By baby steps, the Brits seem to be getting more serious

The British government has been slowly coming to the realization that the Muslim Council of Britain, the country’s leading Muslim organization, with which the government has had very close relations, is not on Britain’s side in the fight against terrorism. And now it’s official. In a speech to Muslims, the very active Multiculturalism Secretary Ruth Kelly attacked the MCB for boycotting Holocaust Memorial Day, for criticising police anti-terrorist operations and for failing to help in the campaign against extremists, and said that the government would henceforth only fund Muslim organizations that take a “proactive leadership role in tackling extremism.” She said she was engaged in “a fundamental rebalancing” of the government’s relationship with Muslim organizations.

This is certainly a move in the right direction. But if the government is serious about ceasing to reward the Muslim Council of Britain and other Muslim groups that refuse to help Britain against terrorism, or, more accurately, that take the terrorists’ side against Britain, how about stripping the knighthood that Tony Blair treasonously awarded MCB founder and then-chairman Iqbal Sacranie—now “Sir” Iqbal Sacranie—in June 2005? Symbolizing the utter abasement of Britain, the knighthood was granted just a couple of weeks before the London bombings, and several months after Sacranie had campaigned for a law that, according to Sacranie himself, would have made it a criminal offense to say that there is such a thing as Muslim terrorism.

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Karen writes from England:

It is good that the Labour party is making such noises towards the MCB but I fear it may be gesture politics to ease the fears of a population who are getting increasingly uneasy about Moslems and are starting to desert the Labour party and make increasing attacks on Moslems. Small scale riots and attacks have been occurring throughout the last few weeks. In addition to the Windsor riots at the dairy, a mosque in Scotland was fire bombed and destroyed and in a separate incident in Glasgow, an imam was beaten in a mosque by a white non Moslem. The white population is starting to fight back both physically against the Moslem immigrants and electorally at the ballot box and Labour is getting worried. They are afraid of the BNP and want to be seen to be acting toughly. However they have taken no action to limit Moslem immigration or deport the many illegals who are here.

The studies of Professor Cantle into the town of Bradford project an increase in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations of 50% and 70% respectively over the next decade, much of this due to arranged marriages and chain immigration. This is why I would not trust them to deal effectively with Moslems. Until Moslem immigration is stopped and Moslems start leaving, the actions of the Labour party are just cosmetic. [See the response of Edward in southern California to Karen in England.]

LA replies:

Thanks for the reality-check. You’re right. On one hand, when the government does break from its past patterns a bit, as in this Kelly statement, this is good news and we need to note it and acknowledge it, but at the same time we need to point out how it changes nothing fundamental, so long as the immigration continues and is not being reversed.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 19, 2006 12:01 PM | Send