Category Archives: UK

‘It’s time for Muslims to denounce extremists’ says right-wing novelist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Frederick Forsyth“There is a growing belief … that the leaders of ‘moderate Islam’ in the UK have simply lost control of their own ultra-extreme faction…. we non-Muslims are informed of bookshops rife with hate material but never purged by the Muslims themselves; of mosques where preachers speak only of hate against the rest of us but are never cleansed; of social clubs where the young are indoctrinated and brainwashed on a diet of loathing for the non-jihad world but are never closed down.

“Increasing numbers outside Islam are asking: if the elders will do nothing, is this extremism perhaps after all the true face of Islam? If not, why is nothing done?

“To claim to speak for British Islam but only to rage at a Christian bishop who preaches against the evil of hatred – and hatred is an evil in all beliefs – is not the answer. The answer can only be for those Muslims who want to be truly British and live in peace with the rest of us – and they claim they are the huge majority – to put their house in order, painful though this might be.”

Frederick Forsyth in the Daily Express, 11 January 2009

Inayat’s letter to Telegraph – so far unpublished

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dear Sir, Your leader column today (‘Bishop of Rochester leads the way’, Daily Telegraph, 8th Jan 2008) states that although Michael Nazir-Ali may have perhaps ‘overstated’ his case about Muslims turning parts of the UK into ‘no-go’ areas, you believed that his remarks would ‘resonate with many’.

The fact is that the good Bishop provided no evidence whatsoever to back up his highly inflammatory assertion. Which areas in our country was he thinking of? He did not say and that is surely totally unacceptable. There is absolutely no credible research that bears out his alarming claim.

You are quite right that Nazir-Ali’s remarks will unfortunately strike a chord with quite a few people in the UK but we would suggest that this may be more to do with how anti-Muslim prejudice is becoming increasingly acceptable in the UK. Instead of firmly challenging those prejudices it is very regrettable in our view that the Daily Telegraph seeks to pander to them.

We would have hoped that a figure of Dr Nazir-Ali’s seniority in the Church of England would have sought to promote better relations with different faith groups in the UK rather than seeking so blatantly to stir up hatred against a religious minority.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Inayat Bunglawala, Assistant Secretary-General, The Muslim Council of Britain

‘Mayor’s a burka’ says Sun columnist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kelvin Mackenzie (2)“I am astonished that Ken Livingstone hasn’t declined the support of the 63 Muslim leaders who have written an open letter backing his election for yet another term as Mayor of London.

“After all, why should Livingstone, a long-time supporter of gay rights, want in his corner a religious group that hates homosexuals and advocates stoning them to death? Why should he want in his corner a religious group that makes second-class citizens of women, even to the point of marriages being dissolved at the sending of a text?

“Had it been any other group he would be calling for it to be outlawed. But he is so desperate for votes that he will embrace the ‘community’ no matter how disgusting or illiberal their views.

“My suspicion is that we are seeing the end of the Livingstone legend. Raise your game, Boris, and the prize can be yours.”

Kelvin Mackenzie in The Sun, 10 January 2007

Straw ‘the hypocrite’ in Muslim veil ruling, says Tory MP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Philip Davies (2)Jack Straw was accused of hypocrisy yesterday after censuring a magistrate who refused to deal with a case in which a Muslim woman wore a face veil.

The Justice Secretary issued a formal reprimand to Ian Murray even though Mr Straw himself famously asks women to remove their veils in his constituency office. Mr Straw said in October 2006 that veils were “a statement of separation and difference”.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, a West Yorkshire constituency with a strong Muslim presence, said: “He is a complete hypocrite. Jack Straw tells everyone that he will ask anyone who wears a veil to remove it, then he turns round and disciplines someone for following his line. People are fed up to the back teeth with continual concessions to minority groups, in particular in the courts.”

Daily Mail, 9 January 2008

We don’t have no-go areas, says Brown

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Gordon Brown risked accusations of being deluded yesterday by declaring there are no ‘no-go areas’ for non-Muslims in Britain. The Prime Minister dismissed fears raised by the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, that Islamic extremists are cutting off many communities…. Mr Brown brushed aside the concerns as he answered a question from the Daily Express at his monthly press conference. His claim is bound to provoke accusations that he is out of touch with the experience of many people.”

Daily Express, 9 January 2008

More right-wing support for Nazir-Ali

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Littlejohn's Britain“Bishop Nazir-Ali is bang on the money when he talks about ‘no-go’ areas for Christians in fundamentalist Muslim ghettoes in Britain. But he could have gone further still. This country is littered with ‘no-go’ areas, not just physically, but culturally, spiritually, intellectually and academically, too. Our very liberties are being torched in the name of ‘diversity’.

