.... we need to challenge and confront perverse ideologies. That means working in partnership with Muslim organisations and communities, not employing a rhetoric of collective blame that does nothing but play into the hands of extremism. And yes, there are a number of factors driving radicalisation, but we should examine all of them, including factors within our control, such as (but not exclusively) western foreign policy and support for dictatorships complicit in the rise of jihadi terrorism. I fear, though, that currently, we are doing exactly what our opponents will us to do. [Owen Jones, 941 comments]
[TOP RATED COMMENT 254 votes] Rubbish. Utter Rubbish.
People are responsible for their our actions, and if you choose to follow a murderous religious path then that is your choice, not becuase a nasty white politican made you do it.
[2ND 202] ".... there are a number of factors driving radicalisation, but we should examine all of them"
Says Owen Jones, having just accused the Prime Minister of helping ISIS by making the perfectly sensible observation that “Too often we hear the argument that radicalisation is the fault of someone else". Presumably then we are allowed to examine all causes except the role of British Muslims.
Cameron is right, ignoring the role of the individuals who make the choice to join ISIS and the role of others who may have influenced them right here is burying your head in the sand.
[3RD 166] Owen Jones, blaming David Cameron for the Daily Mail. Beyond parody.
[4TH 146] Owen, this has deeper roots. These young people who have gone to join Isis – what are the chances their parents were burning copies of The Satanic Verses in West Yorkshire towns 25 years ago?
[5TH 142] The one that made my jaw drop in utter disbelief was a brief snippet on the news last night where the estranged husband in Pakistan denounced his ex-wife for her actions. Not for taking his poor innocent children into a war zone but for not asking his permission first!?
[6TH 138] So we are supposed to sit there Owen and watch as communities give tacit support to Isis extremists? I have lived in Yorkshire and Bradford and let me tell you they are scary places to live in. Islamic extremism is alive and kicking in parts of this country
[7TH 125] "On which other community is it possible to inflict such dangerous, sweeping generalisations? The assertion being made here – explicitly, not even implicitly as is the norm – is that British Muslims as a whole are helping mass-murdering zealots inflicting carnage across Iraq, Syria and Libya."
So tiresome. Look at the bits I've bolded.
A 'generalization', by definition, does not refer to anything 'as a whole'. Aside from that, clearly the DM did not intend to say that Muslims, as a whole, are helping jihadists, and anyone who interprets it that way may have literacy issues. Or, perhaps more likely, they're looking for an excuse to take umbrage. If I said "the Japanese are making some excellent whiskeys these days", clearly I would not be referring to the Japanese "as a whole", yet this is a perfectly valid, unambiguous sentence.
[8TH 112] "I fear, though, that currently, we are doing exactly what our opponents will us to do."
Well you certainly are, Owen. If someone buggers off to Syria having seen what IS does to women, minorities, aid workers, gays, Shias, Christians etc - that person is a scumbag. And the sooner that's acknowledged the better.
I agreed with a bit of one of your posts earlier this week. Not this one.
[9TH 99] A straw man argument, an over-reaction to a Daily Mail headline of a Cameron speech. Nobody has said all Muslims are helping Jihadis, just that there are some Muslims with sympathies to ISIS. We all need to confront this, not dance around it.
[10TH 98] Lady Warsi believes that the reason young Muslims go and join ISIS is because they are ignored and not "properly engaged" with by the wider community. I know I laughed to, no irony of course. [The Guardian] Read more
