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Crazy Crazy Fundies
Topic Started: Feb 7 2007, 03:54 PM (179 Views)
The Eternal Kawaii
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Allech-Atreus,Feb 7 2007
09:32 PM
In context, the teachings fit with Salafist views about Jews and Christians. I suspect that some of this is just ass-covering, on their part, regardless of context. Hell, Jews and Christians were formerly protected citizens in the ancient Muslim world- being people of the book, they were at least allowed to keep their religions and practice.

This is, of course, the problem here--not necessarily that it's an Islamic school, but one that takes its pay from the Saudis. If I wanted to malign Islam in Britain, I'd be hard-pressed to find a better way than to set up a school run by a bunch of pig-ignorant Wahhabis.
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Ecopoeia
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Grumpy Old Men
Shining example of why religious schools should be consigned to the dustbin rather than held up as the way to go by Blair and co. Wankers.

I think some perspective is needed regarding the 'culture war'. There's a lot of unease across the UK but conflict is almost always restricted to poor areas where, as Bahgum and Clare stated earlier, communities have been thrown together and tensions have festered.

My family live in lower-middle class Kent, which is traditionally very white and very conservative. They hold views that make me extremely uneasy but are essentially harmless. Muslims are distrusted, immigrants are distrusted, Scots are distrusted. But part of this is because they never encounter Muslims, immigrants or Scots! So their views are built on ignorance but, at the same time, the lack of contact means there's no conflict either.

Britain seems to be at some kind of crossroads with regards to race/religion relations. Multiculturalism is now being questioned from almost all sides but there's not a great amount of support for taking the French route and going completely secular (hardly a surprise given how spectacularly that approach has failed). Sadly, no one in the political mainstream has the courage to properly argue against those who seek punitive measures (such as drastically cutting immigration and clamping down on Muslim activities) and highlight the benefits our diverse society has brought us. We have a lot to learn from the US in this respect.

Then again, I acknowledge that there's no ready solution at hand - when is there ever in politics? I'd like to see less segregation of communities, that's for sure. Actually, I'd like less 'communities' based on race or religion and more based on local identity, perhaps.

OK, rambling too much and need to get back to work. In short: yes, there's a problem, but it's no war. Not yet, anyway; I suspect there are many across the spectrum spoiling for a fight.
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Ecopoeia,Feb 8 2007
07:38 AM
My family live in lower-middle class Kent, which is traditionally very white and very conservative. They hold views that make me extremely uneasy but are essentially harmless. Muslims are distrusted, immigrants are distrusted, Scots are distrusted. But part of this is because they never encounter Muslims, immigrants or Scots! So their views are built on ignorance but, at the same time, the lack of contact means there's no conflict either.

You see - when I think "Culture War", THIS is the sort of thing I'm looking at. An environment built upon ignorance that becomes the dictator of policy, not an environment where opposing sides clash. It is these environments that fester such events such as the French secularism and the Danish cartoons.
No, seriously
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Ecopoeia
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But people like my family don't dictate policy. Not at the moment, anyway. They - rightly or wrongly - just get ignored.
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TBlack
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The largest number of complaints about (not to) the racial equality board is from Cornwall and Devon.

Part of the problem though - and no offense to anyone here intended in anyway - but our ruling classes, such as they are, come, more often than not, from these types of communities. Southern, middle class, mainly white. Clearly people with that sort of background can be inclusive and tolerant but there is clearly a benefit, like the one my friend Mel experienced, from being a part of a multicultural environment.

The higher ups (and even the lowers down [that's you Jim Dobin MP]) don't seem to need much help isolating themselves from the population.
"You would think it obvious to anyone, with a grain of intelligence, that there are far too many people born in England."
.:I'm melting!: http://alwaysautumn.etsy.com :.
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Allech-Atreus
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I tend to think that the backlash against immigration and multiculturalism is the result of multicultrualism itself. I'm a huge supporter of diversity, and so are most other people, but when the mean and nasty cultures (Wahhabism, radical Baptists, Tamil Tigers) start showing up, people clamp down. It's the radicalism that people are afraid of.

We've had huge discussions about race and diversity on my campus since the last election. The State of Michigan approved through referendum legislation that outlawed racially-based preference in collegiate admissions- something that has been a huge bone of contention for years. Radicals on both sides of the spectrum were making the whole issue an extremelely tiring affair, so much so that some classes were disrupted. The problem was that people got to thinking that the initiative was going to force all black, hispanic, and asian people back into the ghetto, or the opposite would happen and all the white people would be forced to pick cotton.

Still trying to work it out.

In any case, I try to be wary about the radicals, because I see them as the major problem. I watch out for the crazies- the nice muslim girl that wears a headscarf and sits next to me in class isn't something I'm worried about- it's the nutjob guy in the chest-length beard who sets up his booth outside the hall and talks about the Jews that gets me a little agitated.
Also known as Snefaldia and Palaam
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