Category Archives: Left Wing

Home Office will continue sidelining MCB

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Martin Bright and John Kampfner interview Jacqui Smith:

“Smith is a fierce advocate of Brown’s ‘hearts and minds’ approach to tackling the radicalisation of young Muslims. She also believes that Muslim communities have not been best served by their leaders. She backs moves, put in place by Ruth Kelly when she was communities secretary, to broaden the kinds of groups with which the government engages and cut out, for example, the Muslim Council of Britain. ‘We’ve got to make serious attempts to go beyond those who have previously been seen as leaders of the community. She was absolutely right to do that. We have seen, in the immediate aftermath of the Glasgow and London bombings, that the response from leaders of the community was better because of the action previously taken’.”

New Statesman, 2 August 2007

The MCB and Rushdie’s knighthood

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Salman_RushdieCritics of Salman Rushdie’s knighthood as diverse as Ayman al-Zawahiri, Muhammad Ijaz ul-Haq, Lord Ahmed and the Muslim Council of Britain are happily lumped together by Jo Glanville in her defence of Rushdie at Comment is Free. All are guilty of “driving a wedge between east and west, between Muslim and non-Muslim”. Glanville concludes: “This level of intimidation against writers and intellectuals who wish to explore, criticise or pass comment on Islam is anathema to free speech.”

And how exactly has the Muslim Council of Britain “intimidated” Salman Rushdie, pray tell? This is the MCB’s reasoned response to the announcement of Rushdie’s knighthood. Indeed, as Salma Yaqoob has pointed out, the reaction of British Muslims has in general been extremely restrained, as exemplified by the fact that “the Muslim Council of Britain did not rally a protest, but sent out a message of calm (which duly received very little interest in the mainstream media)”.

Meanwhile, over at the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, Sean Matgamna joins in the attack on the MCB over the Rushdie case. He quotes the entirely reasonable statement by MCB secretary-general Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari:

“Salman Rushdie earned notoriety amongst Muslims for the highly insulting and blasphemous manner in which he portrayed early Islamic figures. The granting of a knighthood to him can only do harm to the image of our country in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world. Many will interpret the knighthood as a final contemptuous parting gift from Tony Blair to the Muslim world.”

This, Matgamna asserts, is merely “a soft-voiced version of the demand that non-Muslims comply with the rules and judgements of the most bigoted Muslims”.

He concludes with an ultimatum to those on the Left arguing against rewarding a provocateur like Rushdie who has made such a negative contribution to community relations: “break with your Islamic clerical-fascist allies, or again be the mouthpiece and outrider in Britain for extreme political and religious reaction”.

BMI: Islamists are not terrorists

Posted on by Bob Pitt

British Muslim Initiative press release, 4 July 2007

The British Muslim Initiative remains firm in its condemnation of any and all attempts to undermine the safety, security and sanctity of human lives in the UK, and continues to call the Muslim community to offer full support to the police and security agencies in order that a full and thorough investigation could be conducted in the failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. However, BMI wishes to express its utter disgust at the attempt of some in attempting to score points at this critical time of our country and people, by peddling much repeated myths, falsehoods and lies in order to mend a beleaguered and flimsy argument at a time of great difficulty for all.

The attempt by some to promote the term ‘Islamist’ as indicative of the new evil element on the block, is nothing short of evil in itself. The groups mentioned in Denis MacShane’s article in the Telegraph yesterday (‘Islamist’ is the word for these terrorists) have been amongst the most vociferous and outspoken against the trend of extremism…. MacShane’s argument is not just false, it threatens to lump those who have all along rejected violence, with those who use violence as their means and declare violence as their objective, hence compromising all efforts to combat the rise of this threat.

BMI also expresses its alarm as to the coverage offered to the ideas and arguments of ‘former’ extremists, such as Ed Hussein and Hassan Butt, who have not stopped at merely relaying their experiences as ‘repentant extremists’, but go on to offer their input on the whole scope of Islamic theology, ideology and groupings, which given their former history, they have almost no proper insight into and have no right to assume the position of experts or authorities thereon.

See also Anas Altikriti’s piece at Comment is Free, 4 July 2007

‘Islamist’ is the word for these terrorists, says Denis MacShane

Posted on by Bob Pitt

denis_macshaneAs William Dalrymple observed back in 2004: “There are few things, you would imagine, that … Denis MacShane, Margaret Thatcher, the British National Party and the daytime television host Robert Kilroy-Silk would all agree on. Nevertheless … a deep disdain for Islam is one subject on which they can all concur whole-heartedly.”

Everything MacShane has said or done since then only reinforces the accuracy of Dalrymple’s assessment, and his article in (appropriately enough) today’s Torygraph is no exception.

As for MacShane’s blanket condemnation of “Islamism”, we’re getting a bit weary of refuting this particular stupidity, and so refer readers to an earlier reply to Johann Hari. And as we’ve also pointed out: “Along with references to ‘Eurabia’ and Bat Ye’or, it’s always a sign that Islamophobia has reached the point of total dementia when a commentator launches into a diatribe against Tariq Ramadan.”

So it hardly comes as a surprise that MacShane does just that. “Islamist” is the appropriate word for Al-Qaida-inspired terrorists he tells us, and Professor Ramadan is an advocate of Islamism. Which of course obliterates the not entirely irrelevant distinction between terrorism and one of its most vocal opponents within the Muslim communities. The irresponsibility of this nonsense beggars description.

