.... These abhorrent acts should not be watered down because a political group has decided to advance an inadequate term to describe anti-Muslim hate. The issue is compounded by the “what is art”-type analysis, leaving one to imagine what is “Muslimness” and who has it?
Can I buy it at the corner shop, or is it planted when the Shahada is whispered into a Muslim child’s ear at birth? Where do converts get their Muslimness from? Does it come in a convert welcome pack from the Saudi-funded mosque that allows women to enter only through the separate entrance at the back and down the stairs? Does it count towards your Tesco Clubcard points? The possibilities are endless. The reality is Muslims oscillate between multiple identities, like millions of ordinary British people.
Identity politics demean us all, but does most damage to those minorities who end up being viewed as caricatures. Instead of trying to return blasphemy culture to Britain, the ultra-Islamists could spend time practising Ijtihad, an Islamic legal and philosophical state encouraging independent reasoning. [The Times (£)] Read more
