We have heard it a thousand times over from the Conservative top brass (the leaders of our country) - whenever an Islamic inspired terrorist event occurs, their first thought is not for the people of this country, instead their first thought is to protect Islam from criticism.
It was so obvious, and such an obviously inappropriate response, I thought there must be more too it, so did a bit of digging.
David Cameron has spouted many lines about the superiority of Islam to the British way of life - most well known his statement:-
I found myself thinking that it is mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life, not the other way around
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2007/05/cameron_we_must.html
(Remembering, of course, that
Asian is the modern progressive way to refer to Muslims without mentioning religion).
While both David Cameron and Theresa May are very insistent on what is and is not Islamic (despite no formal training or study that they have declared), the impression that I had built up was that Theresa May was even more defensive of Islam that David Cameron - an impression from various speeches, statements etc she has made as reported in the main stream media - nothing private, no inside information, no leaks.
So I decided to look into Theresa May's background a little, wondering if there would be any clue as to how Islam could have made such a remarkable and enduring impression on her.
The first thing I noticed is that she is very austere, very po faced, very private and there is not much information in the public domain about her - quite remarkable for such a powerful figure.
However there was a reference to Theresa May first meeting her husband (to be), and it transpired that they were introduced at university by a friend - none other than Benazir Bhutto who went on to be the first female leader of a muslim state - being elected on two different occasions to the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan and being assassinated in 2007 when expected to win the post on a third occasion having just returned from exile.
At the time of her assassination (December 2007) which was after the 9/11 (September 2001) attack on the 'Twin Towers', but before Osama bin Laden the 'master mind' and leader of al-Qaeda had been found and killed in Pakistan (May 2011) where he is believed to have been living possibly since 2004, Benazir Bhutto was completing a book entitled 'Reconciliation: Democracy, Islam Democracy and the West.
In her book, Benazir Bhutto makes clear her view of Islam - a view given to her by her father - and while it is presented by, and in the language of a twice elected Prime Minister of a complex country, underneath it is a rather naive, child like view - were she a Christian you could imagine she would be thinking of God being an old man with a beard sitting on a cloud.
Benazir clearly put her country, its people, their culture and democracy first - but then tried to weave a narrative for Islam (to which she was committed) that would make it fit - it is this narrative that seems to be the same one promulgated by Theresa May and then by David Cameron.
One can understand that Theresa May could well see Benazir Bhutto as a model for her own career - and to have a friend murdered in such circumstances, and then for her book to be posthumously published - this could well be the pivotal moment that I had guessed had to exist. And all just a couple of years before the Conservative party is elected to government, and although in government in a coalition, it was a coalition with a party who were themselves very anti-English, anti-British and in favour of diluting British culture with alien cultures, continuing the work done by the previous Labour administration over more than a decade under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to make the UK a 'rainbow nation' of 'multi-culturalism'.
Unfortunately Benazir Bhutto's attempts to spin Islam into a coherent model with Democracy and the West, as being peaceful and opposing the work of the jihads terrorists is laughable.
In the second chapter where she starts her apologetic for Islam, of the many failings, one of the most startling was her quoting part of the Koran calling for the subjugation of non-Muslims and then explaining:-
Although this verse may appear superficially problematical, a close reading shows that it does not advocate violence against people of the Book, only those who reject God and his teachings outright.
So even this most moderate of Muslims, seeking to reconcile Islam and the West, says that the Koran does call for violence against atheists - but Christians may be OK.
She also states that Jihad is not one of the Five Pillars of Islam - before qualifying that with a reference to Khariji theory - where (presumably) it is. Further on Jihad she states "If the duty is fulfilled by a part of the community it ceases to be obligatory on the others." - personally I do not find it reassuring that Muslims may only be restraining themselves from Jihad because someone else is doing it for them elsewhere...
Also (still only in the second chapter), she states that the Koran is against terrorism and the killing 'innocents' - but as the terrorists of ISIS claim they are at war, and non-Muslims are not 'innocent' they would seem to agree with her, but believe they are working within that 'rule'.
Regarding 'proof' that Mohammed values life she cites an edict that a Muslim may deny their faith verbally to save their life, as long as they keep the fail 'in their heart'. Again I am not reassured, as this suggests it would be Ok to kill someone if they didn't keep the faith in their heart(!).
There are many examples of this, arguments that may work in the mind of a girl who adores her father and his memory and dare not contradict his teachings, but not arguments that anyone would be foolish enough to present in a genuine Western Democracy - as they would crumble before they had cleared the speakers lips.
Unfortunately these are the arguments that have entered Theresa Mays head, and have been spread among the Conservative Party hierarchy.
This half baked misunderstanding of what was being presented and why may also explain the amazing rise of Sayeeda (Baroness) Warsi - presumably seen as a 'young Benazir' by the Conservative high-command, followed by her rapid fall when it was found there was nothing to her - but this would have been true even had she been a young Benazir, as the logic supporting Islam in the West with Democracy was always flawed.
