Radical Muslims storm election meeting in Britain

Gideon Long:

Radical Islamists broke into a news conference held by moderate Muslims on Tuesday, denounced Prime Minister Tony Blair as Satan and urged Muslims to boycott next month's election.

Around 20 protesters, many wearing scarves to hide their faces, ripped a locked door off its hinges at one of London's main mosques and burst into the event organised by the country's main Islamic lobby group the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

They pushed their way to the front of the room, stood on chairs and shouted slogans against the MCB, Blair, Jews, Christians, apostates and the entire political system.

"Tony Blair can go to hell! Tony Blair can go to hell!," they chanted as television cameras turned on them. "There is no God but Allah!"

The protest laid bare tensions within the country's 1.6 million-strong Islamic community, where a minority of hardliners often garners publicity for radical opinions including praise of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Those tensions are mirrored elsewhere in Europe, notably in France which is home to the continent's largest Islamic community as well as its biggest Jewish community.

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