Category Archives: Right wing

‘Islam’s imperial dreams’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

karsh“… to this day, Islam has retained its imperial ambitions. The last great Muslim empire may have been destroyed and the caliphate left vacant, but the dream of regional and world domination has remained very much alive…. Like the leaders of al Qaeda, many Muslims and Arabs unabashedly pine for the reconquest of Spain and consider their 1492 expulsion from the country a grave historical injustice waiting to be undone. Indeed, as immigration and higher rates of childbirth have greatly increased the number of Muslims within Europe itself over the past several decades, countries that were never ruled by the caliphate have become targets of Muslim imperial ambition. Since the late 1980’s, Islamists have looked upon the growing population of French Muslims as proof that France, too, has become a part of the House of Islam. In Britain, even the more moderate elements of the Muslim community are candid in setting out their aims…. this world-conquering agenda continues to meet with condescension and denial on the part of many educated Westerners.”

Efraim Karsh of King’s College, London, in the Wall Street Journal, 4 April 2006

Mad Mel and Condoleezza Rice

Posted on by Bob Pitt

While the rest of us were applauding the withdrawal of Condoleezza Rice’s invitation to visit Masjid Al Hidayah in Blackburn, Melanie Phillips saw it as another example of intimidation by Muslims hostile to western values:

“The decision by the Blackburn mosque to cancel the planned visit by Condoleezza Rice is utterly unacceptable and deeply troubling. A mosque spokesman has said that it was cancelled not through dislike of Dr Rice but because of the threat by Muslim anti-war protesters to invade the mosque, thus compromising the safety of the visiting dignitaries. What an appalling state of affairs where the safety of the Foreign Secretary and a distinguished overseas visitor cannot be guaranteed against the threat of violent disorder. Aren’t we all supposed to be engaged in a war against this kind of menace to life and liberty?

“… the fact is that British Muslims are British and should afford Dr Rice – a principal member of the government of our major ally – an elementary degree of courtesy. After all, if the US government is to be treated in this way over the Iraq war, logic dictates that these British Muslims would regard the British government with identical hostility over its own part in that war. And that is a very troubling thought indeed. It implies that some of them do not identify themselves as British but adhere to a hostile set of values.”

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‘NYU suppresses free speech about Islam’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The protest over the proposal by a student group at New York University to display the Danish cartoons has been successful. Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute is not happy: “Wednesday, in a shameful act, NYU broke its own official policy and denied free speech to its students. After having approved the display of the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad for a panel discussion on free speech hosted by a student group, NYU’s administration reversed its decision in the face of Muslim protests.”

Front Page Magazine, 31 March 2006

Muslim Brotherhood plot exposed … by Mad Mel

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Another paranoid rant from Melanie Phillips, this one in response to Jack Straw’s speech at the Muslim News awards on Monday evening. She even finds sinister implications in the following uncontroversial statement by Straw:

“The release of the British hostage, Norman Kember, and two of his companions has been very prominent in the media over the past few days. I believe the calls by many Muslims in this country and fellow British citizens for the safe release of those kidnapped victims and showing their solidarity with their plight may have contributed to their survival.”

Mel comments: “The British Foreign Secretary has now said, in effect, that the lives of Norman Kember and the other two hostages were saved thanks to the Muslim Brotherhood. What price will the Brotherhood now exact from Britain in return?”

Melanie Phillips’s Diary, 28 March 2006

Update:  See also Yusuf Smith’s comments at Indigo Jo Blogs, 29 March 2006

Weekend coverage of the Shabina Begum case

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The weekend papers provided a platform for pundits to offer their views on the House of Lords decision in the Shabina Begum case. These are, predictably, uniformly hostile to Shabina. Thus we have Fiona Phillips in the Daily Mirror (“‘I’m an intelligent girl,’ Shabina told me, ‘and no one tells me what to do.’ Clearly, though, her brother does”) and Carole Malone in the Sunday Mirror (“this uppity young woman not only needs to be brought down a peg or two, she needs to learn that in Britain rules and respect are a damn sight more important than what you wear”). Jasper Gerard in the Sunday Times dismisses Shabina’s point that “there are girls pressured to wear headscarves who don’t want to” (“here Shabina surely shoots her case out of the sky: if girls are subject to any unwelcome pressure to cover up, then far from giving in, perhaps schools should ban all religious clothing”), while Joan Smith in the Independent on Sunday says that “the decision marked the moment in Britain when the State, faced by religious extremism, drew a line” and claims that Shabina is among those who “advocate ideas that are quite at odds with the values of the society in which they live”.

‘March for Free Expression’ wash-out

Posted on by Bob Pitt

damp squibLenin’s Tomb has coverage of the pathetic “March for Free Expression” protest in Trafalgar Square this afternoon. It drew some 300 people at its peak and that had fallen to around 150 by the time this would-be mass demonstration reached its rain-soaked end. The hard core who remained gave an enthusiastic reception to Sean Gabb of the Libertarian Alliance when he criticised the supporters of “free speech” who had backed Jyllands-Posten over the cartoons but had failed to give similar support to Nick Griffin and David Irving during the recent court cases against them.

Tatchell and ‘free expression’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tatchell and NamaziePeter Tatchell justifies his decision to support Saturday’s “March for Free Expression”:

“Some of my friends on the left are refusing to take part. Preferring to remain marginal but pure, they object to the involvement of right-wing groups like the Libertarian Alliance and the Freedom Association. I share their distaste for these groups. But my participation on Saturday is based on supporting the statement of principle, not on who else is taking part. I will not let the dubious politics of others dissuade me from supporting what are important, progressive humanitarian values.”

