It was, at worst, a stupid and tasteless joke, and Arshad Mahmood reacted to it in a kind and mature manner. For the politically correct authorities, however, it was no laughing matter at all.
"Muslim PC laughs off Secret Santa gift of bacon... but bosses force friend who gave it to quit," by Duncan Robertson and Colin Fernandez at the Daily Mail (thanks to Ruth King):
A Muslim police officer given bacon and wine as a Secret Santa gift decided to treat it as a harmless if tasteless joke. But a non-Muslim colleague failed to show the same level of tolerance.The officer who supplied the gift, 26-year-old PC Rob Murrie, was reported to his superiors for racism.
And PC Murrie subsequently came under such pressure that he felt he had no option but to resign from the Bedfordshire force.
Yesterday, the target of the joke, 31-year-old Arshad Mahmood, said he still regarded PC Murrie as "a good officer and a good friend", while Muslim community leaders accused police chiefs of "overreacting" to the incident at Luton police station.
The Bedfordshire force has come under intense criticism for its failure to recruit ethnic minority groups despite Luton being one of the most multi-racial areas in Britain - one of the reasons it was rated last year as the worst force in the country.
PC Mahmood, who joined the force in September 2005, said that about 18 of his colleagues had decided to join in the Secret Santa - where each member of a group is given the name of another to supply with an anonymous gift.
"We opened our presents in the canteen at breakfast time on Christmas Day. The gifts were chosen depending on the person's personality, and cost about £10."
One officer received a bus pass and a timetable because he lived so close to the police station that he did not need a car.
Others received intentionally "boring" presents such as a Parker pen and a pair of socks.
"When I pulled my present out, I did not realise that I had been given a bottle of wine," added PC Mahmood, a married father of one. "As a non-drinker, I thought it was a luxury bottle of orange juice or something.
"Everyone was joking but I thought the packet of bacon was a bit below the belt. Judging from the reaction of everyone else, they thought it was a bit below the belt as well.
"But it was not meant in a malicious way, just a bit of banter."...
Read it all.
""I would never have given him the present if I had known the consequences."
...obviously he had not read about the cartoon riots complete with sensless violent death of innocent people, or the deaths of filmakers such as Theo Van Gogh who made an honest film, or the beheadings of journalists seeking to write articles about Muslims, or the violent Muslim protests when a soccer team wore their uniforms with a cross on the jerseys, or any number of sensless violence acts perpretrated by Muslims whenever they feel "offended"
....apparently his superiors did and were afraid of possible Muslim violence over a bottle of wine and some tasty bacon....his superiors reacted as cowards would....hastily and out of fear.....
Several questions.
Would Murrie have been fired if he had given a bottle of wine to a fellow officer, a Presbyterian from a highland kirk, known to be a complete teetotaler?
Would Murrie have been fired if he had given a rasher of bacon, or a whole Dunmow Flitch, to a fellow officer who was Jewish?
Since Murrie worked with Mashood, and knew him well enough to be able to gauge his reaction -- that of laughing at, rather than taking offense at -- the joke, should not that real and specific knowledge of one's colleagues, presumably exactly what a police force needs to have -- not be taken into account by humorless and relentless and entirely un-relaxed Defenders of the Faith, that Faith being, so obviously, Islam?
Do those who decided on the firing of Murrie for what was meant as a joke (did Murrie grab Mashood? Did he force him to drink the wine? Eat the pork? Do anything other than open the package?) think that they have improved morale, made the force more rather than less cohesive, by firing someone for his choice of gift for this - undoubtedly idiotic (as so many office parties and gatherings and those particularly annoying round-robin signing of birthday cards, for someone in the office whom you may be indifferent to, may not like, and you are put on the spot, expected to come up with a non-obvious way of wishing him or her happy birthday -- the curse of the working classes!) -- Secret-Santa gift-giving in which no one was forced to take part, all the participants did so voluntarily, and in a spirit of mutual raillery that one would expect in such a setting?
Do those who fired Murrie think that they have made the remaining police more or less likely to do their job well? Have they made the position of Arshad Mahmood who correctly did not see what the fuss was all about more or less easy?
Would those who discharged Murrie be interested to learn that the worldly Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, drank wine and, some say, ate pork?
Finally, could those who discharged Murrie for "racism" explain the meaning of the word "racism" and how it applies here?
