Comments:
hkhan135
Comment No. 1385875
May 29 23:59
I think Britons should be pleased & thankful that Muslims are adding positively
to the family values, introducing & refreshing a culture where family life
prevails & flourishes and pre-marital and extra marital sexual relationships are
discouraged; the latter crushes the roots of a stable family life, hence that of
a stable society; 'coz family unit is the back-bone of any society and Islam
uplifts this value with tremendous dignity.
Dr.Henna R Khan
Member of Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. London.
Special interest:
Sexual & Reproductive Health (Effects on Mental Health & Family Unit)
For all comments go to:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/inayat_bunglawala/2008/05/scare_tactics.html
Topic initiated by Inayat Banglawala.UK
Journalists from several newspapers rang yesterday seeking a reaction to the
latest remarks from Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester. You will recall
that Nazir-Ali hit the headlines at the beginning of this year when he claimed
that British Muslims were setting up "no-go areas" across the UK. What had he
actually said this time, I asked wearily.
"Christianity is central to British identity but its marginalization has created
a moral vacuum which radical Islam threatens to fill," I was told.
I asked one of the journalists to send me a copy of Nazir-Ali's actual article
which has been published today in a new magazine called Standpoint so I could
read his own words.
Nazir-Ali's article - available online - is made up of the now familiar
complaints about the declining influence of Christianity in British society and
its replacement with "endless self-indulgence" and family breakdowns. The "scramblings
and scratchings" of politicians looking for ways to rally the nation through
respect and tolerance are regarded with contempt.
Nazir-Ali points out that the west was in the past able to face down Marxism
which was shown to be "philosophical, historical and economic nonsense" but
warns loudly that there is now another danger looming large:
"We are now confronted by another equally serious ideology, that of radical
Islamism, which also claims to be comprehensive in scope. What resources do we
have to face yet another ideological battle?"
And just in case the picture he is trying to paint isn't clear, Nazir-Ali makes
the options plain:
"Instead of the Christian virtues of humility, service and sacrifice, there may
be honour, piety and the importance of 'saving face'."
This seems to be rather desperate stuff. As Simon Jenkins has noted in the
Guardian, the terror threat to the UK, though undoubtedly real, has been hyped
by a number of different groups for their own purposes and to keep us in a state
of fear. Adopting a more independent foreign policy, combined with more
intelligent policing in local communities would seem to me to be a surer
strategy for decreasing support for al-Qaida, rather than trying to terrify more
people into attending church and listening to priests.
And also, why are humility, service and sacrifice looked upon as particularly
Christian virtues whereas honour, piety and saving face are regarded as Islamic
ones?
Unsurprisingly, Nazir-Ali has been praised to the skies in today's Daily Mail as
"the Churchman who dares to speak out for Britain" and who takes on "so
trenchantly the liberal consensus".
For my money Simon Barrow of the society and religion think-tank, Ekklesia, was
on far more secure ground with his observation today that:
"There are indeed serious issues about moral cohesion in modern, plural
societies. But diversity and disagreement cannot be wished away, and a vision of
social justice and responsibility will not be created by lecturing people,
seeking to restore Christian privilege, portraying Islam as the new threat ...
The churches need to be seen as small-scale communities of positive hope, not
wounded dinosaurs complaining that people do not take them seriously any more
and that the country is going to the dogs."