Trevor Kavanagh replies to Peter Oborne’s Dispatches documentary.
For responses to Kavanagh see Obsolete and Lenin’s Tomb.
Category Archives: Right wing
‘Official pandering to the Islamic hardliners is political cowardice’
“Question: ‘What is the definition of an Islamophobe?’ Answer: ‘Someone who objects to being blown up on the way to work.’
“The politically correct brigade might not like it but there is a large element of truth in that ‘joke’. In recent years we have had to endure a constant threat to our society from Muslim extremists who kill, maim and brutalise in the name of Allah. Yet, in the inverted moral universe created by our Left-wing political establishment, any criticism of Islam provokes indignant cries of ‘racism’ or ‘Islamophobia’….
“In the light of today’s third anniversary of the July bombings in 2005, the eagerness of Muslim representatives to don the mantle of victimhood is truly sickening. Last week, Minister for International Development and Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik had the nerve to claim that ‘Muslims feel like the Jews of Europe’ because of supposed persecution.
“Meanwhile, the Channel 4 Dispatches programme is tonight examining the phenomenon of so-called Islamophobia, claiming that Muslims are an alienated, vulnerable community under siege. The intellectually barren argument is that Islam ‘has an overwhelming message of peace and tolerance’. Try telling that to relatives of those killed in the Twin Towers or in the London bombings….
“It is obscene for political commentators to characterise as a disease or a prejudice the wish to preserve our civilisation in the face of barbarism. The real disease of modern Britain is the cringing of our cowardly political establishment towards Islam…. The political elite might blather about ‘rich cultural diversity’ but this is only a recipe for the destruction of our civilisation. In practice, its capitulation to Islam is a form of national suicide.”
Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express, 7 July 2008
Letters from today’s press
In the Independent, responding to Peter Oborne’s excellent article, Kate Francis condemns violence against Muslims but goes on to oppose the “blanket application of the pejorative term ‘Islamophobic’ to anyone who has voiced concerns about the long-term capacity of Islam to coexist successfully in a secular state where the rights of women are protected by law. As a feminist, I have deep concerns about this, as I do about any group (religious or otherwise) that appears to enshrine misogyny in its cultural values…. it’s no wonder that writers are prefacing their comments with ‘I am an Islamophobe’ and ‘Count me in’.”
Another correspondent, one Dominic Kirkham, writes: “The remark of Shahid Malik that British Muslims now felt like ‘aliens in their own country’ (4 July) is problematic…. In seemingly every area of cultural contact, however open and welcoming, Muslims choose to distance themselves from the generality on the basis of ‘their religion’. Unless they themselves are prepared to question the arcane prejudices that lie at the root of ‘their religion’ they will continue to feel like aliens in normal society by their own choice.”
And here’s Shaaz Mahboob, of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, in the Daily Telegraph:
“The assumption by Lord Phillips (report, July 3) that interpretations of Sharia could become an alternative form of conflict resolution for British Muslim communities will merely result in further alienation and segregation. Only hardline groups, such as the Muslim Council of Britain and the Sharia Council, have been demanding the introduction of Sharia as a parallel justice system. In a democratic society, paying heed to, and endorsing the views of, minority but vocal pro-segregation Muslim groups is nonsensical, and could be disastrous for a cohesive society.”
‘Remarkably little animosity’ towards Muslims, says Mad Mel
Bigotry and hatred against Muslims? According to Melanie Phillips “… there is remarkably little animosity towards them, considering the fact that, according to the head of MI5, there are currently some 2000 known British Muslim terrorist suspects – and in reality probably twice that number – and that according to opinion polls, hundreds of thousands of British Muslims would support terrorist violence against British institutions.”
Inayat Bunglawala – apology
“On March 1, 2008 we published a front-page article under the headline ‘TARGET HARRY – British fanatics threaten him‘ concerning Prince Harry’s active service in Afghanistan.
“The article made reference to Inayat Bunglawala, who is a spokesperson at the Muslim Council of Britain. He has also advised the British government on ways of combating extremism among young Muslims.
“We now accept our article may have been understood to allege that Mr Bunglawala was a fanatical extremist who was inciting or would condone a terrorist attack on Prince Harry.
“There was absolutely no truth in these allegations. Mr Bunglawala did not, and would not, condone any attack on Prince Harry; on the contrary, he consistently made clear to the media that he wanted to see the Prince and his colleagues brought home, out of harm’s way.
“We apologise unreservedly to Mr Bunglawala for the distress and embarrassment we have caused him.”
‘Is cosying up to Muslim extremists the best way to defeat terrorism?’
The question is posed by Charles Moore, writing in the Daily Telegraph in response to the Lord Chief Justice’s recent speech on sharia law.
In the category of “Islamist extremists” who he claims have mistakenly been accorded respectability Moore includes the East London Mosque, the Mosques and Imams Advisory Board, Osama Saeed, Islam Expo … and even Shahid Malik MP!
