Even though the sharks are out for Will Cummins, the Telegraph itself doesn't seem to be cowed. From Charles Moore in that courageous publication, with thanks to the many who sent this to me:
One thing we are supposed to welcome in modern Britain is "diversity". The theory is that the mixture of races, cultures and religions which we have more and more become is a source of strength and should therefore be nurtured and celebrated. Although there is a great debate about how strong the overarching idea of Britishness needs to be for the diversity to work, there is clearly much to be said for the theory. The authorities therefore set to work to accommodate, within reason, the special requests of the minorities - the observant Jew who wants to leave work on Friday in time for the beginning of the Sabbath, the Hindu who cannot eat beef, the Muslim traffic warden who does not want to wear a cap badge which includes the sign of the Cross.Some of these questions can create real difficulty - should the Cross, woven into so many national symbols, such as the flag, which mean a great deal to us, really be sacrificed to some people's feelings? But if the wish to be distinctive is genuinely mixed with the desire to participate, then a way can usually be found.
So you might think it is good news that "Islamic banking" is now taking hold. This month saw the launch of Britain's first fully regulated and approved Sharia-compliant bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain. And the big banks have also developed Islamic banking arms. The need for these is said to arise because the Koran forbids "riba", which is interest, or usury.
Yet Muslims need money and banks need to make a living. Systems are devised to get round the ban. For example, instead of a Muslim holding a mortgage for a house, the bank can own the house and make arrangements for the Muslim gradually to buy it off the bank over a period of years. HSBC now boasts of "Our Sharia Board" stuffed with learned sheikhs and Justices from Arabia and Pakistan. Isn't all this an encouraging example of how the resourcefulness of modern free societies can achieve tolerance and market efficiency?
But when you look a little further into the question of Islamic banking, you find that it is not, in fact, required by Islam. Al-Azhar University, in Cairo, the main and ancient home of Sunni religious learning, teaches that "riba" means extortionate interest, not any interest at all, and that moderate interest should be permitted. Most Egyptian banks charge and pay interest. Even Muslims who reject this interpretation say that the doctrine of "extreme necessity" permits Muslims in non-Muslim countries to pay interest.
So what is being proposed with Islamic banking is actually a hardening of the religion, not an accommodation of its existing custom. It is rather as if Catholics, arriving in large numbers in a Muslim country, insisted that they must eat fish rather than meat on a Friday, a rule which has been dropped by the Church in modern times. And when you look at HSBC's Sharia Board you find that a couple of its members have links with the Deoband, the long-standing ultra-conservative group whose schools in Pakistan educated many of the Taliban.
Two others are Wahhabis, trained by the intolerant and puritanical school of thought that dominates the religious life of Saudi Arabia. If HSBC had a Christian Banking Board would they staff it with disciples of the Rev Ian Paisley, the Rev Jerry Falwell and the followers of the late Archbishop Lefebvre, rather than nice Dr Rowan Williams or Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor?
Read it all.
Mr. Moore concludes:
"Once there are Islamic financial institutions, how long will it be before Muslims insist that the state and business direct all their monetary dealings with Muslims through these institutions (boycotting businesses with Jewish connections en route)? How long before Muslims, extending the logic of their concentration in places like Bradford and Leicester, seek to establish their own law within these areas, the germ of a state within a state? And how diverse would such a state be?"
I have been saying this for ages. The final result of all this Muslim immigration will be for them to seek a state of their own within the states which they settle. This action is inevitable. It is just a matter of time and numbers.
A cogent article by Mr. Moore, but what of it? Until the pale of mankind's apathy becomes a blazing activism, all of us will wallow till being on the verge of the eleventh hour.
If one were to take a poll of middle America and ask: Should satellite or cable TV be provided to criminals in state prisons?, the overwhelming answer would be NO. Then why do criminals in prison have access to this media?
The answer is activists who commit their lives to making sure that their agenda is established.
JihadWatch and other websites that are devoted to this topic are precious, but I am certain middle America, like most folks on this planet, are so busy with their lives that concepts like Sharia, submission and jihad are only keywords on the ephemeral war on terror.
Am I wrong? Am I not giving middle America enough credit? Am I paranoid?
