May 6, 2015

Jews and Muslims In England




[From article]
At the heart of this complicity between Jewish leaders and Islamist networks, lie the flagship organizations of the Jewish and Muslim communities: the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Muslim Council of Britain.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is Britain’s most prominent Islamic organization. It was established in 1997, by activists aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami, the Brotherhood’s South Asian cousin.
[. . .]
Hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money -- a great deal of which came out of counter-extremism funds -- was distributed between the MCB and its affiliates.
During this period, MCB officials regularly spoke alongside extremist preachers, periodically boycotted Holocaust Memorial Day, and expressed support for the terrorist group Hamas.
[. . .]
At the time, those who criticized the MCB were often dismissed as bigoted or paranoid. They were told to look up to the example set by the Jewish community through its interfaith work. After all, if the Jews say it’s kosher, what’s the problem?
Then, in 2009, the British government suddenly severed relations with the MCB, after The Observer revealed MCB officials and affiliates were among signatories to the Istanbul Declaration, a document that advocated attacks on British soldiers and Jewish communities.
[. . .]
Britain’s Jewish leadership, however, has never experienced any such enlightenment. Senior Jewish officials continue to regard the MCB as suitable partners for interfaith dialogue and counter-extremism efforts.
[. . .]
The Islamic Foundation's current chairman, Khurshid Ahmad, has described Taliban rule in Afghanistan as “refulgent and splendid” and has warned of the “implication of Europe's being in the clasp of Jews.”
Despite these activities, the Islamic Foundation is a leading member body of Vivian Wineman’s Inter Faith Network.
[. . .]
For decades, Islamist organizations in Britain have used fashionable interfaith dialogue to put a friendly face on a sinister ideology. By participating in government-supported interfaith programs, Islamist networks are able to advertise themselves as “moderates,” obtain public funding and acquire political backing.
[. . .]
Ultimately, the Jewish leadership thinks it safer for their own reputations to play make-believe with the organized Islamists than risk working with the powerless moderates.
[. . .]
Until Britain’s Jewish leadership rejects Islamist control over Britain’s Muslim community, and treats those British Muslims prepared to speak out against Islamism with the support they deserve, the future of British Jewry looks perilous indeed.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/04/british_jewrys_islamist_problem.html

April 24, 2015
British Jewry's Islamist Problem
By Samuel Westrop

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