The international community’s failure to react to the atrocities committed by Israeli forces, has led to an angry response within Britain’s Asian communities. This is a worrying development and can only serve to place a greater strain on race relations in the UK.

In 2006, when Israel launched an assault on Hizbullah in Lebanon, there was outrage amongst British Muslims at Tony Blair’s failure to condemn the attacks immediately. This was seen as a conciliatory move by the government to please Israel’s strongest ally – America. Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, has made a point of following more unilateral foreign policies, and has not been as keen as his predecessor to adopt a stance that mirrors that of Republican America.

For this reason, the Labour government’s stuttering response to Israeli aggression must have disappointed British Muslims all the more. There would be few outside Israel and neo-conservative America who would disagree with the worldwide public outcry. The reason for the feelings of disillusionment and marginalisation in the British Muslim community stems from the British government’s failure to adopt a similar public attitude. Although it is important to stress at this point that what the government has done thus far has not been negative, it has not been fervent enough. A stronger British discourse would do much to endear the current government to its Muslim citizens.

By remaining neutral, the government sends a message to its Muslim citizens that it is more interested in maintaining relations with America and its allies than supporting the rights of a persecuted people, many of whom have British relatives. In the past, Britain has openly supported Israel during the conflict. In 1956, Britain and France assisted Israel with the capturing of Gaza as part of an attempt to remove President Nasser from Egypt and win back control of the Suez Canal. This was ultimately unsuccessful, but acted as demonstration of allegiance to the Zionist movement. Since then, Britain has not acted resolutely enough to change this widely perceived public view.

Britain’s role in a war that has lasted 100 years, on and off, gives it an added responsibility not to ignore what is happening, but to be a principal mediator and officiator.The British government is in a position where it  holds significant influence within the international community. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Britain is also expected to act as an ‘international policeman’ in situations of this nature. By adopting a neutral stance on such issues, it only serves to encourage Israel to pursue policies of aggression. It is no exaggeration to say that other nations look to states like Britain to take the initiative in such matters. When the international community sees the UK respond with little or no condemnation, the global response mirrors this. What is most disconcerting for Muslims in Britain is that they feel they have been betrayed by their government. By doing nothing to help the wider Islamic family, there is a sense that the government is failing to acknowledge the Muslim cause as being a British one. This then becomes an issue of alienation.

This is a very serious issue and one that is worsening race relations in the UK. If a community as substantial as that of British Muslims feels largely ignored by Britain’s major institutions, the response is to promote anarchy and to undermine the ideology of the establishment. This has been most apparent with the various protests that have occurred in the capital city, London. Such a reaction was widely expected. It is now the responsibility of Gordon Brown and his government to engage in public rhetoric that reminds the Islamic community that they are a valued part of this multi-cultural society and that we, as a country, are equally concerned about the plight of the wider Muslim world as British Muslims.