Britain is finished; it is a nation of the walking dead, unless it affects a drastic change in its leadership and prevailing political culture, and soon. (Of course, the same could be said of the U.S.) Here Jack Straw, of all people, asserts that there is a British culture that Muslims must accept, and dares to criticize the imposition of Sharia into British public schools that were the focus of the now-notorious Muslim “Trojan Horse” plot. Straw even ventures to say, no doubt with trembling, timid voice, that some of those values were “Christian based.” But when David Cameron says that Britain is a “Christian country,” non-Muslims (not Muslims) complain; those non-Muslims will make sure that nothing effective is ever done to stop the assertion of Sharia in British schools and elsewhere.
“Muslim schools ‘must respect British values’ says Jack Straw as Birmingham MP admits there is a ‘Trojan Horse’ plot by extremists,” by Laura Clark and Chris Pleasance, Daily Mail, April 21:
Schools with large numbers of Muslim pupils must respect British values, former home secretary Jack Straw said yesterday.
He spoke as a Muslim MP said a radical ‘Trojan Horse’ plot to take over state schools was operating in Birmingham.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, claimed a ‘small group of individuals’ was trying to change the ethos of schools by stealth.
It was also claimed that roving ‘morality squads’ have been instituted at the affected schools, and would censor talk of non-Muslim festivals and smash pupils’ Easter eggs.
Mr Straw said more and more schools were mostly or entirely comprised of Muslim pupils, adding: ‘We have to accept and the schools with a majority of Muslim parents have to accept – as they do if they are Hindu, Sikh, Jewish or Christian – that we also live within the United Kingdom.
‘Alongside values which are religiously based, there has to understanding that this is the UK and there is a set of values – some of which I would say are Christian based – which permeate our sense of citizenship.’…
Talha Ahmad, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: ‘[Mr Straw] talks about accepting that Britain has a set of values. I don’t know of any decent Muslim who would disagree with that.’
Maybe not, but plenty of non-Muslims do:
“Cameron accused of fuelling division with Christian talk,” Reuters, April 21:
LONDON (Reuters) – A group of scientists, academics and prominent writers accused Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday of stoking sectarian divisions through his repeated description of Britain as a “Christian country”.
The public figures, including authors Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett, said they respected the Conservative leader’s own religious beliefs, which he has addressed in a series of statements.
But they took issue with his characterisation of Britain saying, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the country was actually a “plural society” of largely “non-religious” people.
“To constantly claim otherwise fosters alienation and division in our society,” said the 55 members of the group that also included Nobel prize winning scientist John Sulston.
“It needlessly fuels enervating sectarian debates that are by and large absent from the lives of most British people, who do not want religions or religious identities to be actively prioritised by their elected government,” the letter added.
The 2011 census showed Christianity was the largest religion in England and Wales but the number of people who described themselves as Christian had fallen from almost 72 percent in 2001 to just over 59 percent, or 33.2 million people.
About 14 million people said they had no religion.
Cameron told an Easter reception this month he was “proud to be a Christian myself and to have my children at a church school”.
In an article in the Church Times last week, he described himself as “a member of the Church of England, and, I suspect, a rather classic one: not that regular in attendance, and a bit vague on some of the more difficult parts of the faith”.
Britain, he added, should be more confident about its status as a Christian country and more evangelical.
Cameron’s comments follow a period of tension between the Church of England and the Conservative party, the major partner in Britain’s coalition government that faces a parliamentary election next year.
Church leaders have joined forces to criticise welfare reforms and the rising use of free food banks across Britain.
Cameron also angered some Christians – and caused deep splits in the Conservative party – as he drove new legislation through parliament to allow same-sex marriages in Britain.
A spokeswoman for Cameron said the prime minister’s view that Britain should not be afraid to call itself a Christian country did not mean he felt it was wrong to have another faith, or no faith.
“He has said on many occasions that he is incredibly proud that Britain is home to many different faith communities, who do so much to make the UK a stronger country,” she said.