LONDON - The British government pledged Wednesday to make a "fundamental" shift in its ties with Muslim groups, offering to fund only those committed to fighting extremism and defending shared British values.
Ruth Kelly said in a speech in London to the Muslim community that moderate Muslims, the government and the rest of British society had to join forces in fighting a dangerous trend.
It is a "shared battle for the kind of society that we want to be and the values we all hold dear," but it will fail "without you fully on side," the communities minister warned.
"I promise we will increase our commitment to work in partnership with you and communities throughout Britain who show through their words and actions that they are determined to take on the extremists and defend the values that the vast majority of us share.
"It's not good enough to merely sit on the sidelines, or pay lip service to fighting extremism. That is why I want a fundamental rebalancing of our relationship with Muslim organizations from now on.
"In future, I am clear that our strategy of funding and engagement must shift significantly toward those organizations that are taking a pro-active leadership role in tackling extremism and defending our shared values."
Kelly was speaking as many Muslims remain angry at her government colleague, Jack Straw, who last week revealed that he asks Muslim women to remove their veils when he meets them in constituency office.
The remarks by the leader of the House of Commons have divided government opinion. Kelly herself opposes his stance.
"How should we respond when some feel uncomfortable when they see a British woman wearing burkas or the veil," she said.
"As I made clear that weekend, this is ultimately an issue of informed personal choice, and no-one is suggesting that in a free and democratic country the state should decide what its citizens can and cannot wear, except of course in certain setting such as schools," she added.
However, she said that more unites Britons than divides them.
Straw's comments have shaken a nation which has been anxious about the state of ties with its Muslim minority since the terrorist attacks on London transport on July 7, 2005, which killed 56 people, including the four bombers.
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