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October 04, 2005
Religious hatred
In the same week that it is reported that attacks on Jews are on the increase in the UK, we have this government of atheists, agnostics and New Age hippies, trying to ram through new legislation that will further damage relations between religions. Why? Because it will hand the fundamentalist Islamists the perfect weapon to attack Christianity, Judaism and anyone else with impunity, while being immune from criticism themselves.
On the face of it the new Bill simply amends existing legislation which deals with "racial" hatred. However, as ever with anything dreamed up in the ivory towers of Whitehall, one needs to read the accompanying "Explanatory Notes" to see what the effects will be - assuming the author of the explanation actually understands the way in which the police and the courts will interpret it - which is unlikely! This is evidenced by the fact that the author states:
Some religious groups, such as Sikhs and Jews, as distinct ethnic groups, already benefit from the protection of the existing Part 3 [Of the Public Order Act 1986] offences while other groups who may be, and have been, targetted for their religious beliefs are ethnically diverse and so are excluded from the scope of these offences.
Which is an interesting view in the light of the fact that, to date, only those who have "offended" Muslims have been prosecuted under this legislation, while no one has thus far been prosecuted under it for the numerous attacks on Jewish children, women and men in the UK over the last ten years. Could it be that to do so would expose the fact that the perpetrators are from the group this legislation is supposed to extend the "protection" too? I would suggest that that is highly likely, especially in view of the increasingly vitriolic tone of Arab language newspapers freely circulating in this country which publish extensively the constant promotion from so-called Muslim Theologians and Academics, of the discredited "Blood Libels" first used by the Tsarist secret police to justify the purge of Jews from Russia. Not one newspaper of this sort has been withdrawn, not one Muslim "cleric" has been charged with promoting this poison - and the likes of Jack Straw (Foreign Secretary) bleat about their "concern" at the increase in attacks but then support the promotion of material designed to incite it.
The new Bill's definition of "Religious Hatred" is so loose that it will provide the likes of Mrs Booth-Blair with billionaire incomes for life! This is what it says:
In this part "religious hatred" means hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief.
Again, it seems innocuous enough on the face of it, but when you read further you realise that it covers the publication of any pamphlet, book, article or even this blog, if "it can be, or is likely to be seen by any person in whom (it) is likely to stir up religious hatred." Once again, I ask myself, if these powers have been in existence and have afforded protection to specific groups in the past, such as Jews and Sikhs, then why do we have a weekly outpouring of material, statements and tape recordings from radical Muslim "clerics" going entirely unpunished and unchecked? Let one Christian or Jewish theologian publish a critique of Islam and watch the full weight of the law fall upon them!
For me this Bill betrays the complete paucity of integrity or even the vaguest intention of actually addressing anything other than the creation of a situation in which Islam can and most certainly will triumph. These same "liberal thinkers", as they like to think themselves, are without doubt the biggest collection of dictatorial oligarchs we have seen in this country since the demise of Cromwell and his ghastly Presbyters Parliament. Their sole reason for this is to curry favour among Muslim communities, they no longer give a damn about anything but their own continuation in power.
As for any religious belief, I do not hestitate to say that I fully believe that even those among this government who claim to be Christian are not. They are apostates who pay it lip service only. They neither understand the message of the Gospels, nor do they subscribe to any of it's principles. Their continued attendance in any congregation is an affront to those who do believe and it will be the measure of their failure when their "multi faith" dream ends in the strife and acrymony that will result from the stifling of genuine theological debate and exploration of spiritual development which will flow from this ill-conceived and flawed attempt to promote "Islamic" ideals.
Mark my words, you will not see a single Muslim extremist prosecuted under this or any other legislation for the daily incitement to hatred of Christians, Jews and every other religion their Sharia declares to be "dhimmi". Watch Blair and his shower of cronies convert to Islam as soon as they realise that they cannot remain in power in an Islamic State.
Religious hatred? Let's see how parliament defines "hatred". As I understand the term from the OED, it implies a strong emotional element, one definition being "active dislike". Perhaps more importantly, do I "hate" Islam? The answer is no, since I respect another persons right to hold views which differ from mine and I certainly do not "hate" someone because they practice a different religion from mine. I do however, reserve the right to disagree strongly with them, with the active promotion of Islam, and the stifling of any alternative religious promotion, and to debate openly and publically my view of the flaws in its theology.
I expect a visit from the Blair Thought Police at any time now!
Posted by The Gray Monk at October 4, 2005 10:59 AM
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Comments
I totaly agree with you on many points - however it is not the government's or parliments job to procecute - it is the police and the CPS's job. Strengthening the law against religious hatred is probably a good thing. Unfortunately, the police seen unwilling to go after many so called Islamic preachers who stir up hatred. This is probably due to not wanting to stir up a political storm or be accused of racism or islamophobia. Islamic groups in Britain today are better organised and far more vocal against anything they percieve as being the least bit critical towards their community than any other group. Witness the reaction to the recent Panorama program. What is really needed is for other groups, such as the jewish or christian communities to organise and expose the worst offenders - if the police and CPS do not procecute then private criminal procecutions can be launched. A legal campaign such as that run by Gandhi during his time in South Africa would have a great effect. The conviction of extremist "Islamic" preachers and writers for extreme hate-mongering would quickly raise the question in the public's and police's mind as to why the police were not procecuting these people themselves. Following Gandhi's example such private procecutions would work best if not vindictive. They would point out to the Islamic community why hate-mongering is wrong and show them how much hurt is caused by such behaviour. Gandhi did not avoid contentious issues for fear of raising hackles - like the police and main-stream churches are doing at the moment. But neither did he launch procecutions in order to get at and humiliate his opposers. A line needs to be drawn as to what is acceptable and what is not and it needs to be based on a strong moral foundation and not on the politics of conflict.
What do you think? - How could such a movement be started? How could it avoid being hijacked by a specific political party or interest group? Is there anything personally that we can do to start it?
Posted by: Steve M at October 5, 2005 09:25 PM
Steve, thanks for a thoughtful and well reasoned response. You are right, taking Ghandi's approach of bringing Private Prosecutions would be a good way forward, and you are right too, to mention the need to guard against vindictive and politically motivated attacks on this. I think it does need some of us to start the ball rolling, perhaps by finding out the best way to monitor the situation and by finding a legal firm willing to take it on - preferably one with partners from the Islamic community.
Posted by: The Gray Monk at October 6, 2005 05:31 PM