Ah, yes. That's the one.
More than 50 survivors of terrorist attacks, including the Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge attacks, have signed an open letter warning politicians to stop conflating British Muslims with extremism. The signatories include Rebecca Rigby, the widow of soldier Lee Rigby who was murdered in south-east London in 2013, and Paul Price, who lost his partner, Elaine McIver, in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. They caution against comments which play “into the hands of terrorists”.
Like these?
Paul Price, who was badly injured in the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017, said terrorists exploited division, and politicians should focus on what unites communities. “Terrorists want people to take sides and for people to get angry,” he said. “It should be everyone against the terrorists.”
Rebecca Rigby, from West Yorkshire, whose husband Lee was murdered near a barracks in May 2013, said: “Lee’s death was used by some to drive hatred against Muslims in general. That’s not what Lee would have wanted and it’s not what our family wants.
“If we are serious about tackling terrorism the most important thing we can do is differentiate between the vast majority of Muslims who are our peaceful neighbours, and the small number of extremists.”
But what if you've got that ratio wrong, Rebecca? What then?
I wonder what the majority of our country's indigenous population think about this letter and the people who signed it. I know what I think and it isn't in concert with the signatories.
ReplyDeleteSpot on!
DeleteIf you know the Muslim faith and have talked to Muslims in private, you know you cannot dissect the "Ordinary" Muslim from the extremists. That's not to say the ordinary Muslim is going to start committing atrocities any time soon. But you have to understand the extremists are deemed more pious and committed to the religion than those that don't quite follow the Quran to the letter. There is a hierarchy in play that not many are aware of. The "ordinary" Muslim cannot criticise the extremist, because the extremist is the better, more committed Muslim. The ordinary Muslim cannot and in most cases will not act against the fundamentalist Muslim. Hence why no-one is calling the Police informing on grooming gangs or terrorists. It's hard for people to understand the power that Islam holds over the Muslim's life because we don't have an equivalent in the West. Possibly the nearest would be Communism if Communism was also a religion as well as a political ideology.
ReplyDeleteThere will never be a reformation in this religion, that's what makes it incompatable with modern society.
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