The Editor

Daily Telegraph

Dear Sir,

Deedes Advice On Muslims Amounts To Defeatism, Appeasement

    I defer to no man in my admiration for the legendary WF Deedes, but his column last Friday, “Muslims can never conform to our ways”, was pure defeatism.

    Lord Deedes says Muslims will not conform with British ways because their religion forbids it. This is nonsense. Because there are many aspects of Islam which conflict with Britain’s tradition of democracy, openness, freedom of speech and equality of all before the law, (and not sharia law), that is precisely why Muslims must conform to our ways. If Islam conflicts with British culture, it is Islam that must change, not the host culture.

    Lord Deedes offers more ways for Britain to commit cultural suicide.

    “Why do we suppose India had to be partitioned? There was no other way of keeping the peace in that great sub-continent. We cannot do that here, but perhaps we should be thinking in terms of a supreme council on which our principal religions, including Islam, would sit and try to resolve misunderstandings,” says Deedes.

    This is feeble, hand-wringing nonsense; a recipe for self-immolation.

    Our values are not up for negotiation and discussion. We are proud of our traditions. Blood has been shed for them. You would think Lord Deedes, who had a close view of the appeasement of Germany in the 1930s, would know that better than most. Any newcomers are welcome to partake of these benefits. They are not going to be whittled away in a corrupt, smoke-filled room.

    Lord Deedes ends his article with the ultimate call to surrender, urging us Britons to fall on our collective swords.

    “What is never going to work is telling followers of Islam here “You must conform to our ways!”

     On the contrary, if British Muslims are to become complete citizens of this country, they will have to accept the fact that British ways trump Islamic ones. But I don’t think this is likely to be controversial because I would bet that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims want to do just that, and would say to hell with the extremists and trouble makers.

    Yours sincerely

    Neil Winton