[kj] OT - Veiled threats?

[Juliet Pleming]

Hi Sade
 
First article:
 
>From a personal point of view I think comparing the Irish to the Muslims
is not a like-for-like comparison - oh well maybe there are some
similarities, but it's a bit simplistic. For one thing part of the Irish
problem was surely the division amongst the Irish. I suppose that they
could blame that on the British, but I am sure they would not
necessarily all want to be lumped together, and although there was
impact over here, the instigators were trying to get a political point
across, they didn't have the same religious fervour as the Ultra
Muslims. With the Irish extremists they had specific demands whereas the
extreme muslims have, I assume, some sort of abstract idealistic aim.
Does anyone know what the extreme Muslims really want, besides loads of
post-suicide heavenly virgins?
 
Second article:
 
I think the connection between the judges' black veil and the muslims'
is even more tenuous. For one thing execution is not legally sanctioned
anymore. For another thing the judges' black veil was only worn for a
minute or two and did not cover the face, it was nothing like the face
covering veils. I could go on...
 
Reading through this I would just say that this journalist is just going
for as much of an emotive punch as he can muster with a bunch of very
dodgy comparisons. His lowest stoop I think is to compare the Muslims to
the Jews in pre-second world war Germany.
 
He says that we are being 'very mean and nasty people' for picking on
the veil wearers - bless 'em! He says that critisising them will just
make more of them take up the veil. Whilst this may be true, it could
equally be argued that the general public are becoming defensive and
scared because they perceive that terrorist action of extremists is
threatening our way of life. The way the British public are behaving and
the media is human reaction to a perceived threat. Are we all supposed
to be 'bigger' than that somehow? Are we supposed to be above human
reaction, but make massive allowances for any minority that lives in our
midst in case we might - perish the thought - hurt their feelings!
 
This journalist also says that the veil is not actually important to
most Muslims. Well if most of them can get by without it then surely it
is not essential to their religion and they cannot use the religious
argument to justify wearing it, just as most Christians can get by
without wearing say, for example, a cross or whatever religious
paraphernalia, and most Jews do not dress the way that orthodox Jews
dress. No one in the national press or political scene is currently or
recently having a go at the Orhtodox Jews, but then they are not
perceived as a threat because nobody associatied with them or wearing
their 'uniform' has been carrying out a high profile terror campaign.
Lets not forget the responsibility of those carrying out the campaigns.
They are not dissociating themselves from their fellow Ultra Muslims.
They have designed their campaign to incite division and they are having
the desired effect. The veil wearers should be blaming their muslim
brothers for tarnishing their image if anybody!
 
By the way I am not defending the actions of the US or British
government. I think all that is abhorrent, but that doesn't mean that I
think the Muslims are totally innocent and that we should not be able to
critisise them . One of the things about living in a free and tolerant
society is being able to air your views like this, and the muslims need
to learn to take it on the chin like the rest of us. They can't just
shut themselves off if they want to part of our tolerant society, and
they need to learn to laugh at themselves. In a peaceful society we have
to be able to tolerate criticism. I mean what about the farce where they
got really upset about the cartoon about the face of Allah. Bloody hell,
at least the Roman Catholics can laugh at themselves. 
 
Lots of you might be able to punch holes in my arguments and my
political knowledge is not extensive enough to argue about this in
detail.
 
Juliet 
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