Ancient Hatreds, Modern Delusions

Things you wish you’d never asked.

Mishal Husain on the Today programme took a direct hit this morning that seemed to put her completely off her stroke.

Husain was interviewing Sir John Sawers, ex head of MI6. (08:36)

She asked him a question about radicalisation…

There’s a lot been said about how people are radicalised and we hear a lot about the internet.  A lot less is heard about why people are radicalised.  Why do you think young British Muslims appear to be vulnerable in this way?

Interestng word that ‘vulnerable’.  Are the extremist headchoppers sad ‘victims’ in her mind, unable to make informed, conscious decisions?

Sawers’ answer wasn’t what she expected….

There are two main answers.  One, people in this country are not as integrated as we would like them to be.  Other religions, whether Hindu, Sikh or Jewish, are very well integrated into this country.  Muslims are less well integrated and there are a number of social and economic factors related to that.

The second problem relates to Islam itself.  There are many competing branches of Islam, there are schisms, Shia and Sunni, different branches of Sunni Islam, many of these going back to doctrine and interpretations of doctrine in the first century of the religion.

The Islamic religion as a whole is not well geared to reviving and modernising itself so that it meets the values and needs of a 21st century society.

Paradoxically Sawers then swerved in the usual kneejerk genuflection that people make towards political correctness and claimed that Islam was perfectly compatible with other religions.  Note his claim about the lack of integration….due to social and economic factors.  He is contradicting himself there as Hindus, Sikhs and Jews integrate and must have faced the same problems…the defining difference is Islam.  Most Muslim ‘radicals’ are in fact highly educated and from comfortably well-off families…Jihadi John being a computer studies graduate, the pro-ISIS ranter on the internet the other week being a first class honours graduate with a good job at a successful law firm. Again the defining characteristic is that they are believers in the teachings and doctrines of Islam which have very particular commands about Jihad and ‘defending’ other Muslims and Muslim lands. Muslims may be ‘integrated’  in a limited sense in that they have jobs or go to university but Islam teaches them that they are separate…Islam creates the ‘Them and Us’ attitude that is so dangerous….I’m certain you remember Mehdi Hasan preaching about the Kufar, those immoral, ignorant cattle.

Sawers goes on to say that there is a big political challenge that can only really be taken up by leaders in the Muslim world.  Husain then goes off the tracks it seems and makes some confusing points by mentioning the BBC survey that said 20% of Muslims believed Western Liberal Democracy was incompatible with Islam….Husain seemed to suggest that the problem was with the Democracies, that it is up to the liberal Western World to deal with that incompatibility and not Muslims.  In other words the West must adapt to Islam not Islam adapt to the West.  Very Tariq Ramadan.

Husain then wanted to know if the three ISIS recruits were victims or intelligent people making informed decisions.  Sawers again made the swerve and to Husain’s quiet delight proclaimed them ‘victims’.

After the interview, which was quite wideranging and covered more ground than just radicalisation, we had the news bulletins and their take on his words….and note that immediately following the news about Sawers’ comments there came a report on Pegida in Newcastle.

What we were told was that Sawers believed that Russia posed a growing threat to Britain, not a word about his very significant answers to the question about why people are radicalised and no link at all to Pegida and its demonstrations.

That question about radicalisation is after all the one that is on everybodies’ lips…why are Muslims being radicalised?  And yet when the ex-head of MI6 gives us what he believes to be the answer the BBC omits to headline it.

Here is the BBC’s headline for the interview…

Sir John Sawers, ex-MI6 chief, warns of Russia ‘danger’

In a long report the overwhelming part of which was spent on discussing Russia they tacked on a small bit at the end that mentioned his comments on Islam in the UK.

Islamist terrorism and efforts to enforce the Islamisation of British Society are clear and present dangers and yet the BBC downplays the problem and doesn’t like the answers that Sawers gave as it out the blame squarely where it should be.

Here is another headline relating to the same interview..

‘Jihadi John’: Ex-MI6 chief defends security services

Again nothing about radicalisation and Islam.

And another headline..

Former MI6 chief: ‘Russia always an issue of concern’

All Russia and no Islam.  Where is a similar report that singles out his words on Islam?

And then we have then news reports on Pegida using odd language that seemed to celebrate the counter-demonstration…the BBC telling us that Pegida was ‘dwarfed’ by the UAF.

Craig at ‘Is the BBC biased?’ has noticed the same in the BBC reports of the demonstration.

The BBC’s opening lines tell the tale of the BBC’s preferred narrative…

‘Anti-Islamisation’ group Pegida UK holds Newcastle march

More than 1,500 protesters have demonstrated against the first rally in Britain by a group opposed to what it calls the “Islamisation of Europe”.

Supporters of the UK branch of German group Pegida gathered at Newcastle city centre’s Bigg Market.

Critics claimed they were anti-Muslim and had come to “promote expression of hatred”, which they denied.