They are Muslims, of course, and they use core Islamic texts and teachings to justify their actions, but never mind that. We wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Let’s just pretend that isn’t happening, and maybe it will go away. The “war on terror” is over too. We’re just dealing with a few bad apples, that’s all. Nothing to be concerned about.
Gordon Brown’s tenure as British Prime Minister is certainly off to an auspicious beginning. His people will remember him in the same breath with…no, not that Churchill fellow with his awful cigars. But certainly with Churchill’s illustrious predecessor, who brought Peace In Our Time.
By Macer Hall for the Daily Express (thanks to Twostellas):
Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in Âconnection with the Âterrorism crisis.
The Prime Minister has also instructed his team — including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith — that the phrase “war on Âterror” is to be dropped.
The shake-up is part of a fresh attempt to improve community relations and avoid offending Muslims, adopting a more “consensual” tone than existed under Tony Blair….
Mr Brown’s spokesman acknowledged yesterday that ministers had been given specific guidelines to avoid inflammatory language.
“There is clearly a need to strike a consensual tone in relation to all communities across the UK,” the spokesman said. “It is important that the country remains united.”
He confirmed that the phrase “war on terror” — strongly associated with Mr Blair and US President George Bush — has been dropped.
Officials insist that no direct links with Muslim extremists have been publicly confirmed by police investigating the latest attempted terror attacks. Mr Brown himself did not refer to Muslims or Islam once in a BBC TV interview on Sunday.
Ms Smith also avoided any such reference in her statement to MPs yesterday.She said: “Let us be clear — terrorists are criminals, whose victims come from all walks of life, communities and religions. Terrorists attack the values shared by all law-abiding citizens. As a Government, as communities, as individuals, we need to ensure that the message of the terrorists is rejected.”
Tory backbencher Philip Davies said: “I don’t know what purpose is served by this. I don’t think we need pussyfoot around when talking about Âterrorism.”
But former Tory homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said: “This is quite a smart idea. We know that the vast majority of Muslims are not involved in terrorism and we have to accept there are sensitivities about these matters.”
All right, Mercer. The vast majority aren’t involved in terrorism. Nevertheless, the terrorists recruit and motivate by making use of Islamic concepts. If we cannot talk about this, how will we ever formulate a strategy to deal with it effectively?