In case you missed it, here's the story of a Palestinian boy who was shot by the Israeli army, but whose organs were donated to save others, regardless or whether they were Jewish or Muslim, Israeli or Palestinian.
Ahmed's gift of life
Ahmed Khatib's death was tragically unexceptional: the 12-year-old Palestinian was shot by Israeli soldiers while holding a toy gun. But what happened next was not. The boy's parents donated his organs to six Israelis. They tell Chris McGreal why their decision was a gesture of both peace and resistance
Friday, November 11, 2005
What happens when a Himmler marries a Jew?
Thanks to JSL for alerting me to this one.
Katrin's choice: how do I tell my son about great-uncle Heinrich. . .?
The Times
November 11, 2005
KATRIN HIMMLER’S son is a bright, curious six-year-old. “I’m dreading the moment,” she says, “when I have to tell him that one half of his family tried to kill the other half.”
Frau Himmler, a political scientist, is the great-niece of Heinrich Himmler, head of Hitler’s SS and mastermind of the concentration camp system that murdered millions of Jews.
She is married to an Israeli whose family was confined to the Warsaw ghetto, which was burned to the ground by troopers acting on her great-uncle’s orders.
Sometime soon her son will have to be told of the 20th-century tragedy that is part of his heritage. Katrin Himmler, 38, has tackled the problem by writing an account of the family which she will give to her son as soon as he is old enough to read.
Katrin's choice: how do I tell my son about great-uncle Heinrich. . .?
The Times
November 11, 2005
KATRIN HIMMLER’S son is a bright, curious six-year-old. “I’m dreading the moment,” she says, “when I have to tell him that one half of his family tried to kill the other half.”
Frau Himmler, a political scientist, is the great-niece of Heinrich Himmler, head of Hitler’s SS and mastermind of the concentration camp system that murdered millions of Jews.
She is married to an Israeli whose family was confined to the Warsaw ghetto, which was burned to the ground by troopers acting on her great-uncle’s orders.
Sometime soon her son will have to be told of the 20th-century tragedy that is part of his heritage. Katrin Himmler, 38, has tackled the problem by writing an account of the family which she will give to her son as soon as he is old enough to read.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Remove Hitler poem from book, says MP
Remove Hitler poem from book, says MP
Telegraph
Telegraph
09/11/2005
Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, has been asked to force the withdrawal of a poem for schoolchildren written from the viewpoint of Adolf Hitler.
...
The poem's author, Gideon Taylor, writes: "Jews are here, Jews are there, Jews are almost everywhere, filling up the darkest places, evil looks upon their faces. "Make them take many paces for being one of the worst races, on their way to a gas chamber, where they will sleep in their manger."
One line of the poem states "Adolf Hitler is my name," and ends with the words: "And for what price? World domination." It was published in an anthology called Great Minds by the Forward Press group, which said 452 copies had been printed.
Palestinian Friday Service - Jews Are a Virus Resembling AIDS
This has to be seen to be believed. Goebbels would be so proud.
Palestinian Friday Service by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris - film clip
Palestinian Authority TV
May 13, 2005
------------------
The transcript just doesn't have the same impact. But for anyone without sound on their machine:
Palestinian Friday Service by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris - transcript
Allah has tormented us with "the people most hostile to the believers" – the Jews. "Thou shalt find that the people most hostile to the believers to be the Jews and the polytheists." Allah warned His beloved Prophet Muhammad about the Jews, who had killed their prophets, forged their Torah, and sowed corruption throughout their history.
With the establishment of the state of Israel, the entire Islamic nation was lost, because Israel is a cancer spreading through the body of the Islamic nation, and because the Jews are a virus resembling AIDS, from which the entire world suffers.
You will find that the Jews were behind all the civil strife in this world. The Jews are behind the suffering of the nations.
Palestinian Friday Service by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris - film clip
Palestinian Authority TV
May 13, 2005
------------------
The transcript just doesn't have the same impact. But for anyone without sound on their machine:
Palestinian Friday Service by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris - transcript
Allah has tormented us with "the people most hostile to the believers" – the Jews. "Thou shalt find that the people most hostile to the believers to be the Jews and the polytheists." Allah warned His beloved Prophet Muhammad about the Jews, who had killed their prophets, forged their Torah, and sowed corruption throughout their history.
