Wintonsweek Respect for Religion Is Like Motherhood and Apple Pie Or Is It? What If The Religion Seeks To Trash Our Values? Islam In Britain Must Change To Fit Our Ways Who Would Have Thought Lord Deedes Could Be So Wrong? “Hey, Mahmoud, welcome aboard. It’s great you’re adopting this poor unfortunate stray from the Battersea Dogs Home; fancy a bacon sandwich while you wait?” What kind of a religion induces a believer, in this case a taxi-driver, when confronted with a blind, vulnerable women with a guide dog in central London at midnight, to take the default position which allows the women to be stranded because the dog is “unclean”? You, of course, have already guessed correctly. Only the Religion of Peace could render some of its adherents into such a state of cruel, uncivilised, stupidity. There have been countless news items in the prints lately which show Muslims in a less than flattering light. There was the Muslim policeman who wouldn’t guard the Israeli embassy, the man who was taken to court because two Muslims thought he was revving his car in a racist manner, the women who wanted to teach while wearing a veil, and the ludicrous case of “offensive” Danish cartoons which weren’t offensive at all to normal Europeans. The Labour party’s Jack Straw has done us all a favour by pointing the finger at the wearing of veils and its divisive, apartheid-like possibilities. The noise of politicians jumping on this band-wagon points to the fact that the radical Muslim menace is at last being tackled. Still in denial David Davis, the Conservative Party’s shadow Home Secretary, joined the fray on October 15, with an article in the Sunday Telegraph asking: “Do Muslims really want apartheid here”, saying that Britain was drifting towards an unbridgeable social divide with Muslims which put at risk the foundations of our society. Not much to argue with there. But Davis made another statement deep into his article which for me sums up why Britain still doesn’t get the true nature of the radical Muslim threat. “Essentially, it is straightforward. I respect your religion, you respect mine, and we all respect our laws,” said Davis. At first sight this seems like a truism. What could be fairer, just and civilised than for us all to extend respect for everybody’s religion? Unfortunately it is not as simple as that. Nobody seems to ask the question, “What if a religion holds beliefs that are fundamentally incompatible with our national culture?” Respect isn’t a given The Muslim minicab driver’s aversion to dogs (the driver was fined £200 and ordered to pay £1,200 costs for failing to comply with disability discrimination laws at Marylebone Magistrates Court) was simply because the Koran was written during a time when it made sense to be wary of dogs because they might bite you and kill you because of the likely presence of rabies. At a time when knowledge of diseases was just about non-existent, it made sense to have a general rule about avoiding dogs. But in modern times this aversion is simply ignorant. This is true of many of the tenets of Islam. Believers mustn’t eat pork. Again this is because in the year dot, many people suffered from eating uncooked pork. Nobody knew why, so it made sense. Now, of course, for us in the west there’s not a sensible reason not to eat pork. There are many other Islamic beliefs that make no sense in the modern world, simply because Muslims never had the kind of democratisation experience as the rights of man movement in the West which led to sensible changes in Christianity to take account of modern science, and modern mores. Acknowledge reform need Let me offer some suggestions for the modernisation of Islam and the Koran, which must be agreed if the religion is to be practised in Britain – · Stop “honour” killing. · Agree that it’s ok to pay interest to banks if you borrow money · End teaching that women are inferior to men · Ditch the veil, and uniform which shouts “I’m different” · Eschew forced marriages · Embrace democracy, free speech, equality before the law · Declare sharia law is only for clerical states, never in Britain · Admit Halal killing of animals is uncivilised and must stop · Abandon anti-Semitism · Acknowledge the evil of suicide/homicide bombing For a complete and learned list of what Muslims in Britain in particular and the West in general must do, see Irshad Manji’s book “The Trouble With Islam” and her website www.muslim-refusenik.com. (Why is it that the highest profile, brave heroes seeking Islamic reform all seem to be women - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Melanie Phillips?). Britain must insist that Islam practised here must conform to our traditions. Islamic officials, if they are to be allowed to operate in British Mosques, must accept changes because they must be made to understand how these rights have been fought for over the years. They are non-negotiable, and crucial to the British culture. Renounce British culture and you renounce your right to live in the country. This doesn’t have to be as harsh as it may sound at first. The Koran is an ancient document and is written in a lose way. This has allowed extremists and haters of western civilisation to use this lack of clarity to pervert what is undoubtedly a religion that seeks peace and reconciliation into one that can be vengeful, cruel and aggressive. British Muslims agree And pay no attention to defeatists like WF Deedes, otherwise known as William Deedes, or Lord Deedes. Deedes, writing in the Daily Telegraph of October 20 in an article headlined “Muslims can never conform to our ways”, said that Jack Straw’s brush with Islam over veils was only a tiny illustration of the gulf between us. Now I bow to no one in my admiration for Deedes, still pounding out the stories as if he was 20-something, not 80-something. But he is wrong in this instance. Longevity doesn’t mean you’re right about everything. Their religion forbids it? Change the religion Wrong. Conform. If your religion forbids it, change the religion. Deedes offers more ways for British culture to commit 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 values. Blood has been shed for them. You would think Deedes would know that better than most. Any newcomers are welcome to partake of their benefits. They are not going to be whittled away in a corrupt, smoke-filled room. Deedes ends with the ultimate call to surrender, urging us British to fall on our collective swords. “What is never going to work is telling followers of Islam here “You must conform to our ways!”” If I may quote you Mr Deedes, you have hit the nail on the head – “You must conform to our ways!” A test for government Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary organisation, or a proselytiser for Al-Qaeda depending on who you believe, has proposed the building of a massive mosque - the London Markaz - that will hold 40,000 worshippers alongside the 2012 London Olympic complex. A report on BBCTV’s NewsNight programme tried to interview the backers of the project, but was rebuffed. No matter. The project needs planning approval from Newham council. If it is refused, the government will probably be forced to take the decision. Here’s my test. If the government is serious about reforming Muslim activity in Britain, it will allow the mosque to be built, but only if it practices reformed Islam; Islam that rejects shariah law, Islam that doesn’t try to trash our culture, Islam that embraces British values of free speech, tolerance and the rule of law. I’m not going to hold my breath on that one, but you have to be hopeful, don’t you. Perhaps one day I’ll hear this snippet of conversation. “Hey, Mahmoud, welcome aboard. It’s great you’re adopting this poor unfortunate stray from the Battersea Dogs Home; fancy a bacon sandwich while you wait?” Neil Winton – October 25, 2006 |
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