How to spot a terrorist

A badge of courage.......or of extremism?

It is reassuring, in one sense, to find that the British Government, for all its faults, has set in place a programme of training for public sector workers, to enable them to be aware of the terrorism threat and, more importantly, identify potential terrorists.

It has been in place since 2011 and it is called PREVENT.

PREVENT is a nice, non alarmist sort of a word that one might use to describe a deterrent to stop cats or dogs from entering the garden.

If I was in charge of such initiatives I might have called it 'SPOTAKILLER' or, 'ISLAMOWATCH' and that brings me to the point.

The official blurb covering PREVENT (you may read it HERE) mentions Northern Ireland Terrorism, International Terrorism, Extreme Right Wing Terrorism and so on but, coyly, fails to make any mention of the main threat, that of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism.

But, according to my source, those who are on the receiving end of such courses, namely, doctors, nurses, teachers, immigration officers and so on, are being given very specific directions with regard to identifying Muslim extremists.

Quite how that works I don't know but I am assured that it's a bit more sophisticated than looking out for anybody with a spade beard and a crochet cap.

But how long will it be before we see a target group listed as 'Christian right wing' or 'Christian anti gay 'marriage/abortion?'

Not too long, I suspect.

And how will they spot us?

Well......they might make a start by arresting those found wearing symbols of extremism....like a crucifix or a scapular.

50 countries you might not wish to live in

H/T to Being is Good for highlighting the following video clip showing the 50 worst countries for the persecution of Christians.
48 of the 50 are Muslim countries with Iran being the most extreme case as far as converts to Christianity are concerned. Conversion carries the death penalty, automatically.
Top of the list is totalitarian North Korea; it must be a challenge enough just to live under that hideous regime but, for Christians it is much, much worse.

Burning the Koran was wrong, very wrong

I doubt that anyone who reads this blog would disagree with my headline; I intensely dislike the extremes of Islam, I believe it to be a harsh and brutal faith but I believe that it was wrong of Pastor Terry Jones to burn a copy of the Koran. We owe respect to all faiths and should indulge in debate rather than abuse.
Pastor Jones (I hope he's not of Welsh extraction) has done what he has been threatening to do for a long time. This week he held a mock "trial", dressed himself up as a judge and declared the Muslim Faith guilty of crimes against humanity. The sentence of burning was then carried out.

Photo: CBS News

Terry Jones has offended Muslims and
condemned Christians to more persecutions

One cannot help but feel that it was the media attention that fed this bizarre character to the extent that he finally carried out what he has been threatening for many months. What result has it produced? So far 12 plus innocent people have been blown up by a bomber in Afghanistan, you can be sure that there will be more to come. Pastor Jones will accept no responsibility.
How fragile our existence appears to be when one man with a following of around 50 people can set in motion a sequence of events that will result in an increase in the persecution and even death of Christians in Muslim countries.

Fundamentalist Muslims around the world seem beyond the law and appear to act violently towards the west as the mood takes them. I use the word "Fundamentalist" when speaking about the Islamic minority that surface at times such as these, but I fear the Pastor's actions will make fundamentalists out of many erstwhile ordinary Muslims - all will respond with anger and violence to the burning. Pity their poor Christian neighbours who will suffer the result of bigotry and crass stupidity.

Somalia bans the niqab....why can't the UK?

It may seem a strange that a country such as Somalia should ban the niqab, the face veil worn by some Muslim women, but, on January 3rd this year, forces of the Somali Transitional Federal Government took such a step.
Why? According to the PEW Forum Research Centre 98.5% of Somalis are Muslim so why on earth should the veil be banned? The answer is, of course, because of security. Apparently in and around Mogadishu there have been a spate of attempts by Al Shaabab terrorists to penetrate the area and wreak havoc. So, in a sensible, calm and pragmatic fashion, the niqab is out.

Male or female? Friend or foe? Shopper or suicide bomber?

And why not? There is no religious requirement for it; it is worn by those who wish to 'extend' their religious teachings regarding modesty but, it is an extreme measure. Conventional Muslim female attire, that is, being clothed from head to foot with just a face showing is perfectly, if a little extremely by today's western standards, modest and acceptable to all.  Nuns dress in this fashion (or, at least, the real ones do) and no person, other than Richard Dawkins, would take issue with that.
Last year, France banned the niqab in public and whilst there were a few squawks I cannot find any instance of grave civil unrest as a result. Turkey (another Muslim country) currently does not allow the niqab in any public sector building or grounds.
But, in Britain and in the USA, we shrink away from making such a politically incorrect move.
In the current climate, Islam is seen as untouchable. Chritian evangelists will be arrested for preaching peace but Islamic fundamentalists go free for preaching jihad. You can see this in many parts of London and I for one, object to crimes of religious hatred being committed freely and without police interference in my own country.
You see, there is one law for the Muslim and one law for the poor Christian.
And there are two dress codes for men and for women.
If I donned a face mask and walked into Tescos or, heaven forbid, my local branch of Nat West bank, there would be panic and uproar and it would not be too many minutes before I would feel a knee in the small of my back and an eighteen stone policeman behind it, reading me my rights.
If I was a male teacher and appeared in front of my class fully masked up, my feet would not touch the ground en route for the fire exit. I would be branded a pervert and a paedophile. But Great Britain and the USA are strongholds of equal opportunity and parity of esteem (yuk) aren't they?

