Saturday, August 19 2006 12:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: The British Government has strongly rejected claims that its foreign policy is 'anti-Islamic' or that the policy was to blame for the acts of terrorism in the country.

Similar allegations had been leveled against the government when the suspected terrorist plot to unleash a wave of blasts on US-bound flights was uncovered on Aug 10. The incident has further heightened anxiety among Britain's Asian community in general and the Muslim community in particular.

According to Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman, there would always be controversial aspects of British foreign policy, which extremists can use as ammunition to fuel hatred.

"Their rhetoric claims not so much that our foreign policy is mistaken as that it is deliberately anti-Islamic. They seek to portray a clash between incompatible cultures in order to perpetuate suspicion, hatred and violence. They do not speak for, or serve the interests of, the majority of Muslims.

"Many Muslims around the world have died in their terrorist attacks. They encourage Iraqi Muslims to kill each other as well as their 'occupiers', but offer them no solutions. Terrorists exploit any cause to justify their actions. More troubling is others' willingness to accept these justifications".

Maintaining that the British foreign policy was not "anti-Islamic", Triesman said that in the Middle East, Britain shared the wish of most people in the region for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on a two-state solution. He added that Britain did not have a hidden agenda.

"No disagreement over foreign policy can ever justify terrorism. You cannot rationalise an argument that says a part of a population is allowed to use terrorist tactics because it doesn't like government foreign policy.

"Although terrorism predates many of Britain's current foreign policies, it is unsurprising that extremists try to exploit sensitive foreign policy issues to justify the unjustifiable - they use distorted interpretations of Islamic texts in the same way.

"Everyone has the right to question Britain's foreign policy and the freedom to debate, discuss and disagree. Our political system allows grievances to be expressed and acted upon through effective peaceful methods. Democratic governments are accountable through the political process, and can ultimately be removed by elections. There is never a need or excuse to resort to violence," he said.