Whatever the truth behind the story of PC Basha, its implications are deeply troubling

I believe it was an old Chinese saying that said 'may you live in interesting times.' Now, more than ever, the complexities of living in a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi religious country are challenging us day in day out.

The story of the Muslim police officer who is alleged to have removed himself from the duty he was assigned guarding the Israeli embassy in London emerged this week. There are several versions of the reasons why the police officer made the request to be taken off this duty - one is for moral reasons, and his discomfort at events in Israel/Lebanon. Second, was that the officer feared for his own safety if he remained guarding the Israel embassy as he could become a target of extremists himself.

Either situation is very sad for many reasons. To have an officer excuse himself from the duty to protect the public for reasons of personal morality is problematic. Police Officers are there to protect everyone, regardless of their nationality, religion, sexuality, gender etc. Cases like this could lead us down a dangerous path of people refusing to do their duty for all sorts of personal moral reasons. Secondly, the officer's actions in effect amount to a declaration that he doesn't think the embassy deserves to be protected. That is appalling.

The other version of events is equally troublesome - that a UK citizen, doing his duty as a Police Officer, is so scared of being a target of Islamic extremisms for guarding Israel's embassy, he requests he is taken off the job. What message does that send out to people? To the Muslim community? That you could be a target of extremism if you dare guard an embassy?

There has been much heated discussion about the motives behind the officer's decision, and of course it's difficult to have a clear opinion either way when the facts remain so unclear. What the furore does represent however, is a wider and deeper debate into how we deal with issues that touch upon people's religion and personal morals, and their ability to do the job they signed up for - and the possibility of setting a dangerous precedent for the future.

Comments

[Mark Day]

We should be careful about leaping to judgement in this case without being in full possession of the facts.

Yes, a police officer's primary loyalty ought to be to the impartiality of his office, and he should expect during the course of his duties to be deployed in situations to which he might have some personal political or moral objection.

However, there will always be cases, particularly during periods of heightened political tension or conflict, where an officer's background could put his personal safety or that of his loved ones at risk. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Catholic officers were routinely exempt from certain duties for fear of reprisals on them and their families.

If PC Basha was granted exemption from guarding the Israeli embassy on the basis of a personal moral objection that would of course be entirely wrong. However, according to reports, his wife is of Lebanese extraction and had family (both Muslim and Christian) living in Lebanon at the time when Israel was engaged in military operations in the country. PC Basha is said to have feared reprisals against himself or his family if he had been deployed at the embassy during the conflict.

Given the situation at the time, this seems perfectly plausible, and it would have been negligent of his superiors not to have taken his concerns seriously. At the very least, therefore, we should wait for the facts of the case to emerge before leaping to conclusions.