Why Does Britain Have an Islamist Problem While America Doesn't? Answer: The Welfare State
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – ED WEST: London was the global headquarters of Islamic terrorism in the years before and after 9/11. This fact wasn’t exactly a closely guarded secret, but the WikiLeaks Guantánamo Bay files shed interesting new light on the American perspective. (I especially like the detail that the US government suspected the BBC of being a “possible propaganda media network” for al-Qaeda after a BBC phone number was found on a terrorist. What do they mean “possible”? Have they not listened to Radio 4?)

London became the world terrorist hub partly because the country had a long tradition of shielding dissenters of all stripes; because it had a very unintrusive state compared to its European neighbours (no ID cards); and because of Britain’s historic links with many Arab countries. But there was another reason, and this is central to the reason why Europe has an Islamist problem and the United States doesn’t – the welfare state. Welfare is intimately linked to the failure of western European countries to integrate their Muslim populations, and explains why Britain has such a problem with Islamism.

Look at the two figures named by US intelligence as responsible for recruiting dozens of terrorists, Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza. Qatada, a Jordanian preacher and advisor to shoe bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, the 9/11 plotter, was expelled from Kuwait for supporting the Iraqi invasion, then claimed asylum in Britain on the grounds of religious persecution. We granted it, naturally. Come in! Read on and comment » | Ed West | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ed West: Geert Wilders Is Not 'Far Right'
THE TELEGRAPH: Like my colleague Douglas Murray, who has already written an excellent post on the show trial of the century, I’ve been surprised by the lack of British media interest in Geert Wilders’s martyrdom in Amsterdam. An American minor celebrity only has to fart to receive blanket coverage in the British press, but when a major politician next door faces jail on trumped-up charges – in a case that will have implications for our freedom of speech – there seems to be little interest.

For those who haven’t visited these parts, Wilders is a Dutch politician on trial for “insulting” Islam by comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf, and for saying that Moroccans commit many street robberies in the Netherlands. Yes, put on trial – not fisked or twitter-lynched or condemned by the Equality Gestapo, but actually brought to court. Wilders calls it “surreal”, and it certainly seems strange that in a city where a gentleman can smoke Morocco’s most famous export and view half-naked women in shop windows, he can go to jail for criticising a religion. >>> Ed West | Saturday, January 30, 2010

Ed West: Homophobia Is a Right, Too
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: As historical analysis goes, I’m not sure it’s quite up there with Carr or Elton. According to Pauline Howe, the “perverted sexual practises” of “sodomites” were responsible for “the downfall of every empire”. I always thought the British Empire fell because of the exhaustion caused by the First World War, or specifically the fall of Singapore in World War 2, or perhaps the rise of Third World nationalism and American pressure. Maybe I was wrong and it was all down to Greek “practises”.

Still, whether or not one agrees with Mrs Howe’s radical revisionist history, or her objecting to the Norwich Gay Pride march (a phrase that personally fills me with crushing ennui, rather than any moral objection), Norfolk Constabulary’s decision to treat is as a “hate incident” is deeply sinister.

This is by no means the first incident of its kind – several people, all Christians (generally Evangelicals) have been questioned by the police over objecting to homosexuality. It is a part of a wider trend of illiberalism across Europe that has taken place in the past decade, starting with Holocaust denial laws and in Britain reaching its nadir (so far) with the Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2006, one of the most illiberal laws concerning religion since the days when men with buckles on their hats ruled the law.

This soft totalitarianism does not come with gulags or death camps, but rather the petty harassment of individuals by the authorities. Its victim include countryside campaigner Robin Page, arrested for saying he wanted the same rights as a “black vegetarian Muslim asylum-seeking one-legged lesbian lorry driver”. Or Codie Stott, a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was arrested because she did not want to sit at a table with three girls who were speaking Urdu. Or the taxpayers of Wales, who forked out the £3,800 that police spent investigating “anti-Welsh” remarks by Anne Robinson.

Mike Judge of the Christian Institute, the group helping Mrs Howe, says: “Whether people agree or disagree with Mrs Howe’s views, everyone who cares about freedom should be alarmed at the police action.” Read on and comment here >>> Ed West | Monday, October 26, 2009

Ed West: Isn't a March for Sharia in London Bad for 'Community Relations'?
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: While the media castigate the “far-Right” Geert Wilders for daring to speak up for fascistic ideas like freedom of speech, gay rights and parliamentary democracy, this event in London seems to cause barely a ripple – the March for Sharia to be held in Trafalgar Square on October 31. As the group Islam4UK says:

Undoubtedly, Islam and the Shari’ah have reached new heights in the United Kingdom, Muslim communities up and down the country have brought forth a culture and system that is not only superior to the British way of life but also a shining example of what true subservience to Almighty God can bring to a society drowning in disbelief and oppression.

Recent months have been particularly debilitating for the British population who have struggled to get by as basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter have become more cumbersome to obtain. The MPs’ expenses scandal that shocked the nation unfortunately also demonstrates the cruel indifference the British government has towards its citizens and moreover how they appear to be more concerned with wasting public money on personal frivolities than investing it for the betterment of society.

As a result of this perpetual malaise, Islam4UK with the help of sincere Muslims launched a series of Islamic Roadshow’s that provided a real answer to the problems faced by the British community; with over 16 different locations already hit including, Birmingham, Slough, Lewisham, Peckham and Green Street, approximately 70 men and women have embraced Islam, reinforcing the dire need for Shari’ah in contemporary Britain.

The event is organised by Anjem Choudary, the Islamist fanatic. It sounds harsh, but unlike Wilders, Choudary really is a menace to our society, which would resemble hell on earth if he had any say in its running. But most of all he’s a menace to British Muslims, not because he’s a crazy voice in the wilderness but because he isn’t – rather he’s part of a large and powerful worldwide movement that threatens much of the world. Finish reading and comment >>> Ed West | Friday, October 16, 2009

Britain's Publishers Are Silenced by Islamist Bullies
TELEGRAPH BLOGS: Last October the London home of Gibson Square publisher Martin Rynja was firebombed because they were planning to publish Sherry Jones's historical novel about the chap the BBC calls simply "the Prophet".

Guess what? The Jewel of Medina will not be published in Britain. The book is now effectively banned in the country of Tom Paine and George Orwell, not by Government order but by religious bullies. Jewel has already come out in seven other countries, including Denmark and Serbia, but Britain is considered too dangerous for anyone who offends Islam.

So even though Somali minicab driver Abbas Taj and two others have been convicted of the crime, they have still won, through intimidation. >>> Ed West | Monday, May 18, 2009