Muhammad Abdul Bari said that Muslims were free to follow their religion and culture and enjoyed a level of freedom of expression that was denied them in much of the rest of the world.

Where there was disagreement over political issues, especially foreign policy, Muslims should engage in the democratic process and not resort to terrorism or violence, he said.

Dr Bari, 52, has had a turbulent time in the two months since he succeeded Sir Iqbal Sacranie as secretary-general of the council. He has had to focus on the issues of Islamist extremism, the radicalisation of Muslim youth, controversial anti-terrorism raids and Britain’s role in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.

Dr Bari, a former Bangladeshi Air Force engineer who is now a special needs teacher in East London, would prefer to concentrate on modernising the mosque and building the skills and capabilities of Muslim communities.

But frequently he has been overtaken by events. The police raid on a house in Forest Gate, East London, in which a young man was shot, happened the day after his election. Last week his “connecting with the community” tour was interrupted by the arrest of 24 people in London, Birmingham and High Wycombe. The situation in the community is, he acknowledged, “very tense”.

Dr Bari is one of the signatories of an open letter to Tony Blair, published on Saturday, which attacked British foreign policy as “ammunition to extremists”. Ministers have rejected the criticism as irresponsible. Ruth Kelly, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, has invited imams and other Muslim leaders to a meeting today where she is expected to criticise them for not doing enough to counter extremist propaganda among young radicals.

It is believed that she will tell them to take stronger action to isolate the militants.

Nevertheless, Dr Bari is convinced that life is good for Muslims in Britain.

“Britain may be one of the best places in the world to be a practising Muslim because Britain has a long legacy of accommodating people,” he said.

“Many Middle East countries are dictatorships. When it comes to politics there are issues, and that should make us all the more determined to become involved in the political process. It isn’t just Muslims. The fact is that our Prime Minister is not listening to his own people, not even to his own MPs. The image of Britain as an honest broker for peace in the world has been tarnished.”

Dr Bari rejected criticism that he and the council were in denial about the extent of extremism among young Muslims. It existed, he admitted, but could be tackled by channelling energy and anger into mainstream politics and the life of the mosque. A stumbling block is that many mosques remain in the grip of an older generation and poorly educated imams, who neither speak nor understand English.

Dr Bari said that he had attended a large mosque in Leeds recently, where the sermon was delivered in Urdu by an imam who did not speak English to a congregation that barely understood him. He said: “I asked, ‘Do people under the age of 25 understand any of this?’ ”

In Edinburgh his ideas of reforming the mosque and preaching in English were unheard of before his visit. He said: “There is a lot of inertia, resistance to change. It’s gradually going somewhere but we have to create a momentum.”

An important difficulty he faces is the task of keeping the council together. The organisation has more than 420 affiliates, including charities, radical political groups, ethnic associations and mosque councils.

Britain’s Muslims were “a community of communities” and it was a momentous task to get them to speak with one voice. In the effort to remain united they adopted positions that increasingly appeared reactionary and intolerant.

The annual boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day — on the ground that it is not inclusive — attracts widespread condemnation, but it is not a stance that the mild-mannered Dr Bari has any intention of reforming. To change would run the risk of splitting the council.

The new secretary-general insisted, however, that modernisation and change were at the top of his agenda. He added: “We want to be at the very heart of British society — bridge-building is not possible when a community remains isolated and marginalised.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Charles blazes trail as sun king
• Thalidomiders win payout 50 years on
• Libel gag on talk of 'medical hurricane'