What goes on in mosques

Must pull up Henry Porter for his article in today's Observer. I don't like doing so, as he is a bane of the Blair administration over civil liberties. Citing the Channel 4 Dispatches investigation Undercover Mosque he begins:

Imagine the Archbishop of Canterbury or any senior Anglican clergyman giving a sermon which suggested that homosexual men should be thrown off a mountain; that they were no better than filthy dogs.

Come on Henry, the people making the offending remarks were in no way comparable to the heads of the CoE. One of the points I didn't make at the time was that those featured making the bigoted comments on the film were nobodies in the Muslim community. I doubt some of them are even famous in the very mosques they were espousing their doctrine. Certainly their audiences seemed to be almost in single figures. As I heard George Galloway put it on his radio show: "If I haven't heard of them, they don't count".

With the exception of the BNP, there is no grouping, community or party in these islands that permits itself to express such hatred. This hatred, so often accompanied by acute sense of persecution, has become a dangerous habit and a very great threat to our entire society.

What exactly is this "grouping, community or party" of which Porter speaks? As the MCB pointed out this week, comparisons with the BNP are wide of the mark given that the party has dozens of councillors across the county and an increasing share of the vote. They are also finding their policies being adopted by the mainstream parties.

Meanwhile, I heard that Muslims had warned Green Lane Mosque about this issue in months previous. I don't think we're going to hear anything more like this from there now. So in proportion, these bigots we saw in Channel 4 are being taken on by Muslims and non-Muslims in a way that the BNP clearly are not.

There is a problem amongst some Muslims, there is no getting away from it. But for seasoned commentators to hype and ramp it up to the level of "a very great threat our entire society" is to give these people too much importance and cheapen the collective spirit and values of the rest of us.

Another feature of the documentary was its failure to capture any terrorist voices. You can be sure that if any of the "clerics" caught on camera had in any way glorified bombings, then it would have been front and centre of the film.

So in conclusion, we can assume that the documentary makers went deep into a lot of mosques. By catching only unheard of preachers in the act of bigotry, we can assess the scale of the problem. By catching no terrorist speeches to speak of, I hope we can put paid to the myth of our places of worship being terrorist training houses.

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In other news today, the Sunday Times gives yet more platform to Omar Bakri, whose internet broadcast before the newspaper reported it would probably only have had an audience of Anjum Chaudry and friend. But Abul Taher probably didn't have any other material for the Sunday Times' obligatory weekly minimum quota of anti-Muslim stories, so the barrel had to be scraped harder than usual.

Comments

[Sunny]

So in proportion, these bigots we saw in Channel 4 are being taken on by Muslims and non-Muslims in a way that the BNP clearly are not.

Oh yeah? that's funny Osama because I'm sure the MCB, MPAC and others released statements prior to the doc saying this was simply an attempt to divide Muslims. It's only when it came out, and no one could run away from the shocking statements, Inayat Bunglwala made a humiliating climbdown and accepted something needed to be done.

Like what? I have faith in other Muslims to take these people on, but I have absolutely faith in the MAB and MCB to do anything worthwhile. You guys are all talk and that too directed at others. The self-criticism gene seems to have evaded these non-representative "community leaders". Until you start writing such stuff prior to documentaries and news articles coming out, like Fareena Alam has for example, you'll get credibility.

Keep an eye out on CIF tomorrow morning, I want to see read your reaction.

[Sunny]

Whoops, I meant to say: "but I have absolutely NO faith in the MAB and MCB to do anything worthwhile".

[Utbah]

Is that why MCB and other organisations are working hard with those Mosques involved. Just because you don't hear this from your right ring neo-zio-nazis it doesn't mean these Muslim Organisations are not doing anything.

But, then again. I just love how you jump onto the islamophobia bandwagon to put yourself in the media. Don't you have a life? Sorry I forgot every woman has left you because they see you as a racist.

[Infidel & Kafir Watch]

So he did, the bible speaks for it's self on this issue:

20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

After studying the Bible, I can hardly tell the difference between the laws implemented for the Christians and the laws implemented for the Muslims.

Have a read of this chapter in the bible its very interesting.

[Puffy]

"So in proportion, these bigots we saw in Channel 4 are being taken on by Muslims and non-Muslims in a way that the BNP clearly are not."

What about that expose in the Grauniad about the BNP which keeps on giving...?

The Despatches programme was a televisual version of this, only they managed to uncover real bile while the Graun only managed to dig up a dippy ballerina.