A shameful lead

Mike B

I see where you are coming from but aren't the Guardian just saying that many Muslims and non-Muslims would feel that violence against British troops is justified, not that they necessarily do too?

Isn't that just a statement of fact not of the Guardian's own belief?

The Guardian do have a bad track record but you may be reading too much into what they have said this time.

James Forsyth

Mike B, The point is the Guardian is objecting to the government regarding this belief as being beyond the pale. I'm not saying they support this position but rather that they don't view it as extreme, which it is.

Ian

It's not surprising, though, is it?

"The world's leading liberal voice" (do a google search for the paper's name) comes out with so much rubbish these days that I'm sure there are similarly idiotic statements on most topics.

And as for their columnists...

RobertD

I am not sure about the sentiments expressed. The language is so tortured that it is not clear what the writer means. The world's leading liberal... and illiterate... voice"

jon

http://europe.wsj.com/home-page

live interview with Gordon Brown at 12.20gmt

Gruntson

The enemy within - not as some might believe, the Talibrummies, the wannabee caliphragilistic-expiallyplocious, all the other jihadists etc; no - the enemy within may be found in the editorials of the Guardian, the news bulletins of the BBC, the limp-wristed slap-downs of the Charity Commission.

Where is Mary Poppins when you might need her? Nanny ... the kids is misbehavin' agin.

Oh, sorry, wrong musical - supercali etc was The Sound of Music, was it not? The Hills are Alive with the sound of al-Mujaharoun...

FG

You appear to have read violence into their use of the word 'resistance', which is not necessarily what they are referring to. The exact meaning, as has been said, is unclear.

John Lea

From the same editorial: 'Improving the lot of British Muslims in terms of jobs and education would be the best way to dissuade potential extremists from defining themselves exclusively in terms of membership of an downtrodden group.'

Does anyone seriously believe that people become suicide bombers because they went to a bog-standard comprehensive school and can't find work?

The 9/11 bombers, not to mention the 7/7 bombers, proved that background, wealth, education and occupation have nothing to do with extremism.

Typical Guardian nonsense.

Fergus Pickering

The Guardian? Rubbish THESE days? This is the paper that refused to cover horse racing because betting was sinful. The pinko-social-workers-green-gazette has always been quite barking. They used to have quite a nifty crossword though.

Bocephus

If the government started negotiations with the BNP, because they represented the views of a significant minority of the white working class, would the Guardian rejoice and congratulate them on such a bold move?

Linda Smith

My son-in-law, born and educated in Iraq, tells me that the Koran instructs every moslem to do jihad and spread Islam by the sword. He says Europe is asking for trouble by allowing Moslem immigration.

Non-muslims who refuse to recognise the threat they are under from Islamic totalitarianism and instead support the enemies of Western Civilization are modern-day Lord Haw Haws. The major difference between Nazi fascism and Islamo fascism is that the present day Lord Haw Haws will have to convert to Islam or perish. Are they prepared to do that?

Austin Barry

Ah, well, it's nice to know that we have our first Sharia-compliant newspaper. Will we see Polly in a burka?

Steve.W

From the Guardian; Editorial:Warm words, dud deeds, we get -

'More important than what ended up in Contest 2 was what was left out. A month ago the Guardian revealed that the government was considering setting arbitrary criteria to define extremists, such as support for sharia law - an approach that would have branded many mainstream Muslims enemies of the people. Thankfully the idea was ditched',

I say it's a mistake it was left out as sharia law is extreme, so to work towards its introduction in the UK is the path of an extremist.

davidc

'Improving the lot of British Muslims in terms of jobs and education ---'

isn't it their resposibility to improve their lot rather than depend on others ?

Mitchell

Amartya Sen's quotation, appended to the end of the Guardian's advertorial for the MCB, "a choiceless singularity of human identity not only diminishes us all, it also makes the world more flammable," is, of course, directly applicable to the Muslim Council of Britain which seeks to confine British Muslims in a strait-jacket of Islamic orthodoxy as inspired by the teachings of Banna, Maududi, and Qutb; it is therefore a mystery why the Guardian leader writers should think it has any relevance to recent actions by Government ministers.

Captain Scarlet

"Will we see Polly in a burka?"

We can but hope.

Adloyada

Incredible? Hardly the word to describe the stance of the Guardian, given their track record of publishing articles by the most radical of Islamists, including Osama Bin Laden, which celebrate suicide bombing and attacks on the west. It is just the latest addition to their current onslaught of anti-Israel demonization, in advance of Durban II, for which your own Melanie Phillips is currently providing some good evidence.

Tiberius

Capt Scarlet: how would you know it was her?

Guy Grand

I assume the "genocidal terrorist organisation" you refer to is Hamas, the democratically elected government. The elections were supported by the UK government until the people gave the 'wrong' result. Given that the UK exports almost limitless arms to appalling regimes 'we' support, would resistence to attempts to stop arms reaching the victims of massively disproportionate use of force and documented war crimes not be reasonable?

Wily Trout

Polly won't be in a burkha, she'll be in Tuscany penning accusations of racism against the women in the UK who are complaining about having to wear burkhas.

C Powell

From "Manchester Guardian" to "Madrassa Guardian"....

David Preiser

James, you should look to the weeds in The Spectator's garden first.

Grunston

"Capt Scarlet: how would you know it was her?"

Probably by looking for the tell-tale nose-peg which she continually advises people to wear before voting Labour.

Roger Pearse

Isn't it odd how the left insist that only their opponents are "offensive." Yet here we have an open confession of treachery, and willingness to take up arms against British forces.

Surely it is time that some "hate speech" laws were enacted against this?

J H Holloway

Read this....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5972749.ece

An orphanage run by a British charity in Bangladesh has been raided by local security forces who say that it was being used as a training camp and arms factory for Islamic militants.

The Rapid Action Battalion said today that it had arrested four people, including a teacher and three caretakers, and was searching for the head of the charity, a British citizen known only as Faisal.

sean

"I assume the "genocidal terrorist organisation" you refer to is Hamas, the democratically elected government. "

Y'know it is possible to be a genocidal terrorist organisation and have been elected at the same time. Hamas prove that point quite adequately...

redben

Isn't Hammas an elected government now? Oh, sorry, yes, US, Britain, Israel; you can be both democratically elected and genocidal terrorists. Perhaps we should just add the hysterical 'genocidal terrorist organisation' after every grouping that is democratically elected, it would just be fairer.

redbed

'Isn't it odd how the left insist that only their opponents are "offensive"'.

I don't think I would always consider my opponents views to be offensive. Childish, maybe, but not offensive. What I do find offensive is this move towards treating only Muslims as traitors - I'm a 'White Anglo Saxon Protestant' and hold vehemently treaturous views but do I ever get to be felt up by the police? No. It is most unfair, Maybe it's because I still can't grow a decent beard, even at the age thirty. Gutted.