Burning the Koran is wrong....

......And so is burning the Bible or a Missal!

An Islamic mob burn an effigy of the Holy Father

Yet the civil authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia routinely incinerate hundreds if not thousands of them each year.

Many naive or, possibly, evangelistic Christians are apprehended every day in Saudi Arabia as they arrive on their flight from the Americas or Europe.

In their luggage is a Bible, sometimes, many Bibles.

To bring any Christian literature into the country is against the law in Saudi and so, all materials will be confiscated and disposed of.

The penalties can be harsh but one thing is certain, the holy books will be burnt (hopefully, before any act of sacrilege can be committed).

It was a mindless act of stupidity on the part of those soldiers who burnt the copies of the Koran - but perhaps the Muslim community might like to get a perspective on the issue.

Why do we allow fanatics to abuse our services of respect?

Todays memorial service at the US Embassy, in London's Grosvenor Square, was marred by loud music attempting to drown out proceedings together with a 100 strong mob of Muslim fanatics brandishing banners claiming 'Islam will dominate the world'.

It certainly is dominating British political opinion!

OK - a minority of nutters trying to disturb the peace, we should not get too worked up over this...but I am worked up and I do believe that it is right to do so. Where British men and women, together with their overseas allies, gather in a service of some reverence (even if somewhat secular in character) they should be allowed to pay their respects unhindered. The first offical mourner at the ceremony was a 16 year old girl who stepped up to the microphone to say that she was there to honour her 'Darling Mummy' who died in the Twin Towers tragedy. That child should not have had to listen to or witness the scuffles that were taking place 100 yards away.

What is David Cameron thinking of? He is the Prime Minister - couldn't he have directed the police to remove them for causing a potential breach of the peace?
Boris Johnson was also there doing nothing to direct the police, his police force.

Among the 3,000 9/11 victims were some 67 British citizens and it is tragic that we cannot remember all of those who died that day without suffering gross disresepect from splinter groups (the EDL were also trying their best to disrupt things).

Would such behaviour be allowed on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph? Not at present but...it may not be too far off before we experience it.

Ban the Burkha is becoming the call sign of the right wing extremists

It had to happen, of course, the English Defence League and National Front thugs are now spouting off about banning the burkha.

It's a good line to take as it is, in my view, the single most obvious way of stating "I'm set apart from you lot" and, for that reason, it does need banning, but it's a pity that the extremists have nobbled it so that more moderate voices may not use it for fear of being branded fascists.

The burkha mask is set to become the line in the sand of Islamic fundamentalist progress; to many Muslim people it represents the very essence of their faith and you cross that line at your peril.

France seems to have carried off a burkha ban very successfully but it may be too late for Great Britain. Some time ago I posted about parts of the country becoming no go areas for non Muslims and now it is starting to happen.

Sign of the times?



London's Tower Hamlets has been "Islamized" by person or persons unknown and declared a no go area for smoking, alcohol or music; it's almost enough to make me want to start up smoking again. And I would just desire above every other avenue open to me to process through the borough with a train of like minded folk singing plainchant!

It would be a step too far to say that we would carry an alcoholic supply with us - anyway, street drinking should be banned; I am with them there.

Apparently, the offending posters have been popping up all over the East End and council workers are rushing around ripping them down and the police are looking into it. If the Met force is anything like our local constabulary I would say that the poster stickers are quite safe.

But this activity is going to spread and it won't be long before dress code is added to the list of don'ts. "Don't expose your face if you are a woman over the age of 12" will be the next rallying cry.

And when that happens, we are only a hop and a skip away from Shariah Law and a public flogging for not wearing your mask.

Scroll forward another twenty years and it will be a public flogging (or worse) for being a Christian.

We live in interesting times as the Chinese say.

How should Catholics respond to Islam?

I was prompted, in this post, by two recent posts, both from two bloggers called Stuart, one being eChurch and one
Ecumenical Diablog. Stuart eChurch featured a post on a new Muslim extremist group called Muslims against Crusades; a somewhat worrying account of how British Muslims see themselves (or, at least, how a faction see themselves).
Stuart Ecumenical (this is sounding very Welsh) posted on how a group of Legion of Mary volunteers set up a Catholic stall alongside Muslim ones in the centre of Oxford on a Saturday afternoon. Excellent initiative!

The two posts are really quite different in angle but they do share a common theme and that is, Islam, as if we did not know it already, is on the march. For the sake of clarity I refer to Islam meaning the extreme portion of the Muslim community but, in truth, I do believe that most 'British' Muslims, when push comes to shove, would tick a box in favour of Jihad rather than one marked 'Western Democracy'.


Last Thursday was the anniversary of 7/7, the British version of 9/11 (not that one should try to compare these two horrific events). 7/7 was when a group of suicide terrorists exploded bombs on the London transport system.
There are very many official Muslim websites in existence yet, my searches failed to find one that paid any recognition to the day, no commemoration or acknowledgment of the crime that took 56 lives, including those of the terrorists. That is an indictment of how the Muslim community only pay lip service to British courtesies and cultural niceties.


I do not subscribe in any shape or form to fascist organisations such as the BNP or EDL but I do believe that we, in the west (and our friends in America) have a very great problem on our hands in the form of home grown supporters of terrorism, albeit, passive ones for the present.
To counter the threat we have to first of all overcome the political correctness that gives carte blanche to Islamic activists but then clamps down viciously on any comparable Christian activity.
I am not going to cover the initiatives that I believe the various governments should be setting in motion but I am going to focus on what we, as Catholics should be doing.

