“Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane today made a fresh apology for remarks he planned to make about British Muslims but was later forced to tone down.” So says The Scotsman.
“In an article for his local paper the Sheffield Star, the Rotherham MP said he ‘could have chosen some of his words more carefully’.
“Mr MacShane was forced to tone down a speech in his constituency last month in which he had been planning to urge British Muslims to choose between the ‘British way’ of democratic dialogue and the way of Islamic terrorism.
“The speech, which was distributed by his office in advance, sparked outrage and Mr MacShane amended the offending passage before delivering it, adding remarks to welcome the condemnation of terrorism by British Muslim leaders.
“Today he told the paper: ‘In that report, I acknowledged that the Muslim community and their local and national representatives were as appalled as any other at the terrible terrorists atrocity in Istanbul 10 days ago.
“‘However, I accept that I could have chosen some of my words more carefully, and I apologise to anyone who felt that I suggested that British Muslims sympathise with such terrorist actions. That was certainly not my intent.”
Mr. MacShane, this is pure dhimmitude. I’m sure that there are large numbers of British Muslims who condemn all terrorism. But there is also Omar Bakri, whose Al-Muhajiroun organization issued a press release recently proclaiming: “Far from Iraqis being ‘happy with their liberation’ as Bush and Blair like to sell to the world, a truer reflection of Iraqi (and Muslim) feelings was recently expressed by an Iraqi following 2 US soldiers having their throats cut and being dragged from their car in Mosul: ‘This feast (i.e. Eid Al-Fitr signifying the end of Ramadan) we feast on the blood of Americans!'”
Was MacShane wrong to call on all British Muslims to repudiate Bakri and everything he stands for? Certainly not.