Champagne Peter denounces mayoral capitulation to homophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

outrageprotest2The Daily Telegraph (30 June 2005) reports: “Ken Livingstone is ever eager to ingratiate himself with London’s gay community. But his antics appear to cut little ice with gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, who was attending the the mayor’s Pride event on Monday night.

“‘This all about ticking boxes on a page’, opined Tatchell, sipping on a glass of pink champagne. ‘Ken just wants to be able to say he supports gay rights, but when it comes to the crunch it’s all meaningless: he’s still more than happy to welcome a homophobe like Yusuf al-Qaradawi to City Hall’.”

And apparently also happy to welcome an Islamophobe like Peter Tatchell – who proceeds to knock back the free champagne and while slagging off his host to the Tory press.

Perhaps Tatchell should ponder the comments of a member of Imaan, the lesbian and gay Muslim group: “It can be argued that over the years Ken Livingstone’s record on empowering Gay and Lesbian Rights is more impressive than Peter Tatchell’s, which frankly, at times, has been more self-indulgent than effective.”

Future doesn’t belong to ‘aggressive’ Islam: Dutch bishop

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islam won’t dominate the future because it is too aggressive, Archbishop Martinus Muskens of Breda has claimed.

In the quarterly magazine of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Roman Catholic bishop writes: “I saw early on that there was a lot of aggression in there (Islam)”. Islam, he said, must contemplate on the violent aspects of its tradition.

Muskens lived in Indonesia for many years and studied Muslims closely. “If this faith does not find an adequate answer to the question whether violence is part of its essence, this religion has little future.”

Expatica, 30 June 2005

Robert Spencer’s ongoing, unshakeable quest for self-publicity

Posted on by Bob Pitt

spencerbook2Yet another plug from Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch for his forthcoming book ‘The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)’.

Jihad Watch, 29 June 2005

The book description on Amazon reads: “Islam expert Robert Spencer reveals Islam’s ongoing, unshakable quest for global conquest and why the West today faces the same threat as the Crusaders did – and what we can learn from their experience.”

The back cover informs us: “Everything (well, almost everything) you know about Islam and the Crusades is wrong because most textbooks and popular history books are written by left-wing academics and Islamic apologists who who justify their contemporary political agendas with contrived historical ‘facts’.”

As distinct, presumably, from the scrupulous commitment to historical objectivity which characterises the writings of raving right-wing Islamophobes.

Will religious hatred laws deal with bigotry?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Socialist Worker asks the question, Ghayasuddin Siddiqui and Inayat Bunglawala offer opposing answers. Looks like the SWP is hedging its bets. The fact that these two writers are given equal billing is itself a bit of a cop-out. Inayat Bunglawala is media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, to which over 300 British Muslim organisations are affiliated, whereas the Muslim Parliament is, how shall we put this, somewhat less of a mass movement.

Socialist Worker, 2 July 2005

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The transcript of the first sitting of the House of Commons standing committee on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill is now online. Leyton & Wanstead MP Harry Cohen states:

“Islamophobia is deep and serious. It is of great concern to many of my Muslim constituents. I suspect that Members with Muslim constituents know that very well. Where it is overt, the law must stand up against it and declare it illegal and unacceptable.”

Report of proceedings, 28 June 2005

‘Please don’t jail me for seven years’, terrified theatre director pleads

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The extremist end of Islam – the fanatics who wanted Salman Rushdie killed, and who … want their beliefs to be immune from criticism of any sort – will not be appeased by it. They will simply see it as a staging post for a more extreme law: one which will extend blasphemy legislation to cover all religions.”

Another silly article on the religious hatred bill, this time by theatre director Nicholas Hytner.

Sunday Telegraph, 26 June 2005

Spencer drones on and on and on …

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Ever since I began doing this work publicly my point has been simple and consistent: that the jihad terrorists are working from mainstream traditions and numerous Qur’anic exhortations, and that by means of these traditions and teachings they are able to gain recruits among Muslims worldwide, and hold the sympathy of others whom they do not recruit. This explains why there has been no widespread, sustained, or sincere Muslim outcry against the jihad terrorist enterprise in general. The mainstream media, both liberal and conservative, does not want to face these facts.”

Robert Spencer does his imitation of a stuck record.

Jihad Watch, 27 June 2005

Nazis and the religious hatred bill

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“British people are also aware of the mayhem caused in parts of the world by Islam and the use of violence by Muslims to spread their cause – 9/11 being a particularly horrific example. If law abiding people are concerned about the increasing spread of Islam in Britain, should not a decent government take their worries on board by at least conducting a true, open and honest debate on all sides of the argument? Yes. But ‘our’ government does no such thing and instead seeks to criminalise such sensible debate on the matter and call it ‘hate’ and ‘incitement to religious hatred’.”

A fascist assesses the Commons debate on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill.

BNP website, 27 June 2005

‘Ha, ha! This bill has incited luvvies to hate Labour’, Torygraph writer sneers

Posted on by Bob Pitt

stephenfryAnother jaw-droppingly ignorant attack on the religious hatred bill, by Jasper Gerard in the Sunday Times.

Still, we’re helpfully provided with Stephen Fry’s penetrating insights into the issue: “It’s now common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that,’ as if that gives them certain rights. It’s no more than a whine. ‘I’m offended by that.’ Well, so fucking what?”

Ah, the wonders of an Oxbridge education.

Sunday Times, 26 June 2005

Also worth noting that Fry’s description of the bill as “a sop to Muslims” has been approvingly quoted by the BNP. See here.