The Muslim community are rapidly replacing the Irish as Britain's suspect community. The present terrorist legislation is being used by the police and security services to disrupt Muslim local communities in a similar way to that in which the Prevention of Terrorism Act was used against the Irish for decades.


Many Muslim leaders now believe disruption is beginning to alienate communities from the police. This approach is similar to that adopted toward the Irish community using the Prevention of Terrorism Act. A crime correspondent on a national newspaper who previously worked in Northern Ireland draws the parallel. "They are trying to strike a balance between rattling some in the community while keeping the community as a whole onside. In Northern Ireland we have seen how such an approach can drive people onto the terrorists side. The police need to try to get it right.

The Muslims are being seen as the new Irish in that they are viewed as the suspect community. When the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was brought in following the Birmingham and Guildford pub bombings in 1974 the Irish became a suspect community. Many were stopped at ports and airports. Houses were raided and people detained for anything from a few hours to seven days. Most were then released without charge, but I see this is enough to consider some of them guilty as seen on this site.

Little has changed. 7,052 were detained under the PTA between November 29, 1974 and December 31, 1991.

The miscarriages of justice involving the Birmingham Six, Judith Ward, the Guildford Four and the Maguires proved the racism of the policing and intelligence operations. The police, intelligence services and their bosses in government were quite happy to see innocent Irish people remain in prison for long periods of time. The racism at the time of the pub bombings extended to racist attacks on Irish people in Birmingham not being followed up by police in that area.

The effect of the operation of the PTA and the miscarriages of justice was to make Irish recall what they were doing and where they were at the time of a bombing. In Liverpool many Irish went absent from work the day after a bombing atrocity for fear of reprisals.

The PTA and miscarriages of justice had a salutary effect on the Irish resulting in it effectively retreating into the community. The Irish clubs developed as a network of havens where people could go and mix with their own. On the political front the Irish largely retreated from the scene. Despite being the largest ethnic minority in Britain, the community certainly didn't pull its weight on the political scene. It has only been with the advent of the Northern Ireland peace process and an end to the bombing that the Irish have been able to emerge and start to assert themselves fully both in a political and cultural sense in Britain.

From the point of view of safety from terrorism, the withdrawal of a community back in on itself is unhealthy. For the few terrorists around who may be plotting bomb attacks there is likely to be far more opportunity to hide. The feeling of a community under threat from the rest of the society will also foster sympathy for such individuals.We must also remember, bombings on mainland Britain was a reaction to British soldiers murdering men,women and children on the streets of Ulster.

In attempting to counter terrorism there is every danger that the British devided Communities that have lived side by side and contributed to British society for years then they suddenly began to feel like outcasts. Perhaps not surprisingly with the war in Ireland over, the Irish have now very much assimilated with British society. They have moved a step up the multiracial ladder. The people at bottom, getting kicked around now are the Muslims - the Irish should empathise with them.