Mr Haque’s murderers were racists — so why won’t anyone admit it?

31 July 2010

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Rod Liddle attacks the dangerous liberals who refuse to accept that young black males often come from a culture that celebrates violence, misogyny and racism

The moment on the video that really hurts, that really digs in — if you are a human being, rather than an ape — is when Marian runs to the prone and inert body of her grandfather and, bending down, distraught, implores him to move, pawing at his body with her hands. She is so small and ineffectual against this sudden new thing in her life, death. Her granddaddy will never move again. Marian is just three years old. Her grandfather is, was, Ekram Haque, 67 years old, a Muslim born in Calcutta who moved to this country almost 40 years ago, hard-working — spent his last years earning a living in a care home — and retired just recently. He was looking forward to taking little Marian on holiday to Pakistan and Australia, the money was all saved up, the flights booked. On that evening he was waiting with her outside their local mosque where he’d been celebrating Ramadan; they lounged on the metal barriers beside the road, chattering — you can see all this on the video — and then the human filth struck, so rapidly and devastatingly, like a swarm of insects. They ran at Ekram and savagely beat him about the head while Marian looked on uncomprehendingly. The thing happened so quickly, Ekram falling to the floor, the scum running away, Marian hurrying to her grandfather’s side, the scum coming back quickly to take a few more pictures on their mobile phones, the scum running like hell, out of utter cowardice, when a single person emerges from the mosque to help and to take Marian inside.

This was in Tooting, south-west London, last year. This week the kids who did it — yep, they were, in the main, kids — were sentenced to fantastically inadequate terms in prison for ‘manslaughter’. They’ll be out in a few months — maybe you’ll come across them in the not too distant future. Even if you don’t, you can watch them on YouTube already. They were members of the Park Lane Riders gang who recorded a video as they cycled about mouthing largely incomprehensible braggadocio to one another.

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mike carroll

August 5th, 2010 7:26am Report this comment

Excellent piece from Rod. I take it we wont be naming a street, school or airport after poor Mr Haque then? God rest his soul.

Bob goblet

August 16th, 2010 1:25pm Report this comment

Life seems to have no value, it is taken from people like Mr Haque like stealing sweets from a pick n mix. It's done for fun and because they can. If a life is taken by someone black or White in such a premeditated way they should never be let out. The killers of James Bulger cost the tax payers hundreds of thousands of plans for new identities and now one is back in prison for child porn? Anyone who attacks someone like Mr Haque or James Bulger alike deserves to left in prison and never be able to eligible for release. Animals like that don't deserve human rights, victims deserve human rights not monsters who attack the innocent and defenceless people.

Stephanie Tohill

August 16th, 2010 5:44pm Report this comment

"Here’s the thing. If poor Mr Haque had been black and his attackers white, they’d be cutting the turf for the commemorative community centre right now and David Cameron would be making anguished and impassioned speeches to the press, perhaps concluding by singing a verse of ‘Ebony and Ivory’."

As my brother's (black) friend in Birmingham was murdered, cut up and dumped by his two (white) housemates into bin bags and it was not reported as a racist murder I am not sure this is accurate. Likewise the young (black) girl hacked to death in Catford by an older (white, East european to boot) was not said to be a victim of a racist attack. I think this is your own personal greivance mentality coming to the fore.

Nor am I sure how 'multi-culturalism' feeds this as I am not sure how one of the things you mention (be it single-parent families, mysogynistic/homophobic music and and male braggadacio) is encouraged by anyone, anywhere in our society.

I think the one point on which we can agree is how woeful these sentences were. A complete embarrassment to the judicial system. I wonder how the families (both offender and victim) are dealing with this.

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