With the establishment of the state of Israel, the entire Islamic nation was lost, because Israel is a cancer spreading through the body of the Islamic nation, and because the Jews are a virus resembling AIDS, from which the entire world suffers.
You will find that the Jews were behind all the civil strife in this world. The Jews are behind the suffering of the nations.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Nazi war criminal dies in Britain
My italics. No tears.
Nazi war criminal dies in Britain
BBC
7 November 2005
The only man to have been convicted in Britain of Nazi war crimes has died in Norwich prison. Anthony Sawoniuk, 84, was serving two life sentences after being found guilty of murdering 18 Jews in the UK's first war crimes trial.
...
Sawoniuk was born on 7 March 1921, in the harsh climate of Domachevo. As a boy he would have starved if it were not for the generosity of local wealthy Jewish families. But when the Germans arrived in 1941, he took up with the Nazi police force to help with the suppression and genocide of local Jews.
During his trial, the jury heard from an eyewitness how he watched Sawoniuk tell two men and a woman to strip beside an open grave and then shot them. The court also heard how he mowed down 15 people with a submachine gun and pushed their bodies into an open grave.
Coursework in exams favours the middle classes. Discuss.
Uncle Johann confirms what I always suspected to be the case. I knew standards were slipping!
Coursework: a charter for cheats
It's yet another way the British middle class rig the education system in favour of their coddled children
If Britain’s coursework system were submitted for examination, it would be lucky to scrape an E grade and a place doing Golf Course Studies at De Montford University. This week, the AQA exam board warned (again) that teachers are routinely waving through material that had been “blatantly copied from the internet”, and another GCSE exam authority, Edexcel, warned that schools were now offering so much “help” to students that it amounted to “a kind of mass plagiarism”.
Coursework: a charter for cheats
It's yet another way the British middle class rig the education system in favour of their coddled children
If Britain’s coursework system were submitted for examination, it would be lucky to scrape an E grade and a place doing Golf Course Studies at De Montford University. This week, the AQA exam board warned (again) that teachers are routinely waving through material that had been “blatantly copied from the internet”, and another GCSE exam authority, Edexcel, warned that schools were now offering so much “help” to students that it amounted to “a kind of mass plagiarism”.
Paris when it sizzles...
Riots in Paris and beyond have been in the news as of late.
Here's an interesting leader from the Telegraph:
Broken contract
France has had a week and a half of rioting. It is spreading, there is no end in sight and the government appears powerless to stop it. We are witnessing the breakdown of the contract between the state and Europe's largest immigrant population. That, as the Bill banning the hijab in schools reminded us, is on one side the acceptance by newcomers of a strictly lay entity in which no exception is made for different religious communities. In return, they are supposed to enjoy the benefits of a republic based on the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Despite much controversy at the time, the Bill has been implemented with remarkably little fuss. It is not the hijab that lies at the heart of the present trouble. It is, rather, the failure of the state to fulfil its side of the bargain. The first generation of immigrants came to France to meet a demand for foreign labour. The second and third generations find themselves trapped without work in the estates or cités built for their parents and grandparents. To compound matters, the unemployed have become dependent on welfare. These two factors produce a feeling of helplessness, which in turn engenders a hatred of the state.
The Telegraph goes on to argue that the solution is "the creation of conditions for enterprise that will allow those stuck in the cités to break out of drear desperation through work."
I thought it was an interesting (right of centre) argument. Leaving aside certain cultural variables (violent protest is more common in France than here) I was wondering if there were any useful parallels. There are claims that we too in Britain have a 'dependency culture' (at least in certain sections of society) - is there anything we can learn from what's happening in France? France is generally perceived as having much greater social protection, but if the Telegraph argument holds sway that is precisely the problem. However, it is worth remembering that we have had race riots here too, under both the Conservatives and New Labour, both of whom seem quite keen on 'enterprise'. (Though this does not automatically mean that the Telegraph's analysis does not apply - the deprived areas that rioted in the UK would still have had a high proportion of people on benefits.)
