This comes despite "hate speech" regulations which are, of course, a subject open to much debate. Laws to that effect have become a handy weapon across Europe against those who would criticize Islam, while "extremist" Muslim clerics are left quite free to spew all the pious bile they can muster.
What is ultimately at issue here is the fact that, where such rules are present, Islamic hate speech appears to be getting a pass again. Those who are intensively working to attack the country, its people, its rights and freedoms, economy and infrastructure, and its way of life are again in line for special dispensation, as if that might slow or prevent someone's "radicalization."
The Muslim Council of Britain quotes familiar talking points below ("wonderful diversity") entirely to its own purpose. But of course, the jihadists, their sympathizers, and active and passive enablers would certainly see to the demise of libraries as Britons know them. The rights to personal privacy and freedom of inquiry, speech, and conscience, which guide Western library ethics (though the American Library Association itself has fallen dismally short of its own stated ideals), would be utterly devastated by Sharia.
"Wonderful diversity" would quickly become much less diverse, and drastically less wonderful. "Islamist hate books inquiry call," by Johnny McDevitt for Channel 4 News, December 3 (thanks to Twostellas):
Among the authors was the first person to be banned from entering the country by the Coalition Government earlier this year.
Works by Zakir Naik as well as other banned Islamist leaders, such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Al-Faisal and Bilal Philips, are available to borrow across London's libraries.
Indian televangelist Naik was barred from entering the country in June, after Home Secretary Theresa May uncovered comments attributed to him, which she said represented "unacceptable behaviour".
Egyptian Qaradawi was excluded in 2008, when the Home Office said it would not tolerate the presence of those who seek to justify acts of terrorist violence.
During his previous visit in 2004, Qaradawi defended suicide attacks on Israelis as "martyrdom in the name of God", during a BBC interview.
Al-Faisal was jailed in 2003 after cassette tapes of his sermons, which solicited the murder of Jews, Christians and Americans were found. He was deported from Britain in 2007.
Others authors included Muhammad bin Jamil Zino, in whose book, Islamic Guidelines - which we borrowed from Bethnal Green library in Tower Hamlets in east London - tells readers that "The Last Hour will not appear unless the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them."
The Channel 4 News investigation found hundreds of books, DVDs and 'talking book' cassettes by these authors in libraries around several London boroughs.
The borrowed books were taken out with a normal library card, with many coming from Whitechapel library, also in Tower Hamlets.
Until January, the library used to stock taped sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, the so-called 'Osama bin-Laden of the Internet.' [...]
...MLA [Museums, Libraries and Archives Council] guidelines ... advise that "material which incites religious or political hatred cannot be stocked or displayed"[...]
The Muslim Council of Britain, which branded the exclusions of Naik and Qaradwi "serious errors of judgement," called for caution about the removal of their books.
"Libraries remain sources of information through which debate and ideas are shaped on a range of issues," it said.
The usual tactics to excuse the inexcusable:
"It is difficult to justify the removal of books by authors and speakers who have been banned by the Home Secretary but have not broken any laws, especially, when they are outspoken critics of the underlying narratives that drive the terrorist mindset, are examples of individuals who have been maligned and deliberately misquoted by those who have sought to politicise the issue of national security.
The blame game:
"The removal of books by these sorts of authors simply plays into the hands of those on the right who seek to censor and limit free speech. Given the unique role our libraries play, such a move would be unfortunate and would impact on the wonderful diversity of books that our libraries currently have on offer."...
Here, "diversity" serves the cause of Islam. How about when it doesn't? How about a little Geert Wilders on the shelves? A little something from Kurt Westergaard? Ayaan Hirsi Ali? Wafa Sultan? One could go on and on.
The article continues, with more detail on jihadist authors and books the MCB insists have been misquoted. See also this report from 2007, which sounded a similar alarm (thanks to Zulu).
It is foolish to allow those who wish to destroy you into your country...likewise it is foolish to allow them open access to the plans, directions, instructions, and propoganda from their vicious leaders to be openly available and freely distributed...that's is cultural suicide...
Hate on the State: How British libraries encourage Islamic extremism, Douglas Murray and James Brandon
The first report published by the Centre for Social Cohesion examines how public libraries may be fuelling Islamic radicalism. The study finds that the libraries of Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Birmingham in particular have stocked a disproportionate number of pro-jihadist texts at the expense of more moderate authors.
http://www.socialcohesion.co.uk/files/1229624470_1.pdf
From the article: Other authors included Muhammad bin Jamil Zino, in whose book, Islamic Guidelines - which we borrowed from Bethnal Green library in Tower Hamlets in east London - tells readers that "The Last Hour will not appear unless the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them."
Ah, the infamous Hadith or saying of the prophet which calls on Muslims to kill Jews to bring about the Day of Judgment - http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/08/usc-msa-removes-does-not-repudiate-genocidal-hadith.html
Others authors included Muhammad bin Jamil Zino, in whose book, Islamic Guidelines - which we borrowed from Bethnal Green library in Tower Hamlets in east London - tells readers that "The Last Hour will not appear unless the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them."
Someomne should point out to the guy who wrote this article that the hate speech here about the Jews is from the famous hate preacher Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Ah, someone said it before me!
Zulu-- thanks for the link to "Hate on the State" (and for other news links!). I've added it above.
Civil war seems inevitable for Great Britain unless some legislators with cajones replace the current dhimmi government........
Geert was right. If you want to ban books full of hate-speech, then you should bar the Qur'an.
But as an ALA member, I don't want to ban any books.