Another boost for the ‘Council of Ex-Muslims’ fraud

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A new group of secular-minded former Muslims in the UK has urged the government to cut all state funding to religious groups and to stop pandering to political Islam.

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, launched yesterday in London, opposes the interference of religion in public life. Its spokeswoman, Maryam Namazie, said the group provided an alternative voice to the “regressive, parasitical and self-appointed leaders” from organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain and the “oxymoronic” Islamic Human Rights Commission.

“We want to challenge the Islamic movement,” she said. “It does not surprise me people are afraid to criticise Islam. There has been too much appeasement from the government. There are specific policies and initiatives aimed at Muslims and this approach divides society.”

The council’s manifesto calls for the freedom to criticise all religions and the separation of religion from the state and legal system. Another aim is to break the taboos that come with renouncing Islam.

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “We’re not taking them seriously. I don’t think Muslims will have time for this.”

The launch of a Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Berlin has inspired similar groups in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. The British branch has 25 members who are prepared to have their names and photographs published.

Guardian, 22 June 2007

As we’ve already pointed out, the Council of Ex-Muslims is a complete fraud. It’s a front organisation for the Worker Communist Party of Iran, an ultra-left sect most of whose leaders were never Muslims in the first place. It’s just an excuse for the WPI to indulge in their obsessive and destructive propaganda against Islam.

Unfortunately the Council of Ex-Muslims has been given credibility by having its launch at the House of Commons yesterday (I suspect Lib Dem MP Evan Harris was involved in this) and has been treated seriously by the media, who have shown no interest in investigating the origins of the organisation.

Update:  Read the National Secular Society’s report of the event here. Note that the so-called ex-Muslims referred to in the NSS piece – Maryam Namazie, Mina Ahadi and Mahin Alipour – are all leading figures in the WPI.

Ignore Islam, ‘ex-Muslims’ urge

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BBC News gives favourable publicity to the launch of the Worker Communist Party of Iran’s fraudulent front organisation, the so-called Council of Ex-Muslims (which claims that it “represents the views of a majority of secular-minded Muslims in Europe”), as does the Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph. See also A.C. Grayling’s ridiculous remarks (“a torch of hope in a dark quadrant of the world’s affairs”) at Comment is Free. Meanwhile, frothing-at-the-mouth right-wing US Islamophobe Michelle Malkin has hailed Maryam Namazie and her comrades as “the bravest of the brave“, who are “putting their necks on the line for Western civilization”. Malkin urges her readers: “Find a way to show your support.”

Launch of the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain

Posted on by Bob Pitt

namazie and racist placards 2Maryam Namzie of the Worker Communist Party of Iran is pleased to announce: “A British branch of a new Europe-wide phenomenon is to be launched on Thursday 21 June in London. The Council of ex-Muslims of Britain is building on the stunning success of other branches already operating in Germany, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The British Humanist Association and National Secular Society are sponsoring the launch and support the new organisation.”

A comment on Namazie’s blog indicates the support that the new organisation can expect to attract: “Congratulations to this new group. I hope that you have much success and contribute to the end of Islam in Europe. Islam, like facism [sic] and totalitarianism, has no place in a modern Europe. These dead ideologies must be swept aside so that we can all move together into the future. A world without Islam is a world much closer to peace. Thanks for standing up and providing hope for the millions of people who are held captive by Islam – freedom is possible!!”

Maryam Namazie’s blog, 18 June 2007

‘US opens door to millions of Muslims’, right-wing blogger warns

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The new immigration bill will allow hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Muslims to come into the United States over the next decade. Many of them have been indoctrinated all their lives to hate the United States, but that’s not on the immigration qualifications. Nobody asks newcomers ‘have you been taught to hate the United States?’ But that is exactly how France and Britain created their domestic terrorist threat: By importing hundreds of thousands of unassimilated people under the guise of multicultural love and peace. Almost all vote for the Left.”

Thoughts Of A Conservative Christian, 18 May 2007

Note also the citing of Christopher Hitchens’ recent Vanity Fair article.

Madeleine Bunting interviews Ed Husain

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“It is as if, just as Husain once swallowed large chunks of Hizb ut-Tahrir propaganda, he now seems to have swallowed undigested the prevailing critique of British Muslims. He has no truck with the idea of Islamophobia, which he dismisses as the squeal of an Islamist leadership pleading special favours; he criticises Asian racism and castigates Muslims ‘who go back home to get married’ and produce ‘another generation confused about home’. On issues such as segregation, he is confident it is the fault of multiculturalism….

“One suspects the naivety which took him into Hizb-ut Tahrir has blinded him as to how his story will be used to buttress positions hostile to many things he holds dear – his own faith and racial tolerance, for example. A glance at the blog response to a Husain piece in the Telegraph reveals how rightwing racism and anti-Islamic sentiment are feasting on his testimony.”

Madeleine Bunting in the Guardian, 12 May 2007

For “left” support for Husain (from the AWL’s Jim Denham) see Shiraz Socialist, 12 May 2007

For right-wing support see Jihad Watch, 2 May 2007 and Melanie Phillips’s Diary, 13 May 2007