So my question - is the Telegraph right to see social funding as (a major) part of the problem, or is the solution more funding for deprived areas?
Looking forward to Wemb on this one. For my own part I think the dependency culture argument has some validity.
Here's an interesting leader from the Telegraph:
Broken contract
France has had a week and a half of rioting. It is spreading, there is no end in sight and the government appears powerless to stop it. We are witnessing the breakdown of the contract between the state and Europe's largest immigrant population. That, as the Bill banning the hijab in schools reminded us, is on one side the acceptance by newcomers of a strictly lay entity in which no exception is made for different religious communities. In return, they are supposed to enjoy the benefits of a republic based on the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Despite much controversy at the time, the Bill has been implemented with remarkably little fuss. It is not the hijab that lies at the heart of the present trouble. It is, rather, the failure of the state to fulfil its side of the bargain. The first generation of immigrants came to France to meet a demand for foreign labour. The second and third generations find themselves trapped without work in the estates or cités built for their parents and grandparents. To compound matters, the unemployed have become dependent on welfare. These two factors produce a feeling of helplessness, which in turn engenders a hatred of the state.
The Telegraph goes on to argue that the solution is "the creation of conditions for enterprise that will allow those stuck in the cités to break out of drear desperation through work."
I thought it was an interesting (right of centre) argument. Leaving aside certain cultural variables (violent protest is more common in France than here) I was wondering if there were any useful parallels. There are claims that we too in Britain have a 'dependency culture' (at least in certain sections of society) - is there anything we can learn from what's happening in France? France is generally perceived as having much greater social protection, but if the Telegraph argument holds sway that is precisely the problem. However, it is worth remembering that we have had race riots here too, under both the Conservatives and New Labour, both of whom seem quite keen on 'enterprise'. (Though this does not automatically mean that the Telegraph's analysis does not apply - the deprived areas that rioted in the UK would still have had a high proportion of people on benefits.)
So my question - is the Telegraph right to see social funding as (a major) part of the problem, or is the solution more funding for deprived areas?
Looking forward to Wemb on this one. For my own part I think the dependency culture argument has some validity.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Iraq battle stress worse than WWII / Iraq Paras trial
Disgusting the way the British govt is treating its soldiers in Iraq.
Iraq battle stress worse than WWII
The Sunday Times
November 06, 2005
Senior army doctors have warned that troops in Iraq are suffering levels of battle stress not experienced since the second world war because of fears that if they shoot an insurgent, they will end up in court. The two senior Royal Army Medical Corps officers, one of whom is a psychologist, have recently returned from Basra, where they said they counselled young soldiers who feared a military police investigation as much as they did the insurgents. The revelations follow the collapse last week of the court martial of seven paratroopers accused of murdering an Iraqi who died near al- Amarah just after the war and amid signs of a dramatic drop in morale among frontline infantry soldiers.
The doctors’ warnings came in post-operational reports submitted by senior officers to their formation commanders after serving in a battle zone. They are exceptional because of their content. One source said: “There doesn’t appear to be any overt consideration or understanding of the pressures that our soldiers are under. “The unpopularity of the war at home and a belief that firing their rifles in virtually any circumstances is likely to see them end up in court are sapping morale.”
One corporal said that troops arriving in Basra were confronted by warnings from the Royal Military Police. “They make it clear that any and every incident will be investigated. It is also made clear that if you shoot someone, you will face an inquiry that could take up to a year. “The faces of the young lads straight out of training drop as the fear of being investigated strikes home and many ask whose side the RMP are on.”
------------------
It's so bad that even the anti-war Rod Liddle had this to say:
Sod this game of soldiers
Rod Liddle
The Sunday Times
November 06, 2005
------------------
Some background in case anyone missed it:
The Iraqi lies that put the Paras in court
Telegraph
04/11/2005
A blatant attempt to extract money from the British Army had been made by the Marsh Arabs of Ferkah, the court martial heard. They had colluded, lied and frequently spoke of "fasil" - bloody money - and compensation when they appeared to give evidence.
