Re: [Osx-nutters] President Bush Vows Attacks “Across the World”

[Matt Johnston]

On 6 Oct 2006, at 14:21, Chris Gehlker wrote:

>
> On Oct 5, 2006, at 11:57 PM, Matt Johnston wrote:
>
>> We had a very good relationship with our Muslim brothers.
>
> Really Matt? That's emphatically not the view we get from the media  
> over here. They portray a situation of deep alienation. Fareed  
> Zakaria,  for example, basically says that it sucks to be Muslim in  
> England. It is also not consistent with the  views of the only two  
> muslims that I know who have ever been to England.
>
> You mentioned the "UK" but I'm really only addressing England.

It sucks to be a Muslim in the UK. It also sucks to be Catholic,  
Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist...

Recent developments (5 years of the current conflict) have made it  
worse mainly because we now have lots of militants who are drumming  
up trouble on both sides of the argument. While we have militant  
Muslims they are certainly in the minority and more worrying I find  
is the resurgence of the BNP and similar "fascist right" political  
parties.

I have some Muslim friends of differing degrees of piety. All are  
university educated which may be a factor but even the most pious  
managed to stop airing his father's antiquated views on the roles of  
women. They accept where they are and they're prospering.

The situation is certainly worse then it was 6 years ago but that's  
to be expected.

To my mind they should do half a dozen remakes of American History X  
with the "protagonist" being a member of a Muslim extremist group, a  
Irish Republican cell, a right wing Born Again Christian.....

M