An official no-go area for Christians? Excuse me: I need a drink

Deo Vindice

To ride a No. 14 bus along Alum Rock Road is indeed to understand why Canadian polemicist Mark Steyn writes that 'The Future Belongs To Islam' or why Melanie Phillips rails against the march of 'dhimmocracy'.

Peter Waller

Maybe so - but you still have crap furniture.

Rachey Roo

I'm just in total despair that this and all the other nonsense that goes with it is being allowed to happen.

dgforbes

Lets look on the bright side. There'll be more and more of this stuff and it'll get more and more outrageous, providing material for more and more angry columns from Mr Liddle to entertain us (and perhaps let him be able to buy some new furniture). So, a happy future for all. Perfect really.

Keith

There does now seem good grounds to believe that the West Midlands Police and possibly the Crown Prosecution Service are institutionally biased.They seem to have acted to favour the Muslim ethos even when no crime had been committed. I think there should be a public enquiry since, in my opinion,this threatens objectivity in any future action against terrorism.

Chris

"it is from our admittedly rather wishy-washy form of Christianity that we draw our fervent belief in the freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience."

Why on earth would you think that? Freedom of speech and conscience are secular values which emerged from a desire to escape from religious doctrine.

Kiffa

Do you think the Conservatives will change all this nonsense? If they don't, we are doomed. Rod's most pertinent sentence was ...'a fundamentalist arm of political correctness designed to punish anyone who might say anything which might inflame the tender sensibilities of an endless succession of groups... put upon... need redress'. In a nutshell, Rod, in a nutshell.

Hysteria

It is bloody ridiculous - despair is a good word - but the question now is - what can we DO ?(whinging on the internet is not a long term solution!)

Keith

There does seem to be good grounds for believing that the West Midland Police force and the Crown Prosecution Service is institutionally biased and that the responsibility for this climate lies with Senior Officers. The Police seem ignorant of the law, it is undesirable but not illegal to hate, and for a hate crime to be committed there has to be an actual crime.How was this not an act of terror by the Police? Why have the Police not apologised? How is is that the West Midlands Police appear to have become a law unto themselves, and with the apparent blessing of the Home secretary? This is an extremely grave matter and there should be an enquiry because if Police do not obey the law then Democracy fails and the people have only direct action left.

TomTom

An alien force imposed upon the populace to dragoon them into obedience to a dictatorial regime ....called Police in most cultures and using intimidation and force to impose political objectives on civilians.

Britain has such a Political Police and has evolved into one at odds with the populace, increasingly loathed and regarded with contempt....yet weak and puny when faced with large scale resentment and resistance.

Having lost control of the streets the British Police now seek to control minds and thoughts - they have become just another gang, a group of vigilantes working for sectional interest groups against the main body of public opinion.

The Police in Britain is skirting with complete collapse and outright resistance; which minor incident will explode in their faces is not clear - so far it is minority groups that have rebounded on them, but if mainstream public opinion rebels the police "service" will disintegrate as a "force"

Chris

The effect of all this is on non Muslims in the UK is like the leaving on of a tap in an upstairs room. At present the water is starting to seep under the door, people are starting to make clear their displeasure. If no action is taken, their will soon be cascades down the stairs followed by the collapse of the ceiling. A hard rain is going to fall. People will not be ignored - by the liberal elites or their lackeys.

Nathaniel

The thing that pisses me off, at least it happens in America, is that Christians are treated in this manner yet muslims are openly accepted despite the "death to america" attitude. Then, if a Christian says anything about the unjustice the left-wing nuts say you are being intolerant!

cuffleyburgers

Well Rod, I have seen you describe yourself as a lefty, but I must say apart from an ill advised article many moons ago about fox hunting, there is no columnist anywhere with whom I find myself more often in agreement.

This is alarming. There has never been a lefty in my family. I'm such a failure.

