Martin Bright responds to Soumaya Ghannoushi. According to Mart, the UK media have generally been very fair in their coverage of Muslims, which will certainly come as news to the overwhelming majority of Muslims.
He concludes: “It is true that not all Islamists are violent. Nor should al-Qaida be put in the same category as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian parent organisation of Hamas. There are important distinctions to be made here. But the Islamist ideology promoted by the British manifestations of the Brotherhood, such as the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the British Muslim Initiative, the Muslim Association of Britain and IslamExpo itself brings its own dangers. These do not threaten British democracy but they do have a pernicious effect, especially on young Muslims in this country who fall under their influence. This is where the danger lies and the threat is very real.”
Of course, Bright doesn’t feel under any obligation to spell out precisely what that danger and threat might be. As Inayat Bunglawala observes in the comments:
“The Muslim Brotherhood have good and bad points but I am curious to know what you identify here as their negative influence on UK Muslims. Whenever I have spoken with their members they always seem to encourage British Muslims to play an active role in British society and also to learn more about their own faith. Please do expand on your own views.”
Answer came there none.
Update: Over at Harry’s Place, in an attack on Demos for agreeing to participate at IslamExpo, the inimitable Nick Cohen helpfully provides an explanation of the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is “a far right movement”, according to Cohen, “which was founded by the admirers of European fascism, which propagates the theories of Adolf Hitler, and wishes to suppress the women, murder the Jews, homosexuals, socialists and apostates and establish an inquisitorial dictatorship”. So, thanks to Nick, next time you meet a member of the British Muslim Initiative or FOSIS you’ll know what their objectives really are.