Looking for “Moderate Muslims”?
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John Burgess | Sunday, August 20, 2006 |
If you want sharia law, you should go and live in Saudi
Shahid Malik, the Labour MP, explains why he told fellow Muslims that if they don’t like Britain they should pack their bagsScotland Yard described it as a plot “to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale”. John Reid concurred: “The terror threat to the public was unprecedented, the biggest that Britain had ever faced.”
As it transpired, there was nothing melodramatic about these descriptions. It was to be a “terror spectacular” beyond our worst nightmares, involving blowing up a dozen aeroplanes in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean, with the wilful massacre of more than 1,000 innocent men, women and children.
Last Tuesday, after a 90-minute meeting with John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, to discuss the challenges of extremism and foreign policy, I emerged and was immediately asked by the media whether I agreed that what British Muslims needed were Islamic holidays and sharia (Islamic law). I thought I had walked into some parallel universe.
An often heard refrain: “Moderate Muslims don’t speak out against extremism.”
But they do, actually. This article from today’s edition of The Sunday Times (UK) can only be characterized as “moderate” and it’s by a Muslim who also happens to be a Member of Parliament. He’s fed up with the extremists, but also those who forget what country they are living in and the freedoms they have there. Worth reading in its entirety.
About the Author: Former US Foreign Service Officer serving predominantly in the Middle East. Probably best defined as an East Coast Conservative.
After studying at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, I worked in the private sector, in newspapers, advertising, and retail. I joined the US Information Agency in 1979, studied Arabic and French, and had assignments in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, the UK, India, and two in Saudi Arabia.
I blog about Saudi Arabia, the importance of US-Saudi relations, and efforts toward reform in that country at Crossroads Arabia.
I believe that Saudi Arabia is of critical importance to the US, not only for oil, but for political, diplomatic, and strategic security reasons. It is far too important to leave to ignorant or ill-informed commentary.
I receive no Saudi funding for my work.
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