But to return to the niqab for women debate. I don't like it for the following reasons:-

1. It is unnecessary in Islamic religious law
2. It is separatist and divisive
3. It is un-British
4. It does not allow for clear communication
5. It has the potential to become a potent symbol of Islamic fundamentalism
6. It presents a grave security risk
7. It is a barrier for race and religious integration
8. It promotes gender inequality

Now there will be howls from some sources complaining about freedom of rights. Not so. I believe totally in adopting the "when in Rome" approach. When I travel to Saudi Arabia I do not walk around the hotel or in public in shorts and a short sleeved shirt, I do not carry a rosary on my person, I leave my missal at home, I keep my Catholic identity (such as it is) discreet and out of sight.
To do otherwise is to show disrespect for my host and also break the law of the country!
If you believe that such a move would be provocative and unnecessary let me tell you (without being hysterically xenophobic) that the world Muslim population is set to rise by 35% over the next 20 years, that Muslims will soon outpace weekly British churchgoers and that Mahommed, in all its varied spellings, has already become the most popular boys name in Britain.
None of these things present a problem as such but we must put into place a structure of nurture and education that ensures that all ethnic groups are fully behind their adopted country. No more ghettos, no more 'no go' areas, no more radicalising in the mosques. If we are to assume rights and controls, as is the duty of any government, then we must not hold back from being inclusive. We do need to create strategies that will enhance the religious experience of all groups but that does mean that some controls will have to be implemented. Immigrants must learn the "when in Rome" ethos and a British government must have the spine to implement it.

Oscar Wilde - a poem with resonance around the world today

I came across this poem (more prayer really) of Oscar Wilde's on an interesting blog Islam and Christianity
It conjures up many images of the murders and atrocities committed against Christians today......

On the Massacre of Christians in Bulgaria

by Oscar Wilde

Christ, dost Thou live indeed? or are Thy bones

Still straitened in their rock-hewn sepulchre?

And was Thy rising only dreamed by Her

Whose love of Thee for all her sin atones?

For here the air is horrid with men's groans,

The priests who call upon Thy name are slain,

Dost Thou not hear the bitter wail of pain

From those whose children lie upon the stones?

Come down, O Son of God! incestuous gloom

Curtains the land, and through the starless night

Over Thy Cross, a crescent moon I see!

If Thou in very truth didst burst the tomb

Come down, O Son of Man! and show Thy might,

Lest Mahomet be crowned instead of Thee!

Is Baroness Warsi right? Are Muslims subject to bigotry in Great Britain?

I am sure that they are. The BNP is not slow in pushing rather nasty strategies that are racist and bigoted in nature. Once they focused on the black population, now it seems as if they only have Muslims in their sights.

But such bigotry is not institutionalised in the same way that colour prejudice or, even, prejudice against Catholics is. It tends to be less structured, more in the way of snide comments issued when passing Muslims in the street or, worse, spitting at them; at least that is according to the newspaper reports today. Of course, that is still unacceptable but the point I am coming to is that Catholics in Great Britain have been subjected to bigotry and discrimination for hundreds of years. Emancipation may have made some public differences such as our right to build churches on main roads rather than several hundred yards down side streets. We are now taxed at the same levels as the rest of society and no longer can anyone confiscate our horse at will which used to be the case in the nineteenth century.
But we do suffer in the workplace from time to time, being passed over for promotion (especially if there is a Freemason or Orangeman at the helm). We suffer (if suffer is the right word) at dinner parties when we announce our faith when the occasion demands. I remember being invited to a party of local greats and goods upon moving to our current house and the hostess inviting us to join the local Anglican parish. When we politely demurred and gently announced the fact that we were Papists she made a grimace with her mouth as if she had just trodden in something Fido had left behind. Hardly a case of persecution but a shade uncomfortable nonetheless.
But we do not get a Catholic Peer to shout "Stop!" from the rooftops; we get on with our lives and let it run off our backs like water off a duck.