The Judge Advocate General, Jeff Blackett, said they had made specious claims of improper behaviour including allegations that a baby and an old man had been killed by the British soldiers. Three women witnesses had admitted making up claims that they were assaulted by the soldiers and the family of the dead man, 18-year-old Nadhem Abdullah, had encouraged other villagers to tell lies about the incident.
Fourteen witnesses had been brought from their homes in Iraq to give evidence to the court but much of their evidence was "too inherently weak or vague for any sensible person to rely on it" and it had been based on "a corporate recollection discussed by the family or tribe", said Judge Blackett.
Paras cleared as Iraq trial collapses in £8m fiasco
Telegraph
04/11/2005
The court martial of seven paratroopers accused of murdering an Iraqi teenager collapsed yesterday after the Royal Military Police investigation was condemned as "inadequate" and riddled with "serious omissions".
The hearing, which cost up to £8 million, came to an abrupt halt after the most senior judge in the Army courts directed that the defendants be found not guilty. Jeff Blackett, the Judge Advocate General, described the evidence presented by the prosecution as "too inherently weak or vague for any sensible person to rely on".
He strongly condemned the Special Investigations Branch of the RMP for making significant errors during its inquiry.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Indefatigable opposition to terror bill
As you're undoubtedly aware the government won a vote on their terror bill by one vote.
It's not unreasonable to assume that civil liberties minded opposition parties like the LibDems and Respect would have made sure they voted against it. However, 2 LibDems missed the vote as well as the indefatigable MP for Bow & Bethnal Green, George Galloway. The LibDems had fairly valid excuses. George, however, was at 'an "uncancelleable" speaking event'; towit 'an Audience with George Galloway'. You will be shocked to learn that this is a commercial event.
Read more here.
It's not unreasonable to assume that civil liberties minded opposition parties like the LibDems and Respect would have made sure they voted against it. However, 2 LibDems missed the vote as well as the indefatigable MP for Bow & Bethnal Green, George Galloway. The LibDems had fairly valid excuses. George, however, was at 'an "uncancelleable" speaking event'; towit 'an Audience with George Galloway'. You will be shocked to learn that this is a commercial event.
Read more here.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Interview with a terrorist
Seems like 72 virgins is not the only motivation:
Egyptian mercenary
Mahmoud Hassan, an Egyptian terrorist captured in Iraq explains his training and inspiration: primarily money from foreign sources. Al-Iraqiya TV aired this interview on February 24, 2005.
Full transcript available at: memritv.org
Egyptian mercenary
Mahmoud Hassan, an Egyptian terrorist captured in Iraq explains his training and inspiration: primarily money from foreign sources. Al-Iraqiya TV aired this interview on February 24, 2005.
Full transcript available at: memritv.org
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Twin pop stars with angelic looks are new face of racism
Be honest - what's your first reaction when you look at the pic of these young Nazis?
Twin pop stars with angelic looks are new face of racism
Telegraph
25/10/2005
America's white supremacist movement has an angelic new face: twin teenage pop stars whose songs preach messages of racial hatred.
Prussian Blue, a "white power" band now recording its second album, is described as a sinister version of the Olsen Twins, the squeaky clean child actresses of the 1990s. It is attracting more and more fans among young white nationalists.Lamb and Lynx Gaede, blonde, blue-eyed 13-year-olds from Bakersfield, California, have been entertaining all-white crowds with their music since the age of nine. Lamb plays the guitar and Lynx the violin.
Their songs have titles such as Sacrifice, a tribute to Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, that praises him as a "man of peace who wouldn't give up".
Performing for such groups as the neo-Nazi National Alliance at Holocaust-denial events and festivals entitled Folk the System, the girls execute Sieg Heil salutes while belting out lyrics such as "Strike force! White survival. Strike force! Yeah.""We are proud of being white," Lynx told ABC News. "We want our people to stay white…we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race."
Australia: police advised to treat Muslim domestic violence differently
Police told to respect traditions
Herald Sun
25/10/05
POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits. Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together. Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence. The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers.
