Don't demonise Islam

The groups, including the Islamic Human Rights Commission and the Muslim Association of Britain, also condemned plans to ban the Islamist political organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain.

"We fear that recent events are being exploited by some sections in society to demonise legitimate Islamic values and beliefs and hence consider it appropriate to make the following observations," they said.

"If it is suggested that any laws have been broken by any individuals or groups then this must be proven by due legal process," they said.

"Criminalising the mere possession of certain opinions is the hallmark of dictatorships, not democracies."

Blair, saying "the rules of the game are changing," announced a raft of measures earlier this month in a bid to rein in Islamic extremists in the wake of the London bombings last month.

They included the deportation of foreign Islamic radicals, and a ban on groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was among the 38 groups to sign Tuesday's statement.

Banning Hizb ut-Tahrir is "unwarranted, unjust and unwise," the statement said, adding that any disagreement with a political organisation should be dealt with through debate, not censorship.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in some other European and Middle Eastern countries, opposes violence, but some observers claim it is a gateway for young people towards more violent expressions of Islam.

In issuing Tuesday's statement, Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "The British Muslim community has always been a law-abiding community and all its endeavours to create a just society have been entirely peaceful."

"However, we will not allow the demonising, devaluing or targeting of Islamic values, which will we hold very dear."

Meanwhile, Britain remains "worried" by the prospect of a repeat of last month's deadly bombings in London despite the swift pace of a continuing police investigation, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said Monday.

"We remain worried. ... It would be ridiculous for us to assume that a further act could not take place," Clarke told reporters after a briefing at Scotland Yard with Sir Ian Blair, head of London's Metropolitan Police.

Fifty-six people were killed, including four apparent suicide bombers, in the July 7 attack on three Underground railway trains and a double-decker bus in the British capital.