There have been some who have doubted that Tony Blair could have said the things he did about the Koran being a progressive book, one ahead of its time. To put such doubts to rest, I have placed a link to the whole speech made to the Foreign Policy Centre on Tuesday, March 21, 2006.
"... This terrorism will not be defeated until its ideas, the poison that warps the minds of its adherents, are confronted, head-on, in their essence, at their core. By this I don't mean telling them terrorism is wrong.Mark
I mean telling them their attitude to America is absurd; their concept of governance pre-feudal; their positions on women and other faiths, reactionary and regressive; and then since only by Muslims can this be done: standing up for and supporting those within Islam who will tell them all of this but more, namely that the extremist view of Islam is not just theologically backward but completely contrary to the spirit and teaching of the Koran.
"The most remarkable thing about reading the Koran - in so far as it can be truly translated from the original Arabic - is to understand how progressive it is. I speak with great diffidence and humility as a member of another faith. I am not qualified to make any judgements.
But as an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, rather as reformers attempted with the Christian Church centuries later. It is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance.
Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands was breathtaking. Over centuries it founded an Empire, leading the world in discovery, art and culture. The standard bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ..." Read the whole speech here: Tony Blair's speech to the Foreign Policy centre
13 comments:
This is, ultimately, a battle about modernity. Some of it can only be conducted and won within Islam itself. But don't let us in our desire not to speak of what we can only imperfectly understand; or our wish not to trespass on sensitive feelings, end up accepting the premise of the very people fighting us.
The extremism is not the true voice of Islam. Neither is that voice necessarily to be found in those who are from one part only of Islamic thought, however assertively that voice makes itself heard. It is, as ever, to be found in the calm, but too often unheard beliefs of the many Muslims, millions of them the world over, including in Europe, who want what we all want: to be ourselves free and for others to be free also; who regard tolerance as a virtue and respect for the faith of others as part of our own faith.
Incredible and appalling at the same time. What disingenuous turbidity of mind could actually believe this?
Heather:
Incredible and appalling at the same time. What disingenuous turbidity of mind could actually believe this?
How could anyone put it more eloquently?
I'm so glad I could find this transcript for you, since I realized that you doubted yesterday's source.
Quite unbelievable, isn't it?
Prince Charles held forth:
...since only by Muslims can this be done: standing up for and supporting those within Islam who will tell them all of this but more, namely that the extremist view of Islam is not just theologically backward but completely contrary to the spirit and teaching of the Koran.
What??? It's "backward" but not "contrary."
the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, rather as reformers attempted with the Christian Church centuries later. It is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance.
What has he been reading? The Koran is full of supersition, not to mention the rest the prince mentioned.
Is this dhimmi really going to be king of England one day?
Sadly, Always, yes! God help us Brits!
Hey Tony, If what you say is true, why have the Muslims made virtually no progress in more than a thousand years??? Tony, I think you are reading stuff that isn't there!
AOW,
I love your new avatar, especially the slogan.
Wasn't that a stomach-turning (Blair) statement? Is he on some type of mind altering medication?
I still find it hard to believe he really said that. It's the antithesis of the Islam I've heard/seen the last 5 years.
Maybe he has plans to open a shop for the womenfolk--Burqas 'R Us. There's got to be a monetary connection somewhere.
Mark,
If I wanted to send a letter of protest to this buffoon, where would I send it?
Heather:
You can contact 'Tone' to protest here: Contact the Prime Minister
Mark,
Thank you so much for that link. I will send a letter of protest to Mr. Blair.
Mark, Mr Tony Blair and his lovely wife Cherie arrive in New Zealand tomorrow. Shall I offer them your regards?...hmmm, maybe not!! I wonder if Cherie will be wearing an item of the Islamic dress she likes so much...
Heather:
You're welcome! Make a ripsnorter! :-)
Leelion:
Offering them my regards will be quite, quite unnecessary.
Perhaps it is to be hoped that Cherie will be wearing Islamic dress. Were I to be her costume adviser, I should strongly recommend the full burqah! Such a garment would serve the dual purpose of saving the people from having to watch her grimaces, and it would subdue her, too.
Well Mark with comments like that from Blair and similar comments by other European leaders it seems just a matter of time before there is a major popular backlash somewhere in Eurabia that will be very nasty; and the election of a far right government somewhere. It's just a matter of where.
There is aleady talk of vigilantism in parts of Sweden as the police are either unwilling or unable to do anything about muslim crime. It's my belief that something truly terrible will happen in Europe soon that will create a firestorm.
It's interesting how dhimmified the British seem to be now, but once aroused, lookout. History proves that.
Leelion:
Well Mark with comments like that from Blair and similar comments by other European leaders it seems just a matter of time before there is a major popular backlash somewhere in Eurabia that will be very nasty; and the election of a far right government somewhere. It's just a matter of where.
Well, I'm as outraged by those comments as you appear to be.
Europe has a history of extreme right-wing politics. Witness the neo-Nazis in Germany. They're only kept under control by stringent laws. Laws will be of little avail if all hell breaks loose. So all this could, as you say, turn ugly. Very ugly!
The British, with quite a different history, have always risen to the challenge in the end. Witness the Second World War. People used to say that the British are no good until their backs are against the wall. But then, look out! There is a lot of truth in that statement.
I sincerely hope we haven't lost that fighting spirit. If we have, then we're sunk.
There is aleady talk of vigilantism in parts of Sweden as the police are either unwilling or unable to do anything about muslim crime. It's my belief that something truly terrible will happen in Europe soon that will create a firestorm.
Yes, Sweden has great troubles of its own. There could well be a firestorm somewhere in Europe. One started in France some months ago; but they managed to get it under control (for the time being).
Leelion, the future is not looking bright at all. These are troubled times. And it's all been allowed to happen because of too much liberal thinking and the lack of respect for our Judeo-Christian heritage.
Once a people start to lose faith in faith, the very underpinning of their civilization, once people start ignoring that faith, and often ridiculing it, the end is nigh.
Now it's a question of whether we can pull ourselves back from the precipice. If we can, all well and good. If we cannot, then the inevitable will happen.
As I said in my book, secularism will never be strong enough to stand up to the might of Islam. Godlessness is not an option!
The individual can get away with it, perhaps; but a society needs to have something to focus on, something to unite the people, something which gives the people a cause to fight for.
Whittaker Chambers wrote in Witness: "Hisory is cluttered with the wreckage of nations that have become indifferent to God and died."
It is sobering indeed to note that Europe is at the stage of indifference now. One need not engage in too much speculation as to the outcome!
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