what is happening in terms of extremist terror has nothing to do with the true religion of Islam," he said. "It's being perverted by a minority who have been radicalised.
"Anyone reading this letter, who has a problem with it, I think really has a problem."Communities minister Lord Ahmad, who signed the letter with Mr Pickles, said the response from the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) was "disappointing" and "missed the point".
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "It explicitly states that British values are Muslim values. This letter is laying out that the government is engaging with all communities, saying we need to tackle extremism and to work together to make sure we eradicate this evil from our society."
'Proud of your country'
In the letter sent to more than 1,000 Islamic leaders, Mr Pickles stressed he was "proud" of the way Muslims in Britain had responded to the Paris terror attacks but added that there was "more work to do".
He wrote: "You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility, in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity.We believe together we have an opportunity to demonstrate the true nature of British Islam today. There is a need to lay out more clearly than ever before what being a British Muslim means today: proud of your faith and proud of your country. We know that acts of extremism are not representative of Islam, but we need to show what is."
But MCB deputy secretary-general Harun Khan said: "We will be writing to Mr Eric Pickles to ask that he clarifies his request to Muslims to 'explain and demonstrate how faith in Islam can be part of British identity'."Is Mr Pickles seriously suggesting, as do members of the far right, that Muslims and Islam are inherently apart from British society?"
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said he was "dismayed" by the letter, which was "typical of the government only looking at Muslims through the prism of terrorism and security".
"We do not need a patronising letter from ministers to tell us to campaign against terrorism, promote values and do more against extremism when all the evidence points to Muslims organisations doing just that," he said.
But Haras Rafiq, of the Quilliam Foundation think tank, said he was disappointed by the negative reaction of some Muslims.
"Whether we like it or not, there are some mosques, some imams who are preaching hate," he said.
Former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks said he believed the letter was "well-intentioned" but he understood the frustrations of Muslim leaders at being held responsible for dealing with something out of their control.
"The truth is that Islamism, like all modern global political movements, is actually a global phenomenon - transmitted by the internet, transmitted by social media," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said while he took the letter in "good spirit", most people were being radicalised on the internet rather than in UK mosques.
"We've got to give parents and older people who may have concerns about radicalisation the confidence to go to the authorities and seek help," he told BBC Radio 5 live.On Sunday Mr Pickles joined the Home Secretary Theresa May at a service in London, organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, to remember those killed in the French attacks this month.
Ms May said the UK had to redouble its efforts to "wipe out anti-Semitism".
She also said she never thought she would "see the day when members of the Jewish community" would be "fearful" of staying in the UK.
Police have said there is "heightened concern" about risks to Jewish people, following the atrocities in Paris.
A total of 17 people died in a series of attacks by gunmen over three days, including four men at a kosher supermarket on 9 January.
It began with a massacre at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by militant Islamists, during which eight magazine staff, a visitor to the magazine and a caretaker also died.
Lord Sacks said the Paris attacks and recent anti-Semitic attacks elsewhere in Europe had raised anxiety to an "all-time high" among British Jews.
"But the most recent survey shows that the overwhelming number of Jews in Britain feel safe here," he said. "It remains one of the most tolerant societies on Earth."
He said radicalised Islamists were the biggest threat to the Jewish community, but they were a small minority of the Muslim community.
Laura Marks, from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Jewish people had been aware of the extremist threat for a long time and people were just being more vigilant.
The support of the government and police meant it was a "very good time to be a Jew in Britain", she added.
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