OT
Cleric offers Rs 500,000 (USD5,830) for Aasia’s killing
PESHAWAR: A Jamaat-e-Islami-affiliated cleric on Friday offered Rs 500,000 reward for anyone who kills Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. “I will give Rs 500,000 to a person who killed Aasia,” the prayer leader of the historic Masjid Mohabbat Khan, Maulana Yousaf Qureshi told a JI protest rally organised against calls for amendments in the blasphemy law and Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s struggle to have the woman pardoned. The cleric also appealed to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to kill Aasia. He asked the group to carry out the killing instead of bombing other places. “To kill the woman is a service to the religion in a real,” he said. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\04\story_4-12-2010_pg7_2
Robert has pointed to Reza Aslan's trick of how the West is trying to "otherized" Muslims. (Aslan of course isn't the only one pulling this trick which is intended to further play the victim card.)
Sorry, pal, we're calling your bluff on that one. WE are doing no such thing. YOU & YOUR FELLOW TRAVELING MUSLIMS are showing the world how much you are DIFFERENT from us. In the West the standard by which behavior is to be judged is our standards, not yours.
Having these sorts of books in public libraries (even apart from their being available in their barracks/mosques to begin with) demonstrates the efforts Muslims are going to "otherized" us to their ridiculous world view.
At this rate it won't be long, before they label as blasphemous the works of the greats, like the work of Winston Churchill because of his astute observation in the 1899 two volume book, The River War:
..re:moslems...."the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."
For Churchill's time, that made great sense. Now, with the world available in an instant, people (dhimmis) fearing PC far more than their lives or security, or their future, in spite of science, and partly abetted by it, we have the scourge of that devil cancer that is islam, on global attack, not the repeated regional scourge attacks of centuries ago.
Their jihad and other deceitful propaganda should be banned from libraries, and the web. Profiling should be practiced everywhere. They should be refused entry, and those present forced to assimilate, and demonstrate honesty and patriotism, or return them to their origin.
Conversion to any other non-cult belief system, be it secular or non-secular, (preferably to a traditional Religion, that involves truly principled love and consideration of and for fellow man, peace, and the firm belief that this will be its own good reward, in this life, a/o later) must be aided and abetted, even more than good people are already doing. We must do much more on all fronts, whether PC on not. And PC should be discouraged, when facing the enemy that intends to conquer and enslave and brutalize all.
RS's JIHAD WATCH IS INVALUABLE AND OF IMPORTANCE, BEYOND DESCRIPTION. It serves truth and knowledge, to the world, of global news, on the stealth jihad attacks, from within and without. His reasoned and scholarly references on fundamental evil truths, from totally islam approved sources, of this idealogy show to the learned that dhimmis are not dealing with a religion, but a virulent fraud, the ideology of a very dangerous cult.
Remember the mystic cult in Japan, wherein they found they couldn't weaponize bio agents, even with giant funds and specialized experts, so they nerve gassed a subway, killing some and wounding terribly, many more. That too was a cult.
1400 years and an infrastructure, and a cloak of legitimacy in public, does not a religion make, out of an excuse less cult of unlimited blood lust, supremacy, and universal enslavement.
Success against this cancerous ideology must be won, by all means.
I hope that people of conscience will demand or donate books on other religions, such as Christianity and Judaism, as a response. The U.K. has a long history as a Christian monarchy, and its culture forms a rich part of the tapestry of the faith. I can only hope they don't turn into a modern version of what happened to Spain under the Moors.
Do British libraries have cameras? Is there anything to prevent slipping slim notes between pages pointing out a few inconvenient, embarrassing, unpleasant, but undeniably true FACTS about Islam?
I would do it in bookstores but they all have cameras now and I'd get caught.
If you are able to, donate Islam-exposing works by Spencer, Bostom, Hirsi Ali, Gabriel, Warraq, Phares, Williams, and so many, many others. You can also donate them to library sales -- but make sure the sale committee does not discard "politically incorrect" donations.
Bet you won't find 'The Satanic Verses' in any public library in the UK.
My local library doesn't have any cameras, and I've been doing exactly that for some months now!
I use A6 sheets (A4 or Letter size paper, cut in half twice) that fit easily in the top pocket of my shirt, and can be transferred to a book I'm browsing with no problem.
Snippets of news, koran and hadith verses, and (most important) the URLs of JihadWatch, Atlas Shrugs, Pat Condell, etc. are all (I hope!) being brought to the attention of the wider audience they deserve.
Seems to me there's a very simple solution to the dilemma of how to balance freedom of speech with curtailing hate-incitement. Simply make a "restricted" section in the local library, with large placards clearly warning that this is the Hate Section.
Anything hateful could be freely available in such a section: Zakir Naik, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Al-Faisal, Bilal Philips, Adolf Hitler, the Marquis de Sade. Anyone would be allowed to read or write anything. But the public would know that the city council did not approve such literature, and that it was being stored as an example of what not to take seriously.
Supporters of hate speech of this sort are very quick to institute legal proceedings or other ways of stopping hate speece when their own sad a**es are the targets, I've noticed!!
Aardvark, what a great idea. I shall do the same but in book shops as well as in libraries as there is wide use of both in the UK. I have gone one step further and moved the book of hate to the back of the shelf behind Christian books. On a piece of paper I will add more websites with an additional note adding the words - 'learn the truth about islam.' Let's hope readers on JW can expand on this.
Aardvark, I'm in.
Think I'll restrict it to a few select areas.
1) The most popular novelists.
2) The primary genre of the senior citizens (they certainly don't like islam in Australia) which I'll have to find out.
3) Travel guides on the latrinal countries of conservative islam.
4) The most popular biographies.
Am a member of 10 libraries and there are plenty more within a 20 minute drive of home or office.
Love the idea.
Maybe leave note with www.memritv.org on it and message 'discover the true islam'.
Will also do a computer search on the disgusting mullah druids to see if their books are available.
Might even complain to local council and write to mass-circulation newspaper if any found.