Interesting to hear the BBC constantly refer to the EDL in their reports about Afzal Amin as ‘Far Right’.
Not sure how they come to that definition as the EDL’s sole ‘policy’ is to control extremist Islam….why is that a ‘Far Right’policy? Their opponents like to suggest this is a cover for underlying racism and anti-Muslim prejudice but that is not for the BBC to judge or to second guess their motivations…and yet they have.
All rather confusing when immediately after the report on Amin the BBC reported that the government was cracking down on Islamic extremism and Sharia courts… Islam being completely compatible with British values and society….Sharia law not being Islamic of course….and Islamic ‘extremism’ not having anything to do with the ‘real’, liberal, moderate Islam’ of BBC lore, it being a perverted desire to practise a pure, unadulterated version of Islam….a ‘conservative’Islam’….not Islam at all really.
Why does the BBC not refer to Theresa May as being of the ‘Far Right’ when she seems to be proposing the same things that the EDL does?
Why does May refer to good and bad Muslims?…or rather claims the Islamists are not Islamic.
The men and women I met told me they found it infuriating that they could be devout in their practice of their religion but they would only be considered “moderate” Muslims – since moderate was often taken to mean not hugely observant.
If they are fully practising Muslims then they should observe all the rules of Islam…..and in doing so are not ‘moderate’ in comparison to the values of a secular, liberal, democfratic society…they are ‘extremists’…the teachings of the Koran being decidedly unliberal.
If Muslims don’t want to be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims then they have to accept that the Islamists are just as ‘Muslim’ as the non-violent ones are….and yet they lie to themselves being….
….rather insulted when asked if they could shed any light on why anyone from this country would wish to travel to Syria. They disputed the suggestion that their Islam had anything in common with the ideology of the jihadis.
‘Their’ Islam……‘ it quickly became apparent that they held views that many would not consider moderate at all.’
Until people like May, and the BBC, agree on what constitutes an ‘extreme’ value and belief they will never be able to tackle Islamist extremism. When I say ‘agree’ I mean come to the realisation about what Islam really says and demands of its followers…those who fully observe its teachings as ‘non-moderate’ Muslims.
We are going to have to start to reassess what we mean by “moderate Islam”.
The BBC is wrong. Many Muslims have sympathy with the Charlie Hebdo killings. Far too many.