British Prime Minister Tony Blair vented his frustration at Britain's Muslim community on Tuesday, saying its leaders had to do more to attack not just the extremists' methods, but their false sense of grievance about the West.
He said too many Muslim leaders gave the impression that they understood and sympathized with the grievances, an attitude that ensured the extremists would never be defeated. Blair insisted government alone could not root out extremism.
He was responding to criticisms, some from some Muslim Labour members of parliament (MPs), that the government's drive to integrate the Muslim community after the July 7 bombings last year was dissipating into a public relations exercise.
Sadiq Khan, Labour MP for Tooting, claimed the Muslim community was "frustrated and disappointed" that the government had failed to implement the recommendations by a government taskforce.
Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury, said there had at least been a communications failure.
Former Home Office minister John Denham said members of the working group felt overwhelmingly that "they were brought in for short-term purposes, their reports have not been followed through, and most of their recommendations have not been implemented."
Blair's spokesman said 19 of the taskforce's 64 recommendations had been implemented, or were being so.
Blair said he was happy to meet the taskforce to review progress but rejected its call for a independent inquiry into July 7.
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