Muslims have urged Tony Blair to carry their faith community along with the rest of the country "in these difficult times".

The secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain believes that with a second Gulf war imminent - "for reasons which do not sound at all convincing or compelling" - the voice of the UK Islam mainstream must be heard.

Iqbal Sacranie has launched a book aiming to challenge Western perceptions of his faith in the aftermath of last year's attacks on America.

"It is widely being perceived in the Muslim community that this war against terror is against Islam and the Muslims," he told PA News.

The moderate Muslim Council says that that as well as the destruction of the Twin Towers in Manhattan, Britain's multicultural tolerance took a hit on September 11.

"It seems the terrorists of September 11 had not only brought down the world's two tallest buildings, they also hit our own high towers of equal rights and equal inclusion, especially with respect to the British Muslim community...We should not make worse what is already terrible," he said.

In the foreword to the new MCB book, Sacranie condemns the attacks on the US but regrets the West's response.

"What happened on September 11, 2001 was simply evil and criminal," he writes.

"Regrettably, it has been used to set a global course of action with little respect for human life, national sovereignty and the rule of law."

Speaking for many in the Islamic community, Sacranie describes the experience of "Muslims the world over [who] have been made the focus of irrational anger and hate".

But he sounds an optimistic note for the future.

"Fortunately, however, there remain many voices clamouring for sanity and justice. We expect that these voices will grow and that they shall eventually prevail," Sacranie says.

Terrorism has no religion, insists the Muslim leader, and the international community must beware demonising entire peoples.

"[Terror's] aim is to spread enmity and destruction throughout civilised societies. In combating terrorism we must ensure that we ourselves do not terrorise others and dehumanise ourselves."

"It is time that the international community freed itself from the calculus of terror and direct all its energy towards building a just and terror-free world," he argues.Sacranie reminds Britons that like other world religions, such as Christianity, Islam places a unilateral obligation on Muslims to attend to the welfare of fellow human beings and the societies in which they live and to work for the common good of all.

"We should always be careful not to be provoked or to act in anger lest we be distracted from our fundamental commitment to Islam and humanity."