Keith

I am a not a believer in the supernatural, however in my opinion there are now strong grounds for believing that the West Midland Police force and possibly the local Crown prosecution service is institutionally biased.They seem to be acting as a law unto themselves and in my view this climate of behaviour must be due to serious failings and bias in Senior Officers and this seems to be connived at and supported by the Govt. How was the action of the Police not an act threat and of Terror? The Police seem not to understand the law,it is undesirable but not illegal to hate but for a hate crime to be committed there has to be a crime in the first place.Is it now a crime to preach the Gospel? It looks as if the writ of the law of the United Kingdom does not run in the West Midlands, that they are a Police force out of control.This is a very grave matter, there should be an enquiry because if the West Midland Police, or any Police Force, cannot be trusted to obey the law then Democracy fails and the People(The Electors)have no other recourse than to the streets and direct action.

John L.

Rod,

Can't believe your daughter is two already!

FYI - My nippers enjoyed your article in the Sunday Times on the Euro Championships. 'Seems your asinine humour is best suited to the adolescent mind. They keep bangin' on about it so you must have made an impression.

L2D2 keeps winning all before it - swept the board at the Cons. Club the other week... £80.00 more for the RNLI! Not much competition there though.

Let me know when you are next in town. I guess you can get my e-mail address from this communication can't you..?

Would like to see you and especially the lovely A.

Cheers mate.

Johnny L.

David Short

Don't despair.

They don't have it all their own way.

I live in Docklands. Every week I see young Muslim couples who have taken refuge for a few hours of close coupledom in Canary Wharf and nearby, away from the Muslim areas very close by, and their families who would disapprove.

The Western culture of modernism and freedom will always prevail. It beat Russian communist imperialism, and it germinated the free-est, richest, most successful society in the world, the USA.

Oh ye of little faith.

wonderer

I wish I were as sure, David Short. Communism fell because it didn't deliver the goods, and the time came when Russians saw Western television, with ads showing actual meat being fed to dogs, when you couldn't rely on finding it as a foodstuff for humans in the USSR. The US, where anti-communism was a quasi-religion, worked against the USSR. The West sucked up to oil rich Muslim countries and still does.
To cap it all, Muslims exercise the right to propagate their creed in suburbs such as Wood Green, handing out leaflets stating that there was once a realm where there was no crime, a realm that will soon appear again, that of the Caliphate. Of course only an infidel would think that kidnapping non-Muslims and selling them into slavery was no crime.
A factor that causes me concern is that systems that can visibly cause fear have a lot of traction with elements in our population that are "strong in the arm and weak in the head", eg high security prisons where, reportedly Muslim elements are taking control. (I'm not saying that all or a majority of M converts are weak in the head.)

Wilf

Cringeing and seething is right. Followed by despairing and hiding from the world. Then rallying and returning, before cringeing and seething again.

Guy H

"Blunkett's Bobbies"? I've only heard of them as "Blunkett's Brownshirts" - the minced form misses entirely the essentially unqualified, amateur, exercise of authority that they represent. A Bobby is someone who is at least acquainted with Peel's principles and has taken a constable's oath.

Colonial

Yes, the whole ghastly mess is thoroughly depressing, but here's something to cheer you up:

The definition of Political Correctness:

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

Dexter

Naeem (smile-my-face-all-the-time-now) Naguthney writes in: "I would very much like to thank all the partners who worked to help me achieve this job. My future outlook is a very positive one, I have a job that is permanent with excellent career development prospects – I have a smile on my face all the time now!" Fair Cities is a ground-breaking initiative designed by the National Employment Panel, to help disadvantaged members of ethnic minorities get, stay and advance in work. Source: Birmingham Gov, Regeneration Network News 16, Autumn, 2007.

paul in australia

Once a society loses faith in its racial and cultural supremacy it is doomed to slow suicide . This is why Islam will prevail and England will die.

floatingvoter

West Midlands police have form in tehse types of situations. the difficulty here is why did the Christians leave. There is no way they would have been arrested and if they were it would have been national news. Have to say they were pretty brave to have been doing what they were doing in Alum rock. have you been there? I wouldn't dare hand out non muslim religious literature there. It does feel as if freedom of speech is only for Muslims.

Herbert Thornton

If you think that an incident where a couple of Christian evangelists fall foul of an indignant policeman is disturbing, then be very careful what you say or write should you happen to be in Canada.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23816891-25192,00.html

Herbert Thornton

Ron Liddle titles his piece - "An official no-go area for Christians? Excuse me: I need a drink"

He would certainly need one in Canada. It looks like an entire Province is also developing into a no-go area for Christians - and not just because some small-town policeman happens to object to them.