And, I am not so sure that Muslims have too much to suffer in the UK. Ever since 9/11 employers and organisations have fallen over themselves in displays of gross sycophancy to provide for their every need. Colleges and Universities now have 'prayer rooms', just for Muslim students. Try asking for a Catholic chapel and see what sort of response you get.
The BBC is obsessed with political correctness in this respect and yet, anyone from a Catholic background will get the sharp end of John Humphrey's tongue or even worse from Ed Stourton.



Muslims seem immune to charges of breaching  the law

 Walk down Wood Green High Street in North London on a Saturday and you will see stalls set up by what appear to be fundamentalist Muslims encouraging would-be followers to join Jihad against the West. A real case of incitement to violence.
What, I wonder, would be the reaction if some brave soul from the CTS was to set up stall with a banner advocating conversion to the Catholic faith. Arrest? Acts of violence against them? Imprisonment? I would not be surprised. And the media would have a field day.
So my view is that Baroness Warsi should save her bigotry comments and concentrate on initiatives that will help young Muslims break out of the radicalisation mode that is almost certain to be their lot.

Muslim population explosion!

In the space of just ten years, the UK Muslim population has increased from 1.65 million (2001) to 2.87 million - a staggering 74% increase.
This report comes from The Daily Telegraph of 28th December as a result of figures produced by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a seemingly straight and trustworthy organisation that focuses on 'promoting a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs'.
I post on this to flag up some looming problems, not to incite racial discrimination.
At this rate the whole cultural, religious, social and political ethos in Great Britain will change dramatically in a very few years.

The good side indicates that, if this does happen, there will be a new awareness of the horrors of abortion and the moral implications of homosexuality.
The bad side (a slightly longer list) is a shade more problematical; the agenda of Islam is largely about establishing their own rule of governance on a country - in brief, creating a Caliphate that administers, among other things, Sharia law. A law that condones stoning of women found in an adulterous relationship, execution for practising homosexuals, public floggings for minor misdeeds together with a disregard for Christian beliefs.
Now, not all Muslims fall into the 'Islamist' category, there are many good and decent Muslim citizens of the UK but......and it's a big but.....we have a watershed of young, male Muslims, largely disaffected with the British way of life and, as such, they are going to present a volatile force in the years ahead. I do not entirely blame them; I believe that radicalisation has taken place in mosques around the country without let or hindrance on the part of either the Imams or the British Government. To a large degree the damage has been done and it is going to be very hard if not impossible to undo it.

We have also opened the immigration flood gates and allowed hundreds of thousands of people into this country who have no legitimate claim to be here or to asylum here. Furthermore, once in the UK, we have made no attempt to educate and inform them as to the sort of country they are settling in. They have little or no concept of democracy and all that it entails, no historical background, no English as a Foreign Language skills, no proper knowledge of Christianity.

Action needs to be taken urgently now (and I do not mean BNP type action). I mean that we need to block up the holes in our entry laws, establish training and education programmes for the existing immigrant population (a large proportion of whom are Muslim). Create decent career path programmes for young British Muslims and set up voluntary worker experience schemes so that job skills may be honed by working in the voluntary sector for a period and gaining, at the same time, an insight into the social structures of the country. And much more besides.

Virgin Mary? - No thanks

Catholic Queen Mary I - not so bloody!

There is a very fine alcoholic drink called a 'Bloody Mary' after Queen Mary the First (dubbed so quite unfairly according to the Protestant historian Thomas Cobbet who places Mary's reputation for hanging Protestant dissidents at c. 110. Most of these were Anabaptists, a fundamentalist terrorist type sect, who were tried for crimes including murder, treason and other nasty acts - hardly the bodies hanging from every tree in the land that gave Mary her soubriquet). However, I digress, the fact is that a blend of vodka, ice, tomato juice, pepper, salt, slice of lemon, worcester sauce, tabasco and, if you are an aficianado, a splash of dry sherry, makes a very fine drink.
There is a non alcoholic version that is most popular in 'dry' Muslim countries; I am thinking specifically of Brunei, Saudi and Kuwait where it features large on the drinks list.

My grouse is that they call this emasculated version, a 'Virgin Mary' - not a title that Catholics like to see bandied around gratuitously.
The Brunei Sheraton has a fine bar, albeit ostensibly dry but, when not so long ago the Hotel Manager offered me a 'Virgin Mary' it pushed me to ask if he had a beverage called 'Mohammed's Tears' - of course, he was rather indignant and explained at length why such a title was offensive not just to him but to the whole Islamic world.
I then gently pointed out just how offensive it was to Christians to feature the 'Virgin Mary' drink but it was all to no avail. He either could not or would not comprehend.
This experience left me with a feeling that we, as Christians, are rather lax at stepping up to the plate to express our discontent with such issues; we tend to hide under the blanket of not wishing to appear intolerant. But I don't think that sticking up for one's faith is intolerant, or, if it is, we need to do more of it.
However, best not to raise the issue if you have just consumed a Bloody Mary!