Calling the Beast by its Name
Reader David links to this post at Melanie Philips’ place, in the comment section of yesterday’s “Open Thread.” Melanie’s post is a great, fascinating read: she starts off by quoting Tory leader David Cameron who said that “the term ‘Islamic’ or ‘Islamist’ terrorism is a form of ‘racism or soft bigotry’ and that those who employ such terms
help do the terrorist ideologues’ work for them, confirming to many impressionable young Muslim men that to be a ‘good Muslim’, you have to support their evil campaign.”
Melania remarks, “I wonder therefore whether Cameron would denounce the British Muslim Ed Husain for ‘soft bigotry’ over his book ‘The Islamist’?” She goes on to describe the path Husain took from spiritual, peaceful Islam to political Islam, or Islamism, how Islamists, according to Husain, influence young Muslims, how they use the media to further their agenda, etc. etc.
I thought her summary of “The Islamist” was more interesting than her criticisms of Cameron. After all Ed Husain is still a practising Muslim and probably would not wish to regard his early extremist activities as “Islamic terrorism”. Husain was not really involved in actual terrorism, but was involved with supposedly Islamic political activism, including membership of groups supporting the reestablishment of the Caliphate as a panacea for all modern problems.
David, agreed: I only used it as an intro to her post.