Guardian British Muslim poll

Poll here

Telegraph article.
Today's terrorists may well be born, bred and raised in Britain

Much of this has been known for months, if not years. What is most perturbing about yesterday's arrests is that the suspects are British-born Muslims, mainly of Pakistani background, and predominantly young.

The police are anxious that too much should not be made of the background of those they have arrested, fearing a backlash against the Muslim community. But counter-terrorist agencies have been worried for some time about a radicalised new generation of Muslim youth, who have been further politicised both by the preaching of fundamentalist imams and by the prominent position taken by Britain in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But whenever this point is made, the political backlash is immediate and intense. Last week, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, provoked a storm of anger when he denounced moderate Muslims for failing unequivocally to condemn the evil of suicide bombers. According to an opinion poll in the Guardian, many Muslims regarded the war on terrorism to be anti-Islam and thought anti-terrorist laws were being used unfairly against the Muslim community.

Most disturbingly, 13 per cent of British Muslims said they believed further terrorist attacks on America were justified. Iqbal Sacranie, the general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, said of this finding: "The percentage of Muslims who would support attacks when they are taking place would be much, much lower.''