"Finally, could those who discharged Murrie for "racism" explain the meaning of the word "racism" and how it applies here?
Posted by: Hugh "
...I doubt it....
Whats a Muslim doing participating in a Secret Santa anyway?
Someone needs to point out Islam isn't a race to the infidels.
Politcally Correct infidels go out of their way to do this nonsense. Someone wrote about Ramadan in Iraq a couple years ago, during fasting, nobody could eat or drink at some military meeting and one of the army personel reported that he saw a non muslim female in the army enforcing fasting rules on a muslim who was sneaking a fruit juice during the meeting.
Islam will never be stopped in this environment, the Jihad both lawful and unlawful will continue without much resistance, specifically the non violent Jihad.
It's the new age liberals, the liberal fascists, their ideology needs to be crushed before common sense can return to our policies foreign and domestic. Until then, the Jihad will continue crusing along.
"Whats a Muslim doing participating in a Secret Santa anyway?
Posted by: Elric66 "
...he was confused....he saw a big guy with a beard...saying something about ho ho ho....and thought he was an Islamic cleric....
Being in the police force AND having a sense of humor. And having infidel friends who can 'goof' on you. Arshad veddy bad Mooslem!
Exsgtbrown,
LOL Good point.
Luton is lionheart's hometown...the British blogger who is due to be arrested for stirring up racial hatred because of his postings. According to lionheart, the Pakistani gangs are involved in drug dealing and getting the English girls hooked on drugs and then into prostitution.
http://lionheartuk.blogspot.com/
An interesting story but we don't have the name of the real criminal here, the non-muslim police officer who took offence on Arshad's behalf against his wishes.
Speaking of Lionheart, here is an interview of him.
http://www.usorthemonline.com/wordpress/?p=103#comments
What a police force. Might as well call it the Gestapo with PC zealots humorlessly running things.
Posted by: MrTommyAtkins
An interesting story but we don't have the name of the real criminal here, the non-muslim police officer who took offence on Arshad's behalf against his wishes.
And what makes you think it was a non-moslem that took offense. Also why didnt Arshad push the matter,could he already know that Bedfordshire's chief constable Gillian Parker is a sucker for the islamofascists
Yes something stinks in Luton, and it isnt the bacon
http://illustratedpig.blogspot.com/2008/01/something-stinks-in-luton.html
it seems like a appropriate gift theres no reason the muslim office could not have given it to the british equivalentof the Union Gospel Mission
Notice that for the Muslim police officer it's ostensibly a win/win situation: he comes off as nice and moderate while at the same time the offending Infidel officer gets punished.
An interesting story but we don't have the name of the real criminal here, the non-muslim police officer who took offence on Arshad's behalf against his wishes.
Posted by: MrTommyAtkins
PC Brown-Nosed B'stard.
Look Sir! I'm sooooooo PC, can I have some brownie points please?
An interesting story but we don't have the name of the real criminal here, the non-muslim police officer who took offence on Arshad's behalf against his wishes.
Posted by: MrTommyAtkins
PC Brown-Nosed B'stard.
Look Sir! I'm sooooooo PC, can I have some brownie points please?
shiva, this is where i got the idea it was a non-moslem that took offence, the 1st paragraph of the article:
"A Muslim police officer given bacon and wine as a Secret Santa gift decided to treat it as a harmless if tasteless joke. But a NON-MUSLIM colleague failed to show the same level of tolerance."
And Arshad not wanting to make a fuss, from the article:
Yesterday, the target of the joke, 31-year-old Arshad Mahmood, said he still regarded PC Murrie as "a good officer and a good friend"
and more detail from elsewhere:
However, the recipient of the present, 31-year-old Pc Arshad Mahmood, said that while he considered the pack of bacon "a bit below the belt", he still regarded Pc Murrie as "a good officer and a good friend".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/14/nbacon114.xml
So, let's discuss the non-muslim colleague.
"... theres no reason the muslim office could not have given it to the british equivalentof the Union Gospel Mission"
Posted by: islamisacult
Or swapped it with a colleague for a new pair of socks.
Poor Murrie. He should have known better. There's always a PC enforcer around.
Preemptive surrender.
I was unfortunate enough to work in Luton for two years. I have visited most countries in Europe, and a few outside Europe, but Luton remains the only city where I have seen men urinating in the street, in broad daylight. Luton is a purulent boil on the backside of the universe.