He concludes: “So the solution to extremism is that extremists become the official representatives of Islam in this country. Islamist mosques, organisations and spokesmen will be treated as the true voice of Muslims (and woe betide those Muslims who disagree). Then we shall get a lot more sharia than Lord Phillips has bargained for.”
The enemy within? Fear of Islam: Britain’s new disease
“Islamophobia – defined in 1997 by the landmark report from the Runnymede Trust as ‘an outlook or world-view involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination’ – can be encountered in the best circles: among our most famous novelists, among newspaper columnists, and in the Church of England.
“Its appeal is wide-ranging. ‘I am an Islamophobe’, the Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee wrote in The Independent nearly 10 years ago. ‘Islamophobia?’ the Sunday Times columnist Rod Liddle asks rhetorically in the title of a recent speech, ‘Count me in’. Imagine Liddle declaring: ‘Anti-Semitism? Count me in’, or Toynbee claiming she was ‘an anti-Semite and proud of it’.
“Anti-Semitism is recognised as an evil, noxious creed, and its adherents are barred from mainstream society and respectable organs of opinion. Not so Islamophobia.”
Peter Oborne in the Independent, 4 July 2008
See also “Muslims feel like ‘Jews of Europe’“, also in today’s Independent.
And “Is post-war Britain anti-Muslim?” by Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail, 4 July 2008
Peter Oborne’s documentary “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Muslim” will be shown next Monday in Channel’s Dispatches slot – which, ironically, has in the past made a signficant contribution to the rise of Islamophobia in the UK.
The pamphlet Muslims Under Siege: Alienating Vulnerable Communities, by Peter Oborne and James Jones, be downloaded (pdf) here.
The study by the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Images of Islam in the UK: The Representation of British Muslims in the National Print News Media 2000-2008, can be downloaded (pdf) here.
‘Sharia law is backed by top judge’ shock
The country’s most senior judge provoked outrage yesterday by saying that Islamic sharia law could play a role in Britain’s legal system. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, was accused of handing Muslim extremists yet more ammunition.
Reopening the bitter row over the position of Islamic law, he said there was no reason why it could not be used for contractual agreements and mediation in areas such as family disputes and marriage. He claimed it was possible for people to have agreements “governed by a law other than English law”.
The Lord Chief Justice spoke out five months after the Archbishop of Canterbury faced calls to resign when he claimed that incorporating aspects of the Muslim legal system into British law was now “unavoidable” and “appropriate”. Lord Phillips last night faced a storm of protest as Downing Street appeared to immediately distance itself from his views.
Tory MP Philip Davies said: “This is totally unacceptable. There is no place for sharia law or any aspect of it in the legal system. We have our own legal system here and anyone in this country should accept our laws and the way we do things. The Lord Chief Justice does not understand how damaging these kind of remarks are to community cohesion.”
For a more balanced report, see the Guardian, 4 July 2008
See also Madeleine Bunting and Inayat Bunglawala at Comment is Free.
‘Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy’
A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman’s hat advertising a Scottish police force’s new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims.
Tayside Police’s new non-emergency phone number has prompted complaints from members of the Islamic community.
The choice of image on the Tayside Police cards – a black dog sitting in a police officer’s hat – has now been raised with Chief Constable John Vine.
The advert has upset Muslims because dogs are considered ritually unclean and has sparked such anger that some shopkeepers in Dundee have refused to display the advert.
See also the Daily Telegraph, whose readers helpfully draw out the subtext to this story:
“Why are the police apologising for doing their job. This is just another case of kowtowing to people who do not understand the BRITISH way of life.”
“Stop all this namby pamby nonsence. As you say the British are a nation of dog lovers…. We are British and this is Britain. If you don’t like it leave.”
“what next no pictures of pigs in the butchers! We are supposedly living in a multi cultural country, but it seems that we are dominated by the views of the muslims and their communities.”
“OMG, im sorry but if you dont like what people in OUR country do then go away.”
“Who cares what the Muslims think/say. Really, what are they going to do about it? It’s our culture, our traditions, our beliefs.”
“This is absurd. Why should Britons change their culture to accomodate Muslims? … This political correctness will cause the downfall of your society. What happened to majority rule?”
“If muslims don’t like dogs – or any other facet of our national characteristics – then they should bugger off to Iran or some other Islamic wonderland. When will we stop pandering to these barbarians? Why have we let them in to our country at all?”
Update: For Gabriele Marranci’s comments, see Islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist, 3 July 2008
Damned for trying to do some good
Osama Saeed replies to the Centre for Social Cohesion.
Update: For the full version of the article, see Rolled Up Trousers, 30 June 2008
Osama also reples to the hysterical nonsense posted by Melanie Phillips on her Spectator blog, where she warned of the danger of Scottish Muslims establishing a “Caledonian caliphate”. As Osama observes: “This conspiratorial nonsense is very reminiscent of how Jewish people have in years gone by been demonised, you could call it the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Caledonistan’.”