LUTON, England, August 15,2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Weeks after the London terrorist attacks perpetrated by four British Muslims, Muslims who lived harmoniously in the country for decades are now constantly feeling under suspicion.

"These bombers do not speak for me or my community but suddenly we are all under suspicion," Abu Hasan, a young British-born Muslim, told Reuters near the Bury Park mosque in Luton, a slightly shabby town north of London where 35,000 Muslims live.

Hasan, 27 and of Pakistani origin who has never broken the law, was disgusted by the four British Muslims, three of Pakistani origin, who killed themselves and 52 others in attacks on three underground trains and a bus on July 7.

However, he feels constantly under suspicion, with people eyeing his beard and clothing and keeping their distance on the street.

"I didn't want this, I've always lived by the law but that counts for nothing now. Suddenly I feel totally alienated."

The Independent revealed on Saturday, August 13, that people behind the attacks acted on their own and had no link to Al-Qaeda.

A statement issued by over forty leading mosque imams, muftis and scholars representing all sections of Muslims in Britain condemned the attacks and stressed that the bombers can not consider themselves martyrs.

The 1.8-million Muslim minority, making up just under three percent of Britain's population, has been suffering increasing harassment since the bombings.

In the Thames Valley, racially aggravated crimes have risen by almost 40 percent since the London bombings.

Police revealed that from July 7 to August 1, there were 146 reported hate crimes compared to 105 during the same period last year, fearing the figure may rise.

Nearly half a million Muslims contemplated leaving Britain after the terrorist attacks, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published on July 26.

Some young Muslims want the government to do more to address their specific worries and fears, Reuters said.

"We have grown up here and been educated here," Hasan said.

"We are in every walk of society yet no one listens to us. No one will listen to my concerns," he said, expressing anger over Britain's role in the US-led war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mahmud Ahmad, 27, said the violence in Iraq was all the more distressing because he related to the people there.

"I relate to them because that is all I am, a simple Muslim struggling in life. It doesn't make me any less British if I relate to people in Iraq or Palestine."

A recent Guardian poll showed that two-thirds of Britons believe the London bombings were linked to support for the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, said the Iraq war has given a momentum to Al-Qaeda's recruitment and fundraising and made Britain more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

In another development, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the umbrella organizations of Muslim groups in the country, has set up an investigation into mosques, women's organizations and Islamic youth centers across the country to root out extremism.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, MCB Secretary General, told The Independent they had set up the focus groups to locate and combat the terrorist threat.

He said the early findings will be revealed in a national conference in September.

The move comes amid allegations that the MCB is failing mainstream Muslims and has its roots in extremist politics.

Sir Iqbal, who was knighted this year and is regarded by the government as the voice of moderate Islam, said the efforts to discredit the organization were born from an "Islamophobic agenda".

The was inaugurated in 1997 at the Brent Town Hall in Wembley by representatives of more than 250 Muslim organizations from all parts of Britain, including Northern Ireland.

It defines itself as a "vibrant coalition of grassroot organizations and institutions and individual talent and skills that is making a positive and constructive contribution to meeting the needs and the aspirations of the Muslim community."