Only Fellow Muslims Can Cure Islam Of Its Fundamentalist Cancer

Samuel Hooper2 Comments
Christian Life Of Brian Charlie Hebdo Terrorism Islamic Fundamentalism
Clear provocation for a fundamentalist massacre

 

Dan Hodges poses an excellent question in his Telegraph column today: what if the Paris terrorists had been Christian rather than Muslim?

He does this to make a point that should be fairly obvious, but which too many of us continually miss – that were the shoe on the other foot, or rather the other religion, it would be unequivocally expected and demanded of moderate Christianity to root out the fanaticism from within its base, without delay and with no excuses or exceptions.

The fact that we add so many caveats and exceptions when making this demand of moderate Islam is therefore, according to Hodges, prima facie evidence that we currently give leeway and grant concessions to Islam that we would not do for any other faith. In Hodge’s imaginary alternate universe:

Then came another attack. Two Christian gunman walked calmly onto the stage of the O2 arena, and machine-gunned to death John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, as they performed their comeback tour. It was, their killers later revealed in a video-taped message, in revenge for the lampooning of Jesus in “The Life Of Brian”. Witnesses at the O2 claimed that as they ran from the stage, the assailants were heard to shout “We have just killed Monty Python”.

A day after the O2 attack, the BBC Today program sent a reporter to High Wycombe, to gauge the reaction of members of the local Christian community. It was “painful people had to die in this way” one interviewee conceded. But the Monty Python cast should not have mocked Jesus. “I love Jesus,” he said. “More than my mum, more than my dad, more than my children.” It was legitimate to insult individuals or people he added, “but not God, not Jesus. We will not allow that. If they are going to do that, that [the attacks] will happen again and again.”

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Exploiting Charlie Hebdo To Attack Civil Liberties

Samuel Hooper11 Comments

 

It is a dirty yet utterly predictable paradox that the terrorist attacks in Paris, which saw so many people flock to the banner of free speech, are even now being exploited by conniving politicians to crack down on our other, equally cherished civil liberties such as the right to privacy.

Once you have seen enough television news reports and read enough commentary to confirm and reinforce your entirely appropriate horror and outrage at the terrorist atrocities in Paris this week, therefore, it is well worth taking some more time out of your schedule to watch at least some of the video above.

Attempting to start a meaningful conversation about the root causes of Islamist terrorism is, apparently, highly unseemly and inappropriate so soon after an attack. And yet those who make this claim never explain why talking about the root causes of Islamist terrorism in its immediate aftermath is opportunistic and wrong, while conveniently it happens to be the perfect time for governments to demand sweeping, draconian new powers. And yet that is exactly what we now see.

As this blog recently noted:

https://twitter.com/SamHooper/status/553967074696265729

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Music For France

Samuel Hooper1 Comment

 

Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in G Major, 2nd Movement – Adagio Assai

Hélène Grimaud, piano

For the people of France on this solemn and reflective day.

What Comes After Britain?

Samuel Hooper38 Comments

What comes after Britain broken union flag

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Those who are eager to undermine the nation state should explain how they intend to preserve democracy once it is gone

I’m on the losing side of history.

I still believe that the nation state is a force for good, and that it remains the best repository and defender of our most fundamental rights and liberties. But I’m in a dwindling minority, and others have different ideas. Most things to do with the nation state are either being replaced, deconstructed or just becoming passé. I get funny looks if I say wouldn’t it be nice if we brought back the national anthem before sporting and other events, or if I write anything about “British exceptionalism”.

I know that all of these things are fading into the past, and I can make my peace with that. But for those who call themselves “progressive” and heartily embrace conceptions and institutions such as today’s vast European Union or total, unmanaged multiculturalism*, I have a question: do you really know what you are letting yourselves – and all of us – in for?

At the moment almost all of our rights are vested in and guarded by the nation state. But the nation state is under attack on all fronts – unlimited immigration within the EU, free trade, global capital flows, multinational corporations. I broadly agree with some of these trends, I often like them in principle and even personally benefit from most of them; but they are all gradually undermining the nation state.

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Quote For The Day

Samuel Hooper2 Comments

 

“Every time you silence somebody you make yourself a prisoner of your own action, because you deny yourself the right to hear something.”

The late Christopher Hitchens, addressing an audience on the ever-important subject of freedom of speech.