“The pernicious doctrine of multiculturalism has turned us into a society where people are frightened to speak their minds and justice has been flipped on its head. To express an opinion contrary to the ruthlessly enforced, politically motivated conformity of the Fascist Left is to risk a vicious campaign of character assassination which, if you work in the public sector, will almost certainly cost you your job. The private sector isn’t immune, either. Only last week, we learned of a banker who was sacked for making a harmless, lame joke about Shi’ites.

“We have reached the ludicrous position where a Pakistani clergyman is facing demands for his resignation and is being accused of stirring up racial and religious hatred simply for speaking the truth. All Bishop Nazir-Ali did was state the bleedin’ obvious. Yet even William Hague has attacked him, saying the idea that Christians are made to feel uncomfortable by Muslim extremists is not a Britain he recognises.

“In which case, I suggest Hague heads a few stops east of Westminster, along the Mile End and Whitechapel Roads, where Muslim monoculturalism holds sway. Or visits Leicester, Bradford, Burnley, Oldham or parts of Birmingham. It is beyond dispute that there is a concerted campaign by Islamic extremists to force sharia law on to significant areas of Christian Britain. And there is no doubt that in predominantly Muslim areas, they are winning.”

Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail, 8 January 2008

‘No-go zone for Muslim fanatics’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“I’m a big fan of plain-speaking Tory William Hague, but he’s wrong to condemn Church of England bishop Michael Nazir-Ali for saying Islamic radicals are turning parts of Britain into menacing no-go areas. Hague says the bishop ‘put it too strongly’. No, he got it right.

“The bishop is bravely giving voice to one of the great unspoken fears of our country: That our mainly Christian society is being swept aside as Islam stakes its claim to be our main religion…. The point about being British is that you don’t need to be a practising Christian to appreciate that our culture is underpinned by Christianity. Christianity has sculpted the fabric of our society, from our carols and cathedrals to our laws and language.

“Islam is an uncompromising religion…. Militant Islamic leaders – the ones most active in Britain today – do not believe in halfway houses. That is why they want mosques to broadcast the call to prayer from loudspeakers three times a day. In Oxford, the mosque has already applied for consent to trumpet its prayer calls over the spires of the ancient university. Thank God Inspector Morse isn’t here to see it.

“Almost half of Muslims here say they would prefer to be governed by Islamic Sharia law, which believes women should be stoned to death for adultery and thieves should have their hands hacked off. Such barbarism has no place in Britain. Yet every day more people arrive here who believe in it. The surge of Islam has been the flip coin of uncontrolled immigration under Labour.”

Fergus Shanahan in the Sun, 8 January 2008

‘Bishop of Rochester leads the way’ says Torygraph

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“There is a fair chance that the sort of comments that attract criticism, not only from the political establishment but also from the self-appointed spokesmen of the Muslim community are worth hearing. So it is with the weekend’s unvarnished warning from the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, of the perils of multiculturalism….

“By focusing on the way the adhan, or call to prayer, is delivered through amplified loudspeakers in an attempt to ‘impose an Islamic character on certain areas’ and by questioning whether non-Muslims ‘wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker’, the bishop was raising an issue of genuine concern in many communities. As a tolerant, Christian country we resent it if any group seeks to take advantage of that tolerance by trying to impose its own views.

“Yet Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems have responded with knee-jerk predictability, desperate as ever not to offend Muslim sensibilities. It shows once again how difficult it is to engage in a mature debate about the damaging impact of multiculturalism in this country in general, and the threat posed by Islamic radicalism to our way of life in particular.”

Daily Telegraph, 8 January 2008

MCB Regrets Bishop’s remarks on supposed Muslim No-Go Areas

Posted on by Bob Pitt

MCB banner

The MCB deeply regrets the incendiary comments recently made by the Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir Ali. His assertion that British Muslims have created ‘No Go areas’ in some parts of Britain is not borne out in any credible research; the remarks are alarming and serve only to benefit the far right.

Across the country, British Muslims are seeking common cause with their neighbours, sharing and living with peoples of other faiths. Local inter faith groups are coming together to seek mutual understanding and work for the common good. We need to encourage and work hard to foster this area of work, rather than create mistrust and suspicion. Dr Nazir-Ali’s comments are likely to do much harm in promoting greater understanding between religious groups and give more ammunition to those waiting in our periphery eager to take advantage of divisions in Christian and Muslim Interfaith work.

MCB Secretary General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said: “The MCB hopes that Dr Michael Nazir Ali takes more responsibility and care in his remarks although regrettably he has developed a habit of upsetting many sections of our community including his recent remarks on childless married couples and the Prince of Wales. As a key figure of the Anglican Church’s network for Inter faith, he ought to work to foster better relationships and bring about cohesion rather than create and aggravate community tensions”.

MCB press release, 7 January 2008