Islam4UK March in Wooton Bassett

I'm not going to say too much about this appalling idea, other than to ask why a group who claim to want to promote Islam should want to hold a march in such a place and in such a way as to totally alienate the vast majority of the British public from their cause. I checked out the Islam4UK website and there is a video clip called "Islam Vs Democracy, Freedom and Secularism". Says it all really. I will say this though, I have quite a few British Muslim friends who think these people are abhorant troublemakers. The vast majority of British Muslims live here specifically for our democracy, freedom and secularism. That is why these idiots will ultimately lose.

Barnet Eye Roundup - a busy week

I've had a rotten week. The saddest part was burying my dear mother in law, Margaret. I always felt cheated when the mother in law jokes were made, because she was genuinely lovely and I could never have said a bad word about here. At her wake, there were all sorts of people. Friends, family, colleagues - all their to pay their respects to a lovely woman. Margaret had one vice, she smoked like a chimney and it killed her. When you see the effects of lung cancer on someone you love, you realise why smoking just isn't worth it. God Bless you Margaret.

On Wednesday I picked up a curry from my local favourite Indian restaurant. Had a really interesting conversation with a friend of mine, Lawrence and the esteemed owner. Lawrence is ex army and as you can imagine he was none too pleased with the radical Islamic protesters I mentioned in Luton. His solution - shoot them. He would have been happy to do it himself. Now the interesting thing was the reaction of the owner to this comment. He's a devout Muslim who loves Britain and the English. Did he side with me or my friend. My argument was that they should be ignored? He was firmly in the "shoot them" camp (or at least deport them). His view is that they cause endless problems for people such as him, who love Great Britain and they are totally ungrateful. He vociferously told me that I was talking rubbish. He confirmed what I thought, that this rabble are a tiny and urepresentative group. He also stated that it is high time that they were firmly denounced by the majority of Muslims, as he felt they damage the religion immeasurably.

We also had comic relief this week. To my surprise, given the economic climate, a record amount was raised. I must confess that (unlike the rest of my family), I don't particularly enjoy these shows. Having said that the work they do and the moey they raise is truly amazing. One very interesting thing I saw. Tony Blair was interviewed in the run up. He spoke of his support and the great work. As I watched, it struck me that even after 18 months out, I absent mindedly thought "It's the Prime Minister" when he appeared. Shortly after the news came on. Gordon Brown appeared talking about the Northern Irish outrages. Compared to Blair, Brown just does not seem like a Prime Minister. I remember the same thing when Major took over from Thatcher. If nothing else, Comic Relief shows that the British are probably the most generous and outward looking nation on earth.

God Bless you all !!!!

"Jesus is the slave of Allah"

I awoke to see this article on the front page of the Daily Express today http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/88642/Sick-Extremists-welcomed-our-troops-

It seems that Islamic groups organised a protest against a parade through Luton by the Anglian regiment. Reading the placards it is quite interesting to see what message the protestors are conveying. In the picture the leftmost one says "Illegal war in Iraq". Interestingly I'd say that most people in the UK probably would agree. The one next to it says "British Government Terrorist Government". A sentiment some may agree with, but not really sustainable. Then we have "Anglian Soldiers Butchers of Basra". Whatever one may think of them, it is ridiculous to compare them with the way Saddam Hussein treated the citizens of this city. The most offensive is the placard saying "Anglian Soldiers Cowards Killers Extremists". This is such a crassly ignorant thing to put on a poster. Whilst the Anglian soldiers risked life & limb in Basra, the chap holding the poster does so in the knowledge that he is living in a free tolerant society. He won't get beaten up by the police or the army for waving such a ridiculously insulting poster. Who is the coward?

There are 1.5 million Muslims in the UK. At this protest it appears that there are 15 people at most. The Luton branch of the UK Trainspotting society would probably get a better turnout at their coffee morning than this mob. It is clear to me that they are doing their best to be offensive and cause trouble. How should we deal with them in a free society? Should we arrest them, beat them up, deport them? Not in my opinion. We should ignore them. The Daily Express is being highly irresponsible putting 15 malcontents on their front page. This is exactly what they want and what they hope for. To put this in context, Arsenal's football ground holds 68,000 people. Given the 100,000 to 1 ratio of protestors to Muslims, if you filled it with a randomly selected crowd made entirely of Muslims, statistically you wouldn't have even 1 person who attended this rally there.

In another recent protest, Islamic supporters waved posters proclaiming "Jesus is the Slave of Allah". Knowing that I'm a Roman Catholic, a friend asked if I found this offensive. It is quite an interesting point. Recently London buses were adorned with the message "There probably isn't a God". Now strictly speaking, of the two, from my viewpoint I suppose that the first statement is actually the more correct. Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. Muslim's call him Allah and Christians believe that Jesus was sent to serve his will. Does someone waving a placard aggresively in my face, stating something with which I agree with offend me. Nope. Does the Athiest message offend me, again No. It's an hoestly held viewpoint.

You see when it comes down to it, free speech isn't about tolerating those you agree with. It's about tolerating those who say things you find rather offensive. It's about dealing with their arguments in a rational manner and making yours in a civilised fashion. That's why ultimately, in this clash of cultures I believe that the Western Liberal Democratic model will always win. That is why this mob only has 15 people in it. That's why I get so upset when people start employing censorship to try to win arguments. Preacher's of hate don't worry me. What does worry me is the publicity they get and the effect it has. What worries me most is when people use them as an excuse to curb our freedoms and liberties.

Update: 19:55 11 March 2009

Immediately after finishing the blog, I started to upload my Boris blog. Looking for a picture to illustrate it, I happened upon the British Numpty Parties (BNP) Simon Darby blog (click here and hold your nose). He tells us what would happen to these protestors with a BNP government :-

Since the British National Party cannot really have any direct impact on Government policy at present, although indirectly we certainly do, I'll have to provide you with an image of what would have happened if this act had taken place on our watch. After viewing the BBC video, which you can find by clicking on the graphic below (sorry no link - too lazy - Rog), imagine a supplementary thirty or so seconds of video tagged on the end. That material would have been shot at nearby Luton airport where every single one of those "demonstrators" would have been filmed boarding a military aircraft, placards still in hand. That plane would then be filmed taxiing on the runway before its four giant turboprops propelled it off the ground on its journey towards some fly-infested desert in Afghanistan.

That is how the BNP win arguments. That is the force of their logic. They claim to support "British Values" but forget that the most cherished value of all is Free Speech. Judge for yourself.