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the latter vary enormously. It’s hard to envisage an All-Party Group on Islamophobia representing the interests of all Britain’s diverse Muslim communities…”50 At the time, Goodman expressed his concern about any Group being “infiltrated” by “Islamist groups” which might exploit the opportunity for their own aims. However, Goodman argued that this was neither a reason to exclude such groups from any inquiry nor establish one in the first place. As he put it: “[Any inquiry] should take evidence as widely as possible. If the Jamaat e Islami or the Muslim Brotherhood wanted to make representations, they should be allowed to do so. So should think-tanks specialising in counter-extremism, such as the Quilliam Foundation or Centri. So should the police. So should those who believe (wrongly, in my view) that Islamophobia is an imaginary construct, and doesn’t exist at all.
…the problem of the hatred of Muslims and antiMuslim violence, in particular, is grave. It's a wound that can only fester. Parliament has a role to play in drawing the poison…
Could such an inquiry be exploited by Islamists? Yes. Is that a good reason for not having it? No. Why? Because the problem of the hatred of Muslims and antiMuslim violence, in particular, is grave. It's a wound that can only fester. Parliament has a role to play in drawing the poison."51
In his 29 November article, Goodman puts forward the same view. Uncritically setting out the allegations made by Gilligan against iENGAGE in his Telegraph article, Goodman stated: “It would be easy to fix the spotlight on Engage, and ask further questions about the organisation. However, it would also be wrong, at least at this stage”52
50
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2010/03/how-parliament-should-confront-antimuslimhatred-and-violence.html 51 http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2010/03/how-parliament-should-confront-antimuslimhatred-and-violence.html 52 http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2010/11/five-tests-for-a-new-all-party-group-onislamophobia.html