March for Free Expression website, 23 March 2006

Odd, then, that Tatchell argued for banning the Muslim Council of Britain from the Unite Against Fascism conference last month. Presumably it’s OK to form an alliance with racists to oppose Muslims, but out of the question to form an alliance with Muslims to oppose racists.

‘No Danish cartoons, please’ – appeal from protest organiser

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Over a month ago Peter Risdon, organiser of the “March for Free Expression”, posted a notice on their website encouraging those attending Saturday’s protest to bring along and display copies of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. He wrote: “Since we are in favour of free speech, and because the reason why newspapers and magazines across Europe (though not, shamefully, in the UK) have republished the infamous cartoons was principally ‘We are Spartacus’ – we stand together – we will be happy to see reproductions of the cartoons in question at the rally.”

March for Free Expression website, 19 February 2006

Now Risdon is frantically backtracking: “At the outset, we said that displays of the Danish cartoons would be welcome on Saturday. No, let me rephrase that: At the outset, I, Peter Risdon, said the cartoons would be welcome. I am going to take full responsibility for this. I now think that was a mistake…. I now appeal to people not to bring the cartoons on T-shirts or placards.” Not only that, but “Muslims are welcome” at Saturday’s protest.

March for Free Expression website, 23 March 2006

But what about the other t-shirts you advertise on your site, Peter? You know, the ones with slogans like “Get your fatwa out of my face. Support Denmark. Support free speech”, “Up yours, ‘religion of peace’!”, “Viking jihad” and “Islam is a blast”. Are you still encouraging people to wear these?

Well, apparently not. If you click here you’ll find that the advert, headed “T-Shirts – But Be Quick!“, has mysteriously disappeared from the MFE site.

Peter states piously: “The principle of freedom of expression is used, by some, as a trojan horse, as a proxy for racism and islamophobia. Not by me. Not by us. Not by this campaign.” No, no, Peter – of course not.

Some of Peter’s followers are not best pleased about this liberal backsliding over the right to display racist caricatures: “This is surely what the march is about. By restricting the free speech of the protestors you will play into the hands of Islamophobia Watch…” . “I’m hugely disappointed by this. You’ve done exactly what the censors want. I’m really not sure I’ll bother coming along now, to be honest, and I’m guessing plenty of other people who have supported this campaign feel the same. I donated money to this campaign in good faith, and right now this feels like a betrayal of that faith. Will you be reimbursing people?” “I gave you money because I thought you were standing up to the tyranny of Islam, you sniveling coward. Either reverse course once again and welcome those cartoons back again THAT WERE THE ORIGINAL REASON FOR THIS MARCH or refund my money.” “Another pathetic example of grovelling to Muslim ‘sensibilities’.” “I don’t see how you can claim this march to still be in favour of free expression.” “I am incredibly disappointed by this – it is nothing but dhimmitude.” “YOU ARE A JOKE. Maybe it would be better if the march was cancelled! Hello we want free speech, but remember not to talk about the cartoons!!!! I feel sorry for people that sent you money.” “Unless you reverse this decision ASAP, I hereby withdraw my support unreservedly.” “What a bunch of wimps. You have obviously caved in to the Islamic pressure groups and the Mayor of Londinistan. Another victory for Sharia law and another defeat for Liberty.”

It can only be a matter of hours before Peter makes an appearance on Dhimmi Watch!

Postscript:  Yes, here it is.

Vatican change of heart over ‘barbaric’ Crusades

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Vatican has begun moves to rehabilitate the Crusaders by sponsoring a conference that portrays the Crusades as wars fought with the “noble aim” of regaining the Holy Land for Christianity. The American writer Robert Spencer, author of A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, told the conference that the mistaken view had taken hold in the West as well as the Arab world that the Crusades were “an unprovoked attack by Europe on the Islamic world”. In reality, however, Christians had been persecuted after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.

Times, 20 March 2006

‘Gays in Eurabia’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Four years after the assassination of gay Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, his warning of the threat posed to the rights of European gays and women by intolerant, anti-assimilationist Muslim immigrants is increasingly vindicated by events.

“Muslims have migrated in large numbers to Europe, have more children than ethnic Europeans, are disproportionately involved in crime, and increasingly insist on being governed not by the prevailing civil laws but by Muslim Shari’ah law. Many Muslim clerics in Europe look to the day when Europe will become a Muslim caliphate. Scholar Bat Ye’or has dubbed that future Europe ‘Eurabia’. Already, Muslim leaders in France, Britain, Denmark and Belgium have declared certain Muslim neighborhoods to be under Islamic jurisdiction….

“Submissive infidels are known as dhimmis, a role tacitly embraced by those Westerners who call any criticism of Muslims racist. Fortunately, some are refusing to surrender. On March 25 in Trafalgar Square, British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, a self-described ‘left-wing Green’, joined a crowd including humanists, libertarians and liberal Muslims in a rally to defend freedom of expression….

“Tatchell wrote, ‘Sections of the left moan that the rally is being supported [by] the right. Well, if these socialists object so strongly why don’t they organize their own demo in support of free speech? The truth is that some of the left would rarely, if ever, rally to defend freedom of expression because they don’t wholeheartedly believe in it. Mired in the immoral morass of cultural relativism, they no longer endorse Enlightenment values and universal human rights’.”

Richard J. Rosendall in Washington DC’s gay and lesbian magazine Metro Weekly, 20 April 2006

For an earlier article by Rosendall on Fortuyn, see here.