Little did we think that this year’s Queen’s birthday honours would cause such a ruckus.

Salman Rushdie, or Sir Salman to his pals now, was given a knighthood, much to the consternation of many Muslims. For many it felt like the reopening of old wounds, ones that possibly never quite healed.

Coupled with Blair’s deftly timed resignation leaving unresolved the stink of his Iraqi escapades, it’s no wonder than many conservative Muslims felt a little let down.

On a brighter note, the British Muslim response was more tempered. For those who remember the fatwa incident, the current response seems commendably restrained. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) urged British Muslims, “This ill advised decision approved by the Prime Minister should not divert you from your course of peaceful protest in the face of this deliberate provocation.”

Even his partner in crime, Inayat Bunglawala confirmed that he saw the error of his book burning ways, and admired the British affectation for freedom of speech.

In many ways I’m disappointed that British Muslim organisations, and in particular the MCB, did not do more to draw a conclusion to this messy situation.

Many may not know this, but the MBC came into existence in response to the original fatwa incident. In the late eighties, the hugely immigrant British Muslim community did not have an organised way of making its voice heard.

A group of spirited individuals began discussions, at their own expense, with mosques nationally to help formulate a structured response. In stark contrast to their current style, they did so using a gentle approach. Rather than bullying into submission the first generation Muslim elders, those who had built and ran mosques, at their own expense this loose group worked with existing leaders.

By discussing and assisting with local community issues they gained the trust of many sceptics. Through this painfully slow process, consensus was built within a fragmented community. For the first time it appeared that British Muslims would have a unified voice, much like the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Skipping to the present, the knighthood presented a chance for the Muslim community to repair its much tarnished reputation, both at home and abroad. Doubly so for the MCB because it was a chance to legitimise its existence in the eyes of many. Instead we saw talk of a new fatwa, threats of suicide bombing and the prospect of further protests and demonstrations.

It’s a shame that many believe Islam, a religion for many tribes not a tribal religion, can be represented by a single organisation. A quick trawl through various websites and discussion boards reveals the incredible diversity of British Muslim opinions.

What it also shows, more fundamentally, is that there are more Muslim detractors of MCB than non-Muslim. Surely this must indicate that the pluralism of the community is being lost in an exercise of centralisation? The conspiracy theorist in me would want to believe that this culling of divergent opinions is deliberate. But then again maybe I am being too critical.

How would I have dealt with the knighthood? Firstly I’d congratulate the British Establishment for making such a difficult decision and sticking to their lofty ideals of free speech. Then I’d wish Sir Salman the best of luck and health, re-emergence of any fatwas permitting. After all it is in the spirit of the religion to forgive and forget past misdemeanours.

Still it can’t all be that bad, Sir Iqbal Sacranie (what are they giving these titles away? I thought that you had to buy them?), when he used to head up MCB said about Sir Salman’s blaspheming ways “Death is perhaps too easy for him”.

At least this time we haven’t seen any remarks like this. Maybe we are all growing up and moving on in our own way.

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thinkconsult@gmail.com
Arif is a director of an IT consultancy working with government, public sector and multinationals. He likes writing and talking, annoyingly sometimes at the same time. He’s Bengali, and hates fish.

This is a guest post for PP.