In the wrong hands
Sir: It simply will not do for Ed Balls to dismiss the loathsome pamphlet written by Farah Ahmed, head teacher of the Hizb ut Tahrir-linked school he supports and funds, on the grounds that it is ‘not evidence of extremist views actually being taught in the classroom’ (Letters, 12 December).
In fact, what should ‘actually be taught in the classroom’ was precisely the subject Mrs Ahmed was writing about. And the school’s curriculum, which I also mentioned in my article, displays striking parallels between what Hizb teaches its recruits and Mrs Ahmed teaches her pupils.
The real question for Mr Balls is whether he thinks Mrs Ahmed, and her extremist friends, are suitable recipients of taxpayers’ money — and fit to be in charge of impressionable children. If supporters of the BNP, Hizb’s white equivalent, were running schools at public expense, I somehow feel we would be able to cut their funding without needing to prove that the pupils sing the ‘Horst Wessel Song’ in class.
Andrew Gilligan
Daily Telegraph, London SW1
Lobbyists fight poverty too
Sir: It is an easy jibe for Ed Howker (19/26 December) to imply that charitable funds devoted to campaigning, advocacy and education are somehow divorced from the suffering of real people. Christian Aid does indeed strive to make a significant difference to thousands of people, using the donations that the public are generous enough to make. But changing the systems that keep people poor — such as unfair terms of trade and odious debt — is done on a governmental level and also has the potential to relieve human suffering significantly.
For instance, years of Christian Aid campaigning for debt relief — helping insure substantial debt forgiveness programmes — has real world effects. In human terms, it means that 14-year-old Zahara, who is crippled, no longer needs her mother to carry her into school every day in Ghana. Thanks to free healthcare she now has the right crutches and a ramp has been built at her school, both paid for by debt relief.
Christian Aid provides more grants to local groups tackling the effects of poverty than any other international development agency in the United Kingdom. We also exist to challenge the causes and effects of poverty, so part of our work must involve persuading those in power to adopt policies that will help the impoverished.
Jude Mackenzie
Director of Advocacy and Communications,
Christian Aid, London SE1
A gentleman cyclist writes
Sir: With regards to Venetia Thompson’s article on cyclists (‘Lycra-clad assassins on wheels’, 12 December), I am a gentleman cyclist who pedals at a moderate pace in an upright position and is always careful not to ram drunk people outside restaurants, even if they are in the road. I also care little for my eco status, and would be happy to ‘carbon onset’ by burning the requisite amount of coal after every bicycle journey. Lumping all cyclists together under the eco-warrior banner is like saying all motorists are as blithely dangerous as white van drivers, or that all newspaper zealots are Guardian readers.
I do of course ignore red lights, in the same way that I ignore the little red man when walking across a clear road. It would be foolish, and a bit American, not to.
Angus Watson
London SW6
Of Jews and Israel
Sir: Melanie Phillips labels as ‘disgusting’ suggestions that Jews might be partial regarding matters related to Israel (Diary, 5 December). Yet it is true that most Jews support Israel, which is right and natural. There is nothing disgusting about pointing it out when appropriate. On the other hand, an entirely uncritical attitude towards the policies of Israel is often a symptom of ultra-nationalism, a political illness common in all nations, which is worse than disgusting, as it is the root of great evils, especially war.
Dr Andrzej Wilski
Warsaw
Bravo, Boris!
Sir: During the time of the ‘two Tsars’ in Moscow (Gorbachev and Yeltsin), one could get a badge which said ‘Borya, ty prav’ — an affectionate diminutive of ‘Boris, you’re right’ (‘What Dave can learn from Boris’, 12 December). Perhaps it would be a good move to import any of those that are left?
Elizabeth Roberts
Elvanfoot, Biggar
Exemplary, Boris!
Sir: You are quite right to praise the rough-sleeping campaign using Boris Johnson as an example to the Tories on what to do. But it was Crisis who were behind this campaign, rather than Shelter as you stated. We still hope that David Cameron will be as radical as the Mayor of London in signing up to our target of eliminating rough sleeping by 2012. It would be even better if he would make such a commitment before this winter is over.
Leslie Morphy
Chief Executive, Crisis
The right to develop
Sir: