The wages of multiculturalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Yesterday’s bombers are still unknown, but their enablers on the Left are standing right in front of our eyes. It was Mayor Livingstone who openly praised and defended Islamofascist Sheikh Al Qaradawi as ‘a man of peace’. The radical Left imposed multiculturalism on Britain, which is of course left-wing political monoculturalism. Leftists in the educational system drilled generations of children to loathe their own political culture as morally inferior to the bloodiest tyrannies in the world. The Left has blocked any sensible British immigration reform, so that it became impossible to deport the most dangerous terrorists in the world.”

A rant from one James Lewis, which also contains the revelation that “it was Red Ken who scapegoated the half-Jewish leader of the Conservative Party in the recent election, in order to appeal to radical Muslims in London”. Must have missed that one.

American Thinker, 9 July 2005

Fascist quotes Qur’an to show Islam is not a religion of peace

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In an “open letter” to Sir Iqbal Sacranie and the Muslim Council of Britain, BNP leader Nick Griffin writes: “Terrorism; the slaughter of innocents; war against the Unbelievers; mass murder – all are (assuming the words of various Koranic verses are taken to have their ordinary English meanings) ‘justified’ in the Koran, and anyone who denies this is a liar. How can we say such Politically Incorrect things? Because we have studied the Koran….”

BNP website, 9 July 2005

This could have been lifted almost word for word from Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, couldn’t it? In fact, if the racist filth that appears in the comments section of Spencer’s site is a guide to the sort of people who read his writings, it probably was.

Spencer must be really pleased with himself. Not only is he an influence on more “mainstream” right-wingers like Melanie Phillips, but his work also serves as an inspiration to out-and-out Nazis like Griffin.

‘Leaked No 10 dossier reveals Al-Qaeda’s British recruits’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Leaked No 10 dossier reveals Al-Qaeda’s British recruits,” the Sunday Times announces. Yeah, the same dossier the leaking of which was a hot news item in the Sunday Times … over a year ago. The same dossier which is used by the Sunday Times to suggest that thousands of British Muslims are potential supporters of terrorist attacks on the West because they attended a conference organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir – an organisation that unequivocally rejects terrorist attacks on the West.

Indeed, the leaked document concedes that Hizb ut-Tahrir “does not advocate violence”, that “membership or sympathy with such an organisation does not in any way pre-suppose a move towards terrorism”, and that at most “what it may indicate is the possibility of a few of its members being open to gradual consideration of far more extremist doctrine” …  while offering no evidence that any of them in fact have been.

Over at Jihad Watch, Rebecca Bynum posts the article as if it were some new revelation about the extent of Islamic terrorist organisation within the UK. But what can you expect from a site that repeatedly told its readers that Al-Muhajiroun was the largest Muslim organisation in Britain, and continued repeating this nonsense long after that tiny, marginal, extremist group had disbanded itself? You really wonder how much jihad watching the folks at Jihad Watch actually do.

Friedman wrong about Muslims again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“To this day – to this day – no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden”. Thomas Friedman’s monumentally ignorant claim in his New York Times article (see here) is demolished by Juan Cole.

Cole remarks: “I don’t personally care for Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He is an old-time Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood preacher who fled to Qatar and now has a perch at al-Jazeera. But he does have some virtues. He … absolutely despises Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaradawi has repeatedly condemned the latter. He even gave a fatwa that it was a duty of Muslims to fight alongside the US in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda!”

Informed Comment, 9 July 2005

Muslims see more abuse after London attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslims have been subjected to a higher than usual level of abuse since Thursday’s bomb attacks in London, police and Muslim groups said on Sunday.

But they have also received thousands of messages of support from non-Muslims who recognise the vast majority of the country’s 1.6 million Muslims have no sympathy for those who carried out the attacks.

Three Islamist groups have claimed responsibility for the blasts, which government ministers said bore the hallmarks of the Islamic militant al Qaeda network.

Police said one person was assaulted and seriously injured in London in what they described as a hate crime, and Muslims reported attacks on several mosques.

Continue reading →

Sheikh al-Qaradawi: Islam condemns the killing of innocent people

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Qaradawi2Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi has denounced the London bombings as “evil acts characterised by barbarity and savagery, which are condemned by Islam in the strongest of terms”.

Al-Qaradawi presented his condolences to the families of the victims who have lost their loved ones, stressing that “Islam and its scholars, regardless of their school of thought, stand against these acts which cannot be sanctioned by any faith, morality or law, regardless of the religion or race of their perpetrators”.

He also sent a special message of condolence to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, saying “we send special condolences to our dear friend the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, a man of integrity who has for long sincerely defended the rights of Arabs and Muslims”.

Islam Online, 7 July 2005

Of course, none of this prevents right-wing Islamophobes in the US attributing theological responsibility for the London bombings to Dr al-Qaradawi. See here and here

So what do they want?

Posted on by Eddie Truman

‘Terrorism Expert’ Kevin Toolis does his best to whip up hysteria in The Mirror:

“If the Islamic fanatics who bombed London ever achieved their aims and took power, Britain would become an Iranian-style Islamic Republic…. The streets of every British city would be patrolled by special religious police who would enforce this Islamic dress code and arrest any suspected ‘courting couples’.

“Anyone suspected of committing adultery would be hanged or stoned to death in public at the new Wembley stadium. Britain would be ruled by a special council of Islamic Guardians who would oversee all laws and determine who could stand for Parliament….

“The Royal family would be killed or driven into exile. An Islamic Britain would declare war on the United States.”

Daily Mirror, 9 July 2005

Posted in UK

Arab view: ‘Enough, enough’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Arabs and Muslims in Britain and across the world expressed outrage at the terrorist attacks in London, with the dominant viewpoint summed up by one person who wrote on a website, “Enough … enough.” The loud condemnation of the attacks that targeted civilians reverberated on the street, over the Internet, in newsrooms, and in Arab and Muslim seats of power. Minority voices praised the attacks with anti-Western invective, but they were largely drowned out.

CNN, 8 July 2005

Juan Cole on the London bombings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“After Abu Ghraib and Fallujah, many Muslims felt that Bin Laden’s dire warnings to them that the United States wanted to occupy their countries, rape their women, humiliate their men, and steal their assets had been vindicated. These claims were not credited by most of the world’s Muslims before the Iraq war. Opinion polls show that most of the world’s Muslims have great admiration for democracy and many other Western values. They object to the U.S. and the U.K. because of their policies, not their values….

“Long-term Western military occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq is simply not going to be acceptable to many in the Muslim world. U.S. actions at Abu Ghraib and Fallujah created powerful new symbols of Muslim humiliation that the jihadis who sympathize with al-Qaida can use to recruit a new generation of terrorists.”

Juan Cole on the London bombings.

Salon.com, 8 July 2005

Fascists declare ‘war of civilizations’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The BNP on the London bus bomb: “It is in a way not surprising that the Government and the security services do not want to admit that a suicide bomber has struck. This, more than any other, is the weapon that indicates the extent to which our terrorist enemy is motivated by a religious fanaticism that is almost inexplicable by Western standards. More than anything else, the suicide bomber shows us that the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ is no longer just a catchy book title, but a fact of life and death that will plague the West until we stop trying to impose our values on other peoples in their countries – and insist that they must not be allowed to impose their values on us in ours.”

BNP news article, 9 July 2005