I have been posting on NPR threads for many years now concerning Islam and its insidious threat to the ideas that we live for, and I am continually astounded by those responses who say that I am an Islamophobe or a right-wing knee-jerking freak. And these responses do not eminate from muslim posters either.
What will it take to rouse the sleeping majority?
Mentat
I agree with you. It appears to me every country in the world that the Muslims build up their population, they do exactly that. “Charities” is a well organized system to provide funds to do exactly that. To have their own banking system would open the door for much more opportunities for them to finance their objective. Look what they can do with the established banking systems.
Muslims do not assimilate. This is not an opinion, it is an historical fact. Muslim communities do not contribute science, music, art, enlightened discourse, nor any cultural fruit that might originate from the stifled Muslim female population. By excluding females from full social integration from the start, Muslim communities can be by definition, at most, only half as productive for the society at large as all other ethnic communities who do assimilate.
Moe's Foe
At one time I did not know what a Muslim was. Time after time I saw the results of their criminal activities in the news. I was guilty of not seeing the red flags flying. I started to read as much as possible - pro/con - and after much analyzing with an open mind, I came to the conclusion as you. The extreme danger from Muslims is far beyond what I could imagine. I look back at a news item on TV where our “fearless” leader was patting one of the most devious one on the back saying “ these are our friends - Muslims are peaceful.” I started talking to people I know and got the same results as you described. As you said, I asked myself the same questions and had many thoughts wondering if my thinking was all wrong - ABSOLUTELY NOT. I reflect on one important thought - Japan used their military to target a military targets and it was WAR - Muslims used civilian planes with civilians in them to target civilian targets. Everyone wondered what happened. No one was awake. As of today too few people are awake - as you indicated - UNBELIEVABLE.
Moe's Foe- No, you are not being paranoid. However, more and more North Americans are becoming aware and anxious about what they see.
The Telegraph article desmonstrates how Islam overcomes a culture by chipping away at it bit-by-bit. We see the same process beginning here on North America. I hope a reversal can be accomplished before it's too late.
Mentat, Moe's foe
I have been aware of the dangers of Islam for upwards of three decades (from June 1967). Moore's last statement on the dangers of Islam, is something that I have tried to warn my fellow Brits and American friends for over ten years. I was viewed with bemusement. Not so these days though.
I'm really glad to see that a major newspaper of the West is now coming out with truths about Islam. Let us hope it spreads to other organs of the media.
Morgane:
I hope you keep blasting that Muslim guy in Bjorn's blog. I do not wish that Taqqiya practioner to have the last word.
Worth reading
The Philosopher of Islamic Terror
http://www.wehaitians.com/the%20philosopher%20of%20islamic%20terror.html
When the early Muslims invaded what is now the "middle east" and North Africa they had the strategic policy in many places of building a new "muslim" capital which they could completely control near to the existing capital. As they were the new-blood and the victors, they had the wealth (pillaged) and gradually the markets, the merchants, and the artisans moved from the old city to the new one where the money was. The old cities just died. Example of these new cities: Marakesh, Cairo, Ramallah, Baghdad, Tehran...
In the modern world building a new city to syphon off the commerce and culture of a metropolis like London with 11 million people is not practical, but parallel institutions seems to be working possibility. They've already tried to set up a Mulsim Parliament in the UK, now they have a Muslim Banking system, Sharia courts will be next, then what... Muslim police? Muslim health service? Muslim Ambulance, Fire Services, and Road-Side Assistance? Muslims being taxed separately?
As Moore says: a state within a state.
Malaysia’s Bank Islam: A bank steeped in usury
I had written an article in Harakah entitled “How Islamic is Bank Islam Malaysia?” and they were pissed. They had in fact asked their lawyers to commence legal action against me but they would also have to sue Harakah as well. Since Harakah was one of their largest clients they decided not to sue but to get me another way. Then there was the earlier four-letter word dressing-down I had given them – they never forgave me for that.
Haji Harun and the Singapore buyer walked off and the deal was aborted. The bank then tried to sue me to recover the balance still outstanding but withdrew the action when they realised they had no case against me.
And that is what Bank Islam is all about. Is this Islamic? Far from it! In fact, as what I told Bank Islam, it is less Islamic than the so-called “Jewish” banks.
http://www.freeanwar.net/jan2003/articles280603.htm