Herald Sun
25/10/05
POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits. Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together. Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence. The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers.
Anti-terror Ramadan TV drama stirs the Arab world
Not often I get to blog any good news in the world of Islam....
Anti-terror Ramadan TV drama stirs the Arab world
Telegraph
02/11/2005
A blockbuster Ramadan television drama broadcast across the Arab world has broken new ground by daring to question the motives of terrorism committed in the name of Allah.
The plotline of al-Hur al-Ayn (Beautiful Maidens), has proved enormously controversial with its makers denounced by an angry fundamentalist minority. But it has also been hugely popular with an Arabic-speaking public fed up with the cliched portrayal of all Muslims as gun-toting fanatics.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Chomsky interview & the Left Revisionists
Chomsky just came top of the Public Intellectuals poll I blogged separately, so a couple of links to old Chommers from an erstwhile fan (moi).
First, an interview with him in the Guardian:
Emma Brockes interview: Noam Chomsky
Monday October 31, 2005
The Guardian
Then a comment on the interview:
Oliver Kamm on Brockes' interview with Chomsky
Blog
Oct 2005
Then something from a current fave of mine, Paul Berman, on Chomsky:
Paul Berman on Noam Chomsky
and then a longer article on Chomsky and the "Left Revisionists" in general, about the left's hypocritical attitude, especially in regard to Bosnia:
The Left Revisionists
Marko Attila Hoare
November 2003
And all of that started by a recent comment from Dan in this thread, which referred me here.
First, an interview with him in the Guardian:
Emma Brockes interview: Noam Chomsky
Monday October 31, 2005
The Guardian
Then a comment on the interview:
Oliver Kamm on Brockes' interview with Chomsky
Blog
Oct 2005
Then something from a current fave of mine, Paul Berman, on Chomsky:
Paul Berman on Noam Chomsky
and then a longer article on Chomsky and the "Left Revisionists" in general, about the left's hypocritical attitude, especially in regard to Bosnia:
The Left Revisionists
Marko Attila Hoare
November 2003
And all of that started by a recent comment from Dan in this thread, which referred me here.
Top public intellectuals - Prospect Poll result
Bit of harmless fun - the Prospect/FP Global public intellectuals poll. Here are my current faves from their list of 100:
5. Christopher Hitchens
9. Jared Diamond
21. Francis Fukuyama
26. Steven Pinker
28. Samuel Huntington
33. Peter Singer
34. Bernard Lewis
35. Fareed Zakaria
44. Niall Ferguson
Comfortably in last position for me - Al-Qaradawi, natch... Anyone else want to weigh in?
5. Christopher Hitchens
9. Jared Diamond
21. Francis Fukuyama
26. Steven Pinker
28. Samuel Huntington
33. Peter Singer
34. Bernard Lewis
35. Fareed Zakaria
44. Niall Ferguson
Comfortably in last position for me - Al-Qaradawi, natch... Anyone else want to weigh in?
Friday, October 28, 2005
Skinning Galloway
Amusing account of a visit to see George Galloway on The Frank Skinner show. (Found this via Harry's Place btw.)
More Galloway posts here and here.
More Galloway posts here and here.
Faith no more...
The always interesting Uncle Johann on the subject of faith schools.
Key quote:
"[...] the Government believes faith schools achieve better results. At first glance, this seems true: look at a league table of the highest GCSE and A-Level scores in the state sector and you'll overdose on Saint this and Holy that. So, Blair says, would you really have me dismantle some of the best state schools in Britain?
But look again. The right-wing think tank Civitas - expected to back faith schools with table-thumping vigour - decided to study the figures, and found something surprising. Faith schools get better results for one simple reason: they use selection to cream off middle-class children - all kids bright and beautiful - and to weed out difficult, poor or unmotivated students who would require more work. They gave the game away last year when the Government suggested church schools educate more children who are in care, and they recoiled in horror. John Hicks, governor of St Barnabas' Church of England school in Pimlico, snapped: "We know children in care must be educated but it can be detrimental in schools that are oversubscribed." Or, not on our league tables, baby.
