How The Government Lost The Plot

摘要

Awar, a riot, a terrorist attack or a row over blasphemy: not long ago, Britain's government knew exactly what to do when a crisis loomed in relations with the country's Muslims. As recently as July 2005, after bombs in London killed 56 people, Tony Blair was confident that he could avoid a total breakdown of trust between Muslim Britons and their compatriots.rnUsing an old formula, the prime minister called in some Islamic worthies and suggested they form a task force on extremism. Then, hours before the worthies were due to reconvene and mull their response, Mr Blair breezily announced that a task-force of top Muslims had just been created. They moaned, but dutifully went to work.rnThat system of trade-offs, the equivalent of the "beer and sandwiches" once used to woo trade unionists, had some big drawbacks. It gave hardline Muslims-gen-erally male, old and new to Britain-disproportionate sway. It also led to some dubious bargains; for example, Muslim resentment of British foreign policy was parried by, in part, huge generosity towards the cultural demands of some Muslims-such as the right to establish schools where the curriculum bears scant relation to the lessons other young Britons get.