It has just come to light that in Alberta a government-appointed Thought Control Commissar (i.e. the Chairwoman of an Alberta Human Rights Tribunal) has issued an order that a Christian Pastor is to be humiliated, punished and silenced -

http://ezralevant.com/2008/06/what-could-mark-steyns-punishm.html

Douglas Milton

Thank God - that's my atheistic Anglican God, not Allah - for Rod Liddle. To quote an episode of The Simpsons, "He writes what we're thinking!" A sane voice who takes the trouble to point out that, just perhaps, all our PC bending over backwards to Islam might not be such a good idea after all. Throughout his article, Mr Liddle fixes himself a few stiff drinks. Well, reading it, I fixed myself the mother of all vodka martinis too, and I raised my glass to Rod Liddle. Cheers!

Will Scott

The real problem here is that wacko Christians are using the horror story of mass immigration to promote there own brand of tripe. Yes we should be concerned that alien people and their brands of superstition are polluting Britain but it should not blind us to the nonsense of native religious crap. We are being flooded by everyone from Poles to Africans and everything in between and all the oafs can rant on about is a Jew who has been dead for two thousand years. The sooner ALL religious maniacs are locked up under the Mental Health Act the better.

Munir

Rod Liddle is permanenty outraged when it comes to Muslims. No go area? Utter crap

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2008/06/03/christian-and-muslim-solidarity-in-alum-rock-following-preaching-row-97319-21015176/

There are of course plenty og no-go area for a British Muslim in hijab or niqab to go such as some all-white council estates.
That troubles Mr Liddle not a bit

Adam Marlborough

I have very bad news folks,Birmingham represents the future of this country. Having been dragged back to the city for work reasons, I am reminded every day of why I choose to leave five years ago. Street wardens with mobile cameras attached to their heads, a tax payer funded climate change festival, video screens on buses relaying security images to the passengers (while chavs, and junior gangsters still continue to be allowed to intimidate their fellow passengers at their leisure),loudspeakers on the approach
to new st station telling you off if you happen to stray over a white line, oh and a police force who threaten to arrest you if you challenge a group of Muslim youths who praise Bin Laden,and call publicly in the center of the city for all Jews to be killed (this happened to me! ).I have seen the future and it is very, very grim.Anyone for a drink!

Julian the Apostate

Dear Rod,
Here's an ideal early Christmas prezzie for your daughter's gran: the new Pat Condell dvd (available from Richard Dawkins' website).Strong stuff and not for the religiously feeble-minded (too many of them out there all too willing to take offence at the drop of a bible/koran).I'll send you one if you like....

Jan

Julian the Apostate - A book on interior decor would be a much more appropriate gift.

Vicky

I don't know how they can get away with it. This community support officer sounds like a right nutter. Didn't they see that at his interview.

People get too touchy about religion and that's where problems start. I think comedians have got it right, take the piss out of each religion including your own equally.

But when I meet a person I treat them as an individual and if they want to ram religion down my throat, they get told where go.

Anyway Rod I thought you loved Geordies and you never said I was thick.

Kevin

"Freedom of speech and conscience are secular values which emerged from a desire to escape from religious doctrine."

- "Escape from the law" would be a more accurate way of putting it. Secularists have yet to explain how they are justified in impinging on the conscience of, say, a shoplifter who believes that "property is theft".

Alex

How much longer can this madness go on ?
Sooner or later someone in authority is going to have to shout "ENOUGH!"-preferably in English.

thecomebackid

This is the same West Midlands Police Force who referred Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme makers for stirring up racial hatred and amazingly referred the programme makers to OFcom for secretly filming hate filled Wahabi preachers in local mosques spouting the usual anti western incitement.

JimBob

This Naeem guy should be the one getting sacked.

Sounds like an absolute disgrace from where i'm standing

SPM

I live in alum rock and am a muslim. I agree with the ministers, if they want to preach they should be abe to without threat or indimidation, it is their right and perrogative. The way some people behave towards 'non muslims' & 'outsiders' is farcical. However I would like to point out not all of us from alum rock sell drugs, drive flash cars up and down alum rock road with out of date music blaring. Some of us have day jobs and possess an ounce of intelligence as oppposed to crack!!!!!!