This is extreme but the extreme is in danger

of becoming the norm - Anjem Choudary

in a BBC TV interview

First of all we should be aware that, if the time comes, 20 or 30 years from now and we face a Sharia based governance, it is Catholics who will be the prime focus of attention. I still carry the memory with me of my first visit to Saudi Arabia and seeing the imported copies of western newspapers that had individually been checked and any images of a cross or, in this case, Pope JP II, blacked out with a felt tip marker pen. What a fear they must have of us Catholics.


Of course, we are branded as 'Islamophobic' whenever we criticise or comment upon events in the Muslim World; for example, The Runnymede Trust is, apparently, "Britain's leading independent race equality think tank" - and they are doing their bit to promote equality between British society and Islam except that, in my book, Islam is not a race but a religion. Here are their 8 points that they claim define 'Islamophobia' :-

 This definition, from the 1997 document 'Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All' is widely accepted, including by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.

The eight components are:

1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.
2) Islam is seen as separate and 'other'. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.
3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.
4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations'.
5) Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.
6) Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.
7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.
8) Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal.

I find nothing to disagree with in the first 5 points; neither do I believe that agreement with those points is anti Muslim in any way; anti Islam, yes, certainly. I disagree totally with points 6, 7 and 8.

So how do Catholics provide checks and balances to the increasing Islamic extremism in our society?
Well, I do think that the Oxford branch of the Legion of Mary deserve a Papal Medal for ther work in evangelising the masses. Does this action, in fact, point towards a standpoint that we can make? Could the Legion take on this role, this specific role of counteracting the awful tosh put out by the Islamists ('The truth about who Jesus really was' is a particulary offensive bit of literature). If not the Legion, could a new lay group be formed along the lines of the USA Catholic Defense League?

And then perhaps the Bishops could lead a crusade (good word that) to inform and convert the Muslims of Great Britain.....what? have I just uttered a profanity?......convert Muslims?........the very nerve! I know that will be the response of some but then, Our Lord did say: "Go forth and teach all nations" he didn't say "Go forth and let them continue in their ignorance."

And if anyone objects to my use of the word 'Crusade' please remember that the Islamists and their friends have no problem with using the word 'Jihad'

Islam is fundamentally dangerous!

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has made a statement regarding British Universities and how they are incubators for Muslim extremist recruitment. Gosh! Really? I have only appreciated that fact for the past twenty odd years and I am sure that I am not the only one.

The Lockerbie bombers, infamously, learnt their black electronic arts at a Welsh place of Higher Education. I suspect that many of the 'sleeping' Islamic terrorists in this country learnt their Cambridge Level English at a British Uni or College and probably went on to study Politics and Insurrection at one of the 'redbricks'.
The Universities have a record (a criminal one) of inviting terrorist supporters to give talks in their institutions. What are they playing at?

I do believe in turning the other cheek but that does not preclude taking action to prevent being attacked in the first place.

Abu Hamza - preached hatred for years
outside Finsbury Park Mosque

For far too long we have ignored, no, that's the wrong word, we have actually courted the extremist end of the Muslim community and offered them politically correct solutions to all of their problems.

That concerns me as a Catholic with very young grandchildren. I know, that, at the present rate, my grandchildren stand a very good chance of being discriminated against in 20 years time when the fundamentalists have firmly established their grip on the civic communities of Great Britain.
It concerns me now when I hear of the atrocities committed against Christians in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia (is there a Muslim country that does not persecute Christians?).
It concerns me when you cannot walk down almost any North London High street on a Saturday without being confronted by stalls and stallholders promoting jihad - holy war! Against us!

Try setting up a Catholic Evidence Guild stall and see what will happen pdq!

And it's not just the Universities; it's many of the mosques and mosque schools and community centres that breed contempt for all things western, all things Christian.
It is too late to any more than call a halt to Islamic proselytising. We now have a very substantial population of young men and women who have twisted beliefs with regard to western democracy and religion.

One answer for the future may be to encourage a programme of Christian education - apologetics Muslim style. This needs to be developed and delivered by Muslims (and there are many peaceful, good ones) to Muslim youth, school age and post school age. The programme needs to show how two or more faiths may exist side by side. How total disagreement over issues of belief may be tolerated and the views of others respected; how, even, in a democratic world, it is completely legitimate for Christians to evangelise and seek converts from Islam and vice versa.

Now that is something that falls neatly into the University camp. Vice Chancellors, please form an orderly queue!

VIVE LA FRANCE!

Well done President Sarkozy and co for making the wearing of the Islamic niqab (face mask) illegal as of today.

It will, no doubt be the cause of much disquiet and a few ructions and it will provoke a wave of protest from those who believe that it is over the top to ban an item of clothing but it's the right thing to do if Islamic fundamentalism is going to be halted. Of course, much more will be needed to stop the fanatics but banning the veil is a good start.

Why do I say such things which are bound to produce a few challenging comments?  Because of the following:-

Wearing the niqab is.....

• Anti social
• Potentially a grave security risk
• Rapidly becoming a symbol of extremism
• Demeaning to women
• Not British
• Separatist
• Unequal

If you believe that banning an item of clothing is too much like state control of the individual remember we already have it in this country.:-

• Shopping centres that ban "hoodies"
• Banks that ban motor cycle helmets
• Hotels and restaurants that insist on ties/jackets (for males)
• Customs Offices, passport controls, immigration counters all ban face coverings (except for Muslims)

And also, as a man, I could not walk down Tooting High Road wearing a veil without being arrested for a possible breach of the peace!

 Not that I've tried it out!

Believe me, if we do not act soon, we are only a few years away from parts of our cities becoming 'no go' areas to women who do not cover their faces (Christians as well as Muslims).