Every now and again you will get a recipient who will object and refuse to accept whatever honour Her Majesty wishes to bestow.There is one very interesting honour among the 894 names this year which has raised eyebrows. It is a knighthood for Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. 

The MCB is one of those organisations which claims to represent the views of british Muslims - I promise you it does not reflect my feeling or views. And by accepting this so-called honour Iqbal Sacranie is confirming my worst fears about the MCB leadership.

But looking at past form and the record of the Muslim Council of Britain it is hard to see he will turn his back on the knighthood.After all, the MCB's spokesman Inayat Bunglwala, another spineless individual in my view, couldn't see anything wrong with the Americans and Britain bombing Afghanistan. Tell that to the 31,200 innocent Afghan brothers and sisters who have been blown apart by Crusader bombs. Sacranie, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain says he will not dilute criticism of the establishment because he has received a knighthood. Well how can he? He's never really criticised the establishment in the first place. Every poodle has its poodle and Iqbal Sacranie has been a willing lapdog of British prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sacranie told a TV jounralist that the honour would not make it more difficult for him to speak out over issues such as the Iraq war. Yes, well he's largely silent in the first place. Although he was quite vocal about the Iraqi resistance ... calling them murderers and terrorists just around the same time he sent two MCB members into the caldron of Iraq to try and negotiate with the same resistance for the release of a British hostage. they were lucky to get out alive. A bit like sending someone from the Red Sox to go into the New York Yankees' stadium and ask: "Please sir, can we have our ball back." The two MCB members were lucky to escape with their lives, which is more than can be said for the British hostage who lost his.But the whole scenario prompted Muslims in britain to ask why iqbal sacranie was getting so upset over the fate of one, white man while more than 500 of our brothers were being held hostage in Guantanamo Bay. I'm still waiting for a response to that one.

Of his crusader knighthood Sacranie went on to say: "As a Muslim we work in community work, charitable work, for the sole purpose of seeking pleasure from your creator." Hmm, well it is a bit difficult to seek pleasure from Allah when you are and scraping before Queen Elizabeth of England. I believe at one point in the ceremony the words: "In the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord" might even be said. MI5 boss Elizabeth Manningham-Buller, Britain's top spy, is also to be honoured and will soon be known as Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath. So there you have it. A man who claims to represent the face of ordinary British Muslims is to become a Crusader, and will take his place at Buckingham Palace later this year among the ranks of comedians and spies for his dubious Christian honour ... I guess that says it all. I hope he falls on his pikestaff.Of course I do have a little pipedream I'd like to share with you. As he kneels before the Queen she might just cry out: "Allahu Akbar" and....................ends

Yvonne Ridley

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