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| BNP tape condemned by Muslims The British National Party (BNP) has sent cassettes to Sikhs and Hindus blaming the Muslim population for racial tensions in Bradford. The general secretary of the Sikh temple in Bolton Road, Bradford, Rajinder Singh Panesar, said he received an audio tape in the post last week and he knew other Sikh leaders in the city who had been sent them. But he said the attempt by the BNP to divide the city would not succeed because Sikhs would ignore the recordings. A leader of the Muslim community condemned the material in the tape as "absurd". Mr Panesar said: "It shocked me because being a Sikh, we believe no religion is a threat to any other religion because religion is supposed to show us the way, the path to God. "Sikhism and racism don't go together." Nick Griffin, national spokesman for the BNP, confirmed the group was responsible for making the tapes. "We produced the tapes in conjunction with Sikhs and Hindus who want to make it clear that Muslims, and not Sikhs or Hindus, were responsible for the violence during the summer," he said. "It was the Sikh and Hindus, who are happy to join with us, who sent out the tapes." He said up to 300 copies of the tapes had been sent to Sikhs and Hindus throughout the country. He denied that the 70-minute tape incited racial hatred. Yousuf Bhailok, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The arguments put forward are absolutely absurd." He said the ethnic community would not be divided by the actions of the BNP. "I was in a meeting with the leadership of the Sikh and Hindu communities last week and we are all united in fighting racism and the BNP. "The law at the moment doesn't protect against religious discrimination, they wouldn't get away with this on race grounds so they try to get away with it on religious grounds. "We know the tactics of the BNP and they won't work," he said. 21st January 2002 |
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