by
Les May
Asia Bibi - Sentenced to Death for Drinking Water
NEXT
Tuesday the Home Affairs Select Committee is to take evidence on the
prevalence and growth of
far-right extremism in the UK. This
seems like a monumental piece of humbug considering that the Foreign
Office seems to be willing to placate a murderous far-right
group in Pakistan by urging that the British Government refuses
asylum to Asia Bibi who they wish to hang.
The
Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Simon McDonald told the
Foreign
Affairs
Select
Committee
that he did not wish to give evidence in public and
was allowed to give it in private after the committee went into
closed session.
So
decisions are being made in our name that we know nothing about. The
chairman of the committee, Tom Tugendhat, has himself backed the Bibi
family.
I
strongly believe that Asia Bibi ought to have been offered asylum in
this country and as a lifetime Labour voter I am dismayed that I find
myself at odds with the Labour party which
seems
to have been silent on this matter. If
the reason that Labour has held back is out of fear that it will
alienate
Muslim voters in this country then it shames our pretence of being a
liberal democracy. Frankly
I would rather not have a Labour government if it is unwilling to act
with common human decency out of a desire to gain political
advantage.
If
Labour has a position on this matter I have yet to hear it.
Individual
MPs have made their position clear. Thirty four of them have signed
an early day motion which reads:
‘That
this House condemns the threats made to Asia Bibi and her family's
lives following her acquittal by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a
blasphemy trial; recognises that Britain's commitment to freedom of
religious expression, for those of all faiths and none, is one of our
most important values; notes that it is essential that there is
strong international pressure to ensure the Pakistani Government
allows Asia Bibi to leave for a place of safety; and calls on the
Government to immediately extend an offer of unconditional asylum to
her and her family.’
The
silence of so
many
Muslims in Britain is counterproductive. Far from being reassuring it
promotes Islamophobia because it suggests that we do
have something to fear from Islam, unless we are careful in what we
say. Certainly
I do not intend to be lectured by anyone on the evils of Islamophobia
if they have not shown their willingness to support the
right to life of Asia
Bibi, a
woman
who
is described by The
Spectator
as ‘among
the most wronged people on the planet’.
This
silence is not universal. A number of prominent Muslims have put
there names to a letter sent to the Home Secretary.
The
letter reads:
Britain’s commitment to freedom of religious expression is one of our most important values. This is especially valued by minority faiths in our society. Its foundation is respect for the beliefs of others, of all faiths and none. This country has a long tradition of offering protection, stretching back to the Huguenots. We should seek to act in this case too.
It is essential that there is strong international pressure to ensure the Pakistani government allows Ms Bibi to leave for a place of safety if she wishes to do so. We call on you to make a clear and proactive statement, that Britain would welcome a request for sanctuary here. Many other governments may wish to make a similar offer: we wish to see our government step up and show leadership.
We are confident that action to ensure Asia Bibi and her family are safe would be very widely welcomed by most people in Britain, across every faith in our society. If there are intolerant fringe voices who would object, they must be robustly challenged, not indulged.
The real threat to good community relationships in Britain would arise from a failure to stand for and act upon the values we should all share.’
The last two sentences of this letter are a blueprint for how to tackle the far right in this country in whatever guise it presents itself.
Another Muslim voice raised in defence of Asia Bibi is Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. I rarely find myself in agreement with what she writes but in this case I admire her willingness to tell it as it is:
‘These are Christians for God’s sake. Two and a half million of them live in Pakistan – poor, despised, disenfranchised, vulnerable and violently attacked. Churches have been bombed, and hundreds have been killed. Vocal egalatarians seemingly never get agitated when non-Muslims are victimised by the followers of Allah. Tribal loyalties drive their activism. The rest can go hang.’
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/asia-bibi-asylum-case-blasphemy-pakistan-sajid-javid/
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4 comments:
I totally agree with Les May. He is right to point out that though some British MPs have demanded support and asylum for Asia Bibi, the Foreign Office have used their influence to deny her asylum. Liberal feminists also seem to have been conspicuous in their silence as regards the plight of this unfortunate Pakistani Christian woman who is facing the lynch mob in Pakistan.
As a Labour voter, Les May says - "If Labour has a position on this matter I have yet to hear it." He thinks that Labour shrink from supporting Asia Bibi because they fear alienating the Muslim vote. If this is the case, then a plague on their house!
But perhaps, Labour do have a position. I recently sent a copy of an article in the Huff Post regarding Asia Bibi to Sheila Sheppard, the secretary of the Stalybridge Constituency Labour Party. A member of Momentum, Ms Sheppard callously replied as follows:
Sheila Sheppard
Wed 14/11/2018, 17:49
Dear Derek
Thanks you for your email.
As neither you nor Bob Pounder seem to be a member of this CLP, I'm at a loss as to why you are emailing me.
The subject matter is not something this CLP nor I can directly affect.
I'd be grateful if you will kindly remove me from your mailing list.
Thank you.
Kind regards
Secretary
Not much sympathy here, I'm afraid. It seems the lefty Ms Sheppard couldn't care less!
We should applaud NV’s courageous support for Asia Bibi, even though Les May’s truckling tone and his doffed hat spoil his argument. I suppose caution is understandable. If the PC Brigade and the Thought Police don’t get you, the Jihads will. The Gaggers muffle our voices while the Muslims persecute and kill Christians all over the world.
Les May says that Asia Bibi’s persecutors are a “far-right group”. He means that her case is an isolated incident or an aberration which has been caused by a small, insignificant minority. He knows that is not true.
His rationale is exemplary government “brainwashing detergent” and he risks being mistaken for a “laundryman”. When they appear and utter their reassuring statements, we are supposed to back-off and mumble: “Oh, that’s all right then. I love Big Brother.”
It’s not all right. Let’s tell the plain and simple truth for once. 99% of all Muslims believe that none-Muslims are “unclean” and that they ought to be slaughtered like swine.
Asia Bibi was persecuted by her neighbours. Then she was persecuted by the Pakistani authorities, who were elected by the Pakistani people. They might be a “far-right group” but they are also the vast, vast, vast majority of Pakistani people: 200 million of them.
Muslim atrocities are unrelenting and in-our-faces but the authorities try to cover it up. Do you remember the Social Workers who continually reported Pakistani grooming gangs? They were sent on diversity awareness courses for re-education.
The "laundrymen" constantly tell us that we are living in a big, happy, multicultural world, and that we will like it. All together now: “Black good. White bad. Immigrant good. Native bad. Muslim good. Christian bad. Common good. Individual bad. Classical good. Romantic bad. etc”
When I read the anonymous comment by ‘Green Swiper’, I was inclined to think that it had been deliberately planted in an effort to undermine my support for Asia Bibi by associating it with views that are anti-muslim per se and so allow those on the Left who are inclined to engage their mouth before their brain to dismiss what I have written in support of this lady as ‘Islamophobia’.
Les May can heave a sigh of relief. After reading his posts, nobody will think that he is "anti-muslim". Those types don't balance themselves on the fence: they take a side. Nobody would dismiss what he has written as Islamophobia? He clearly accuses "far-right groups".
Am I allowed to say that I do not trust or believe any "British" Muslims who claim to support Asia Bibi? They probably have an ulterior motive. That's my stance, and that's the difference between Les and me. What's the penalty for "Thought Crimes" these days?
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