This morning's Sunday ended with a discussion about Islam in Britain, following criticism of a Muslim association in Blackburn by Justine Greening for saying that women should not travel over 48 miles without a male guardian.
Sunday invited on two of its Muslim regulars, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain and Lancaster University's Dr Shuruq Naguib. Both of them prevaricated over whether the call should be condemned and refused to condemn it, despite some pushing from Ed Stourton for them to clarify their positions. The professor was much more willing though to condemn Miss Greening, instantly describing her comments as "problematic". Ibrahim Mogra hinted at 'Islamophobia' as a possible justification for such Islamic guidance, what with Muslim women facing attacks on public transport (at which point he alluded to his favourite story about an attack on the Tube - an attack, he always forgets to mention, that was carried out by a homeless Asian immigrant). The professor also explicitly mentioned 'Islamophobia' in her reaction to Sadiq's triumph in London. Both were delighted at Sadiq's success.
I'd have preferred to have heard a much wider range of views.
Update: Come to think of it, this is a very good point:
Sunday invited on two of its Muslim regulars, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain and Lancaster University's Dr Shuruq Naguib. Both of them prevaricated over whether the call should be condemned and refused to condemn it, despite some pushing from Ed Stourton for them to clarify their positions. The professor was much more willing though to condemn Miss Greening, instantly describing her comments as "problematic". Ibrahim Mogra hinted at 'Islamophobia' as a possible justification for such Islamic guidance, what with Muslim women facing attacks on public transport (at which point he alluded to his favourite story about an attack on the Tube - an attack, he always forgets to mention, that was carried out by a homeless Asian immigrant). The professor also explicitly mentioned 'Islamophobia' in her reaction to Sadiq's triumph in London. Both were delighted at Sadiq's success.
I'd have preferred to have heard a much wider range of views.
Update: Come to think of it, this is a very good point:
