Last Monday, amid much fanfare from the prime minister, the British government issued a 40-page document setting out what it likes to describe as its "counter-extremism" strategy. Among many other things, the document cited evidence that unofficial "sharia councils" in Britain are operating in ways that are incompatible with the law – for example by denying equal rights to women who use their services.
"The fight against Islamist extremism is, I believe, one of the great struggles of our generation," prime minister David Cameron wrote in his introduction to the report. "In responding to this poisonous ideology, we face a choice. Do we close our eyes, put our kid gloves on and just hope that our values will somehow endure in the end?"
Five days later we have an answer to Cameron's question, and it appears to be YES – the kid gloves are on, at least where sharia in Britain is concerned. [al-bab.com] Read more
