Cameron and the Muslim Vote (Part III)

Written by Husain Al-Qadi

Islam is their problem not radicalism

It is now almost three weeks since the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, made false accusations in Parliament that Muslim extremists were taking money from taxpayers which led to anti-Muslim headlines. If I were to take to heart Harold Wilson's observation that "A week is a long time in politics”, then there would be no need to continue to speak about this matter. Some readers may wish to point out that the world has moved on and that the news this week brings its own, new, shocking revelations, among them being: Police targets Muslim infants in nurseries, Tony Blair admits he wanted to invade Iraq anyway and Tzipi Livni secures immunity from prosecution.

Revelations of this sort surface almost every week and we tend to treat them as random events occurring in isolation from one another. The sheer volume of news consumed in a week leaves the mind longing to ditch large chunks of memory, even when it seeks help with clichés such as "here we go again".

With the rise of Facebook and Twitter, where a person may receive hundreds of messages in a few hours, the mind starts to behave like the stomach of a bulimic – bingeing on information that is quickly vomited from the consciousness to make space for new infotainment.  Just as the bulimic deceives himself by bingeing on food, the "info bulimic" tells himself that now that he knows what has happened, all he needs to do is "find out what else happened". And so it continues until there is no time left to reflect on the content of what he has learnt in the first place – let alone do something constructive to change the situation.

Cameron's outburst in Parliament was not an isolated event that happened by accident. It was a symptom of something much deeper and more pervasive that connects all of these events. The targeting of Muslim infants in the nursery, Tony Blair's war-mongering, Livni's immunity and Cameron's outburst are all underpinned by a single idea.

That idea is that Muslims are a threat to the world and the only way to deal with them is through harsh preemptive interventions and deceitful manipulations. It is a Neocon idea that was imported from across the Atlantic and it must be recognised and labelled as such, so that journalists and politicians who promote it can know that Muslims will connect the dots, however sophisticated and invisible the ink they may use. 

In Cameron's case, as he indicated at the time, it was Michael Gove who briefed him on the Muslim school issue, but there were others involved who were forced out of the shadows by the factual errors. In Gove's letter to the Schools' Secretary, Ed Balls, he had sought to strengthen his argument by quoting that other notorious neocon think-tank The Centre for Social Cohesion. This is run by the "young prince of darkness" Douglas Murray, who finds the mere existence of Muslim schools in Britain abhorrent. He wrote four years ago that "Government-funded state schools should, with the exception of a small number of Jewish schools, be Christian" (Douglas Murray, Neoconservatism: Why we need it (2005) p158). As for Muslim schools, his hatred is clear: 

"The attitude towards Muslim schools should be exceptional... if any Muslim academies are allowed to exist, they should be funded entirely privately, with no taxpayer assistance and should be subject to uniquely strict regulation and inspection. If such conditions are considered unbearable, then Muslims will have to try their luck in other countries" (p106).

Although he and his colleagues try to conceal their hatred for Islam and Muslims with the use of terms like "Islamism", "Radical Islam" and "extremism", when writing books they do not expect Muslims to read, they speak from the heart. Here is another gem from Murray:

"Islam is a proselytising faith, and one that is incompatible with British history, British law, and British society. With nearly two million Muslims currently living within Britain's borders, no risk whatsoever should be taken... Britain must start implementing its response. For we have allowed the Straussian-nightmare end point of relativism to arrive... Our only reaction to this situation is not to allow our tolerance to destroy us - we must not allow tolerance to prove the Achilles heel of our freedom. To defend our tolerance we must be intolerant to those who oppose us, even when we express tolerance. We must not tolerate them" (p160).

The third person who came out of the woodwork in this saga was the MP for Wycombe, Paul Goodman, who appeared on the Newsnight programme to defend Gove and Cameron's false allegations. If you haven't seen it, then I strongly suggest you watch it because it is one of the most perfect examples of Neocon bluster that I have ever witnessed. His hatred for Muslims is palpable and his certainty in his opinion that he alone is right is something worth seeing. Please watch it here:

Ironically, he represents a constituency of some 9,000 Muslims. My sources tell me that he has convinced Muslims in his constituency that he is not against Islam in general, just the extremists among them. The question the Sufi Muslims in Wycombe need to ask themselves is: Why is Goodman always so close to people who promote disrespect for our Prophet Muhammad (sallalaahu alaihi wassallam) and Islam in general? Why is he defending those who think that Islam is a religion that is incompatible with Britain and that there are too many Muslims in Europe? To get your vote, he will tell you that he is not against your version of Islam. But take a closer look at what the people whom he defends so vociferously are writing about Islam and you will find his position unashamedly unequivocal.

Goodman and his group of neocons have a problem with Islam and Muslims in Britain in general. If, as Muslim, you are not being targeted by them yet, then be sure that it is only because now has not been the most politically expedient time to attack. Douglas Murray thinks that there are too many Muslims in Europe so, irrespective of your version of Islam, it is only a matter of time: as long as you remain Muslim, you will eventually become a target. This is not to mention that those Islamophobes who read and react to the anti-Muslim headlines in newspapers as a result of Goodman, Murray and Gove's deception see all Muslims as fair game. They do not wait for it to become politically correct.

So before we wipe the story of Cameron's outburst in Parliament against Muslim schools from our memories to make way for further binges of infotainment, let us take a moment to reflect and ask ourselves what we should be doing to challenge this neocon war on Islam and Muslims in Britain. Keeping ourselves informed of what is happening in the community is a good thing only if it produces the right, constructive kind of response. News which has as its only purpose the slaking of our thirst for infotainment will only increase our accountability when we stand before our Creator on the Day of Judgement. Islam teaches us to be conscious of our duty to our fellow human beings. Enjoining good conduct and challenging wrongdoing, injustice and deception (al-amr bil ma'ruf wa al-nahyu 'an al-munkar) is certainly part of that duty.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallalaahu alaihi wassallam) said, "Whoever witnesses wrongdoing should change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot do even that, then in his heart and that is the weakest degree of faith" (Reported by Imam Muslim). And he also said (may peace and blessing be upon him), "You will enjoin good conduct and challenge wrongdoing for, if not, Allah may cause to descend upon you a punishment from Him and then you shall call upon Him and He will not answer you" (Reported by Imam Ahmad and Imam Tirmithi).

Perhaps we can begin by making plans to visit the Muslims of Wycombe or call our friends in the area to ensure that the next time Paul Goodman shouts on the BBC in defence of Douglas Murray and Michael Gove, he will not be doing so off the back of Muslim voters. As for Cameron and the Muslim vote, he will need to convince the Muslim community in unambiguous terms that he will prevent Goodman, Gove and their gang from doing further damage to Muslims in Britain.