Civitas found that actually - once you factor in the fact they take brighter kids with far fewer problems - it turns out faith schools underperform compared to other schools. This is hardly surprising since they dedicate hours of school time to non-academic religious pursuits. The Welsh National Assembly commissioned a study that found the same thing. So the sole credible argument for faith schools is as mythical as the Christian belief that Jonah was swallowed by a whale and burped out, alive and well, a month later."
Key quote:
"[...] the Government believes faith schools achieve better results. At first glance, this seems true: look at a league table of the highest GCSE and A-Level scores in the state sector and you'll overdose on Saint this and Holy that. So, Blair says, would you really have me dismantle some of the best state schools in Britain?
But look again. The right-wing think tank Civitas - expected to back faith schools with table-thumping vigour - decided to study the figures, and found something surprising. Faith schools get better results for one simple reason: they use selection to cream off middle-class children - all kids bright and beautiful - and to weed out difficult, poor or unmotivated students who would require more work. They gave the game away last year when the Government suggested church schools educate more children who are in care, and they recoiled in horror. John Hicks, governor of St Barnabas' Church of England school in Pimlico, snapped: "We know children in care must be educated but it can be detrimental in schools that are oversubscribed." Or, not on our league tables, baby.
Civitas found that actually - once you factor in the fact they take brighter kids with far fewer problems - it turns out faith schools underperform compared to other schools. This is hardly surprising since they dedicate hours of school time to non-academic religious pursuits. The Welsh National Assembly commissioned a study that found the same thing. So the sole credible argument for faith schools is as mythical as the Christian belief that Jonah was swallowed by a whale and burped out, alive and well, a month later."
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Iranian president calls for destruction of Israel
Iran president: Wipe Israel off map
The Scotsman
27 Oct 2005
Iran's ultra-conservative new president has broken his silence on Israel and declared the Jewish state was a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map".
"Anybody who recognises Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury; any (Islamic leader) who recognises the Zionist regime is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world," state-run television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
On Wednesday Ahmadinejad said "there is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world. As the Imam (Khomeini) said, Israel must be wiped off the map."
---------------------------
Iran leader's comments condemned
BBC
27 Oct 2005
The US said the comment highlighted concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, which Washington suspects is being used to develop weapons. Iran says its programme is for peaceful purposes only.
This is not believed to be the first time a senior Iranian leader has made such comments. In 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani called for a Muslim state to annihilate Israel with a nuclear strike. Such calls are though regular slogans at anti-Israeli or anti-US rallies.
The Scotsman
27 Oct 2005
Iran's ultra-conservative new president has broken his silence on Israel and declared the Jewish state was a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map".
"Anybody who recognises Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury; any (Islamic leader) who recognises the Zionist regime is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world," state-run television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
On Wednesday Ahmadinejad said "there is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world. As the Imam (Khomeini) said, Israel must be wiped off the map."
---------------------------
Iran leader's comments condemned
BBC
27 Oct 2005
The US said the comment highlighted concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, which Washington suspects is being used to develop weapons. Iran says its programme is for peaceful purposes only.
This is not believed to be the first time a senior Iranian leader has made such comments. In 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani called for a Muslim state to annihilate Israel with a nuclear strike. Such calls are though regular slogans at anti-Israeli or anti-US rallies.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Islamophobia myth
Islamophobia myth
Kenan Malik
Prospect
Feb 2005
[D]oes Islamophobia really exist? Or is the hatred and abuse of Muslims being exaggerated to suit politicians' needs and silence the critics of Islam? The trouble with Islamophobia is that it is an irrational concept. It confuses hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims on the one hand with criticism of Islam on the other. The charge of 'Islamophobia' is all too often used not to highlight racism but to stifle criticism. And in reality discrimination against Muslims is not as great as is often perceived - but criticism of Islam should be greater.
In making a film on Islamophobia for Channel 4 what became clear is the gap between perception and reality. Islamophobia driven by what people want to believe is true, rather than what really is true.
...
A total of 21,577 [people] had been stopped and searched under the terror laws. The vast majority of these - 14,429 - were in fact white. Yet when I interviewed Iqbal Sacranie, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britainhe insisted that '95-98 per cent of those stopped and searched under the anti-terror laws are Muslim'. The real figure is actually 15 per cent. But however many times I showed him the true statistics he refused to budge. I am sure he was sincere in his belief. But there is no basis for his claim that virtually all those stopped and searched were Muslim - the figures appear to have been simply plucked out of the sky.
...
Every year, the Islamic Human Rights Commission organises a mock awards ceremony for its 'Islamophobe of the Year'. Last year there were two British winners. One was the BNP's Nick Griffin. The other? Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee. Toynbee’s defence of secularism and women’s rights, and criticism of Islam, was, it declared, unacceptable. Isn't it absurd, I asked the IHRC's Massoud Shadjareh, to equate a liberal anti-racist like Polly Toynbee with the leader of a neo-fascist party. Not at all, he suggested. 'There is a difference between disagreeing and actually dismissing certain ideologies and certain principles. We need to engage and discuss. But there’s a limit to that.' It is difficult to know what engagement and discussion could mean when leading Muslim figures seem unable to distinguish between liberal criticism and neo-fascist attacks.
...
[W]e already live in a culture of growing self-censorship. A decade ago, the Independent asked me to write an essay on Tom Paine, the eighteenth century English revolutionary and freethinker. It was the 200th anniversary of his great polemic, The Age of Reason. I began the article with a quote from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses to show the continuing relevance of Paine's battle against religious authority. The quote was cut out because it was deemed too offensive to Muslims. The irony of censoring an essay in celebration of freethinking seemed to elude the editor.
Kenan Malik
Prospect
Feb 2005
[D]oes Islamophobia really exist? Or is the hatred and abuse of Muslims being exaggerated to suit politicians' needs and silence the critics of Islam? The trouble with Islamophobia is that it is an irrational concept. It confuses hatred of, and discrimination against, Muslims on the one hand with criticism of Islam on the other. The charge of 'Islamophobia' is all too often used not to highlight racism but to stifle criticism. And in reality discrimination against Muslims is not as great as is often perceived - but criticism of Islam should be greater.
In making a film on Islamophobia for Channel 4 what became clear is the gap between perception and reality. Islamophobia driven by what people want to believe is true, rather than what really is true.
...
A total of 21,577 [people] had been stopped and searched under the terror laws. The vast majority of these - 14,429 - were in fact white. Yet when I interviewed Iqbal Sacranie, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britainhe insisted that '95-98 per cent of those stopped and searched under the anti-terror laws are Muslim'. The real figure is actually 15 per cent. But however many times I showed him the true statistics he refused to budge. I am sure he was sincere in his belief. But there is no basis for his claim that virtually all those stopped and searched were Muslim - the figures appear to have been simply plucked out of the sky.
...
Every year, the Islamic Human Rights Commission organises a mock awards ceremony for its 'Islamophobe of the Year'. Last year there were two British winners. One was the BNP's Nick Griffin. The other? Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee. Toynbee’s defence of secularism and women’s rights, and criticism of Islam, was, it declared, unacceptable. Isn't it absurd, I asked the IHRC's Massoud Shadjareh, to equate a liberal anti-racist like Polly Toynbee with the leader of a neo-fascist party. Not at all, he suggested. 'There is a difference between disagreeing and actually dismissing certain ideologies and certain principles. We need to engage and discuss. But there’s a limit to that.' It is difficult to know what engagement and discussion could mean when leading Muslim figures seem unable to distinguish between liberal criticism and neo-fascist attacks.
...
[W]e already live in a culture of growing self-censorship. A decade ago, the Independent asked me to write an essay on Tom Paine, the eighteenth century English revolutionary and freethinker. It was the 200th anniversary of his great polemic, The Age of Reason. I began the article with a quote from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses to show the continuing relevance of Paine's battle against religious authority. The quote was cut out because it was deemed too offensive to Muslims. The irony of censoring an essay in celebration of freethinking seemed to elude the editor.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Old Man & Rivers...
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