Here's James Naughtie on this morning's Today (at 13:50), sounding off about today's Pegida UK protest in Newcastle. He refers back to the comments of a female Pegida supporter featured in the piece's introduction, asking his BBC colleague:
Well, two question really. One, why is it being held there? And the other one is...We heard what she said there - "We're not not racists. We're not fascists. We're not far-right. It's an awareness campaign to raise people's awareness of the fact that Islam is a big problem." Well, it seems to be a bit of a contradiction there. And they're bound to attract....even if they say they don't attract the far-right, they're bound to attract some people from that neck of the woods, aren't they?
"Well, it seems to be a bit of a contradiction there"? That would be news to the likes of Nick Cohen, Nawaz Maajid, David Aaronovitch, Ed Husain, the folk at Harry's Place, Douglas Murray, Rod Liddle, et al, all of whom worry about the "big problem" of Islam in the UK and none of whom are "racists, fascists or far-right".
Some of the people mentioned still wear the fig leaf of differentation between a private religion of spiritual reflection called Islam and the Jihadi-style so-called "Islamism".
ReplyDeleteSurely the more important point is that Naughtie is simply conflating a religion with a race - which speaks volumes about his patronising world view (most of its adherents are brown or black, so need our support and sympathy). Many of Islam's ethnically European converts, from Germanic and Latin races,
have been among its most dangerous and cruel adherents.
It's nothing to do with race, though the Left and the Fascist Right have an interest in making it about race.
Be interesting to see how James 'if we win' Naughtie, or whichever hapless spokesperson on his team gets the job, explains that bit of objective reasoning away if pressed.
ReplyDeleteLucky The Trust is officially now no longer deemed fit for purpose, so they needn't pretend to care any more anyway.