A Rational Response to an Irrational Threat

by Martin Hanson (August 2017)

Weaponized Words

Should we tolerate the intolerant?

What British Muslims Really Think,” presented by Guyana-born Trevor Phillips, a former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

A random sample of 1081 people aged 18+ who identified as Muslim were interviewed face to face, together with a control group of 1008 people from the general population aged 18+. The results were published as percentages of the survey sample.

Among the findings in the 615-page survey were:

• 4 percent (i.e. approximately 30,000 people) have at least some sympathy with people who take part in suicide bombings.
• 52 percent (1.5 million) do not believe that homosexuality should be legal in Britain, compared with 22 percent of the general population.
• 23 percent (690,000 people) support the introduction of Islamic law (Sharia) instead of British law.
• 5 percent (150,000) sympathise with the stoning of women for adultery, and 21 percent do not condemn it.
• 31 percent (900,000) think polygamy should be legalized.
•  

  His most disturbing finding, expressed in an article for the Daily Mail, was that Muslims who have separatist views about how they want to live in Britain are far more likely to support terrorism than those who do not.

   

  Undercover Mosque,” and “Undercover Mosque – The Return,” and “Lessons in Hate and Violence—Islam.”

   

  Panorama also investigated a network of part-time schools with connections to Saudi Arabia, involving 5,000 children in over 40 weekend clubs and schools. The textbooks were imported from Saudi Arabia and followed the official Saudi curriculum by which 15-year-olds learned about Sharia and its punishments. Theft, for example, resulted in amputation of a hand for a first offence and foot for a second. Viewers were shown a textbook with diagrams indicating where the cuts must be made. They were also taught about the execution of homosexuals by being thrown off a cliff.

   

  Though these problems might seem very far away from us in New Zealand, we would be foolish to ignore the lessons learned in Britain. Citizenship for immigrants should be strictly conditional upon a willingness to integrate.

   

  The Need for Cool Heads and Clear Thinking

   

  The recent Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester is a reminder of the desperate need for objectivity and intellectual honesty, both of which have been lacking in the coverage of terrorist attacks by the mainstream media.

   

  We stand united with Manchester, the British people in general and people all over the world who suffer at the hands of the small yet dangerous minority of murderous extremists and remind people that terrorism has no religion and despite their claim, the terrorists have nothing to do with Islam. (Emphasis added)

   

  On the other hand, Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury commented:

   

  Until religious leaders stand up and take responsibility for the actions of those who do things in the name of their religion, we will see no resolution. (Emphasis added)

   

  Muslims are just as diverse in their views as non-Muslims. The most reliable data illustrating this come from the ICM survey mentioned previously.

   

  From these data, it is clear that British Muslim opinion ranges from fundamentalist radicals to modern, fully Westernized Muslims. How, then, is it possible for both Jihadists and peacemakers to call on the Koran to justify their view?

   

  And kill them wherever ye find them, and turn them out of the places from where they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter . . . (Koran 2:191).

   

  And

   

  And Fight and kill the Mushrikun wherever you find them . . . (Koran 9:5) (A mushrik is one who worships other gods besides Allah.)

   

  Depending on which verses you select, you can use the Koran to promote Islam as a religion of peace, or to vilify it because it demands the killing of unbelievers. The latter group claim that they have the more correct interpretation by invoking the principle of abrogation, whereby when there is contradiction between verses, the later ones take priority over the earlier ones. And the later verses are, of course, the ones that jihadists presumably draw upon.

   

  It should be clear by now that any backlash against Muslims in general is bound to be counterproductive. The solution must require the political isolation of the jihadist Muslims.

   

  What Is to be Done?

   

  In Britain, Medina Muslims are a small proportion of the total Muslim population. The authoritative ICM survey of British Muslims found that only 4% support terrorist acts as a form of political protest, 5% sympathise with people who take part in the stoning of those who commit adultery, and 3% support violent jihad. If the average figure for this toxic core of the onion is 4%, this means that about 120,000 of the 3 million British Muslims have values that are deeply hostile to Western values.

   

  So, why have no political leaders issued condemnation?

   

  It is high time that Western politicians start to speak publicly as if they really do believe in Western values.

   

   

  

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  Martin Hanson was born and educated in the UK and emigrated to New Zealand in the 1970s where he taught biology for over 30 years. He is the author of a number of school textbooks.

   

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