Islam

Monday

David Blackburn

The coalition’s inept EU referendum lock

At least this government is honest. ‘There will be,’ Europe Minister David Lidington says, ‘no referendum on the transfer of competence or power from the UK to the EU during this Parliament’. The government will ensure that there are no more EU power transfer treaties; but, as Douglas Carswell, Tim Montgomerie, and Bill Cash all note, the Lisbon Treaty is self-ratifying. The EU has already picked the coalition’s lock and garnered new powers for itself – notably the extension of the EU arrest warrant. The EU could be an economic superblock with the muscle to influence the globe strategically and culturally. But its current political operation is unnecessary and deplorably

Saturday

Wednesday

David Blackburn

Burning the Koran

The US constitution cannot stop Pastor Terry Jones from burning 100 Korans to mark the 9th anniversary of 11 September, and neither should it – the right to free speech is absolute when within the law. But free speech comes with responsibilities. Just as it is unwise to build, with provocative intent, a mosque near the site of Ground Zero, so too for a Christian minister to burn the Koran as a publicity stunt. Such mindlessness is grossly offensive to the peace abiding majority, and it also furthers endanger US and Allied troops abroad and the population at home by inciting contemptible extremism. Common sense and the tenets of Christian faith aside, Jones should

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Faisal Abdul Rauf: Neoconservative?

I continue to be impressed by how thin the case against Faisal Abdul Rauf is. You’d have thought that by now the staunch defenders of liberty crazies would have found either a smoking gun or a ticking bomb. To be fair, Pamela Geller* certainly thinks she has found evidence that he’s just as bad as his critics would have us believe. Or maybe even – and this may make your (my!) weak dhimmi-flesh creep – worse… But, actually, all she has unearthed from a 2005 talk Rauf gave to, of all places, the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, is evidence that Faisal Abdul Rauf could be considered a neoconservative. That

Friday

Alex Massie

CNN Fail

Via Chris Bodenner. Plenty of folk seem surprised by the fact that, apparently or at least according to one poll, 18% of Americans think Barack Obama is a muslim. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Since at least 10% of the population can be relied upon to believe any old nonsense I’m not sure that this is quite so impressive or troubling a finding as many people seem to think. Rather more people, for instance, think that the sun revolves around the earth or, I dare say, that Elvis is still alive. More importantly, however, it permits one to mock cable news.

Thursday

Alex Massie

Faisal Abdul Rauf’s TED Talk

Jeffrey Goldberg reports on a speech Faisal Abdul Rauf gave at a memorial service for Daniel Pearl. It’s worth reading. Secondly, here’s the Imam giving a TED talk last year on the religious backdrop of compassion. Not really my kind of thing but perhaps it is yours. I must say that he doesn’t come across as a dangerous radical but that doubtless makes the disguise all the more cunning. Now, sure, some opponents won’t be swayed by any of this but there must be some for whom it does matter. Right? [Via Alex Knapp]

Alex Massie Alex Massie

A Question of Provocation at Ground Zero? Lessons from The Satanic Verses

Despite what some readers and commenters seem to think, I don’t believe that all opponents of the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” (which, as one wag put it, is neither at Ground Zero nor any more a mosque than a Vegas casino is a cathedral because it contains a wedding chapel) are bigots or that all opposition to it is necessarily rooted in prejudice. Indeed initially I viewed the proposal with some measure of scepticism. But as the debate has rumbled on and as I’ve thought about it some more I’m increasingly convinced that the arguments against it, however well-meaning, are flawed and flimsy. One of the recurring arguments against the

Monday

Alex Massie

The Deplorable Newt Gingrich

Whither American conservatism? Well, there’s the path trod by Reihan Salam, Josh Barro and Ross Douthat, each of whom have produced sane and humane pieces on the Burlington Coat Factory Community Center otherwise known as the “Ground Zero Mosque” or you can hitch your wagon to Newt Gingrich’s caravan and cheer when this self-styled man of ideas splutters: “Nazis don’t have the right to put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in Washington,” This is at least admirably clear and eliminates any requirement one may feel to give Gingrich the benefit of the doubt. He doesn’t even have the excuse that any of his family were murdered at

Saturday

Alex Massie

Preach It, Mr President

According to Sarah Palin, it’s now the “9/11 Mosque” because, you know, of course it’s planned as a tribute to al-Qaeda and of course it’s perfectly reasonable to suppose that all muslims are really just the same and we know what that means don’t we? Of course we do… So, these were probably Barack Obama’s best words in god knows how long: Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering

Friday

David Blackburn

Progress in Afghanistan?

The Times (£) is reporting that ISAF has made a significant progress in pacifying the death circle around Sangin. The key, it seems, is driving a wedge between the tribal insurgents and religious insurgents foreign to Helmand: ‘British commanders believe that they are close to achieving a significant tribal uprising against the Taleban that could lead to the reintegration of hundreds of insurgents fighting around Sangin, the most dangerous place in Afghanistan. The number of violent incidents in Sangin has fallen by about 80 per cent in the past month. British commanders believe that this is partly the result of tribal leaders delivering on a promise to restrain tribal elements

Monday

Alex Massie

If We Kill America, We Can Save It

Sensible opponents of the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” have been careful to argue that it’s not the idea of the mosque per se that offends them but the sensitivity of it’s location. Not everyone bothers with that distinction: In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting. In late June, in Temecula, Calif., members of a local Tea Party group took dogs and picket signs to Friday prayers at a mosque that is seeking to build a new worship center on a vacant lot nearby. In Sheboygan, Wis.,

Thursday

Alex Massie

Ground Zero Mosque: Another Moment of Truth for the Open Society

A good number of readers  – or those readers who left comments* – didn’t much care for my post on the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”. Revolting [and] symptomatic of the imbecilic scramble to dhimmitude widespread in liberal circles… The Muslim colonists push and the gutless West meekly gives way, as usual… It will be seen in the world for the symbol of what it really is; a victory for resurgent Islam and a defeat for the Christian West…Hopefully this symbol of Islamic supremacism will be strangled at birth. You get the idea. There’s a cultural war wrapped inside a psychodrama here. Or perhaps it’s the other way round. This sense

Tuesday

Alex Massie

The Ground Zero Mosque? Build It.

Yes, when I first read about plans for a mosque “at Ground Zero” my initial reaction was to wonder why, whatever the merits of an Islamic Cultural Centre in Lower Manhattan, such a project had to be built in such a location. It seemed likely to cause offense even if none were intended. The reaction to the Cordoba House initiative, however, has changed my mind: I now think not only is there no reason not to carry on with the project but that, contra its critics, it now must be built a couple of blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center. The people responsible for changing my

Wednesday

David Blackburn

Cameron lambasts Pakistan whilst on Indian trade mission. Bad move

Oh for the days of inactive prime ministers. After yesterday’s hot-headedness about Gaza, comes an even more deliberately pointed statement. Cameron said: ‘[Pakistan] should not be allowed to promote the export of terror whether to India, whether to Afghanistan or to anywhere else in the world.’ I agree, providing of course it is established that the Pakistani state is fomenting terror and the Wikileaks revelations do not give that impression. That said, the Pakistan government is responsible for all of its agents, and they should curb S-Wing’s collusion with the Taliban and its affiliates in Waziristan. Cameron and Obama are right to press the Pakistani authorities. But a goodwill tour

Tuesday

David Blackburn

A special relationship in the making?

I’ve spent the morning contending with the WSJ’s Heath Robinson-esque subscription service so you don’t have to. Inside the paper, David Cameron explains what the Special Relationship means to him. 1). The Special Relationship is close and robust because British and American values are essentially the same, which explains why our national interests are often aligned: ‘The U.S.-U.K. relationship is simple: It’s strong because it delivers for both of us. The alliance is not sustained by our historical ties or blind loyalty. This is a partnership of choice that serves our national interests.’ There may be differences in emphasis and application, but, Cameron argues, Britain and America stand together on Afghanistan, global

Monday

James Forsyth

A help or a hindrance?

The Washington Post today publishes the first part of its series on the intelligence bureaucracy that has grown up in the United States since 9/11. The Post has been working on this report for two years and what it reveals is not pretty. There are more than 1,200 government organisations working in this area and, predictably, they don’t talk to each other. There are 51 federal organisations and military commands studying terrorist financing alone, with all the predictable problems of overlap.    Retired Army Lt Gen John R. Vines who conducted an assessment of the Pentagon’s most sensitive programme sums up the problem neatly: “I’m not aware of any agency

Saturday

David Blackburn

The Hollobone dimension

As Paul Goodman notes, it is entirely possible that Philip Hollobone’s statements about the burka were taken out of context. As far as I can gather Hollobone has not yet dissociated himself, which is indicative of the contrary.   The French ban on the burkha has English tongues wagging, and Hollobone has looked to stimulate debate. Islamic groups, many of them extreme, will now decamp to Hollobone’s constituency office in Kettering and look to foment a media storm. But so what? This is a debate that must be had.  For example, it must be determined in law whether or not the burka is a religious item, and therefore inviolable under

Friday

John Oconnell

Prevent, a well intentioned but divisive scheme, is scrapped 

Earlier this week, the government announced that they are to abolish the Prevent Violent Extremism (PVE) grants. Prevent is part of the broader ‘Contest’ programme which was established after the London bombings of 2005. The idea behind Prevent is to address the root causes of extremism by encouraging community cohesion, thereby stopping people from being influenced by violent extremists. But in September last year we published research that showed exactly how local authorities spent the money given to them by central government. It was a ground breaking study: Paul Goodman – in his previous role as a MP for Wycombe – asked the Department for Communities and Local Government for

Thursday

David Blackburn

Gary McKinnon should convert to radical Islam

The European Court of Human Rights is an essential check on executive excess, but today it has perverted justice. It has halted Abu Hamza’s extradition to the US, where he was to be tried for colluding with al Qaeda. Its view was that Hamza would likely be subject to inhumane and degrading incarceration. In other words, the ECHR has decided that the US prison system is not compatible with the standards agreed by signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. Fine. Except, of course, it has not. There is a pernicious double standard at work here. Gary McKinnon, the aspergers sufferer who hacked into the Pentagon’s computer systems, is

Sunday

Daniel Korski

No more Turkish delight?

I’m sitting at the Ciragan Palace’s glass-filled halls on the banks of the Bosporus. I have joined the UN Security Council’s annual retreat, organised by the Turkish government, to give my view on what the UN did right and wrong in the Balkans from the break-up of Yugoslavia. The retreat is meant to continue the Council’s discussion on the overlap between peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building. No immediate action will follow the retreat, but the discussion may lead into a more concrete phase during Turkey’s presidency in September. Being here in Istanbul, however, has given me a chance to find an answer to the debate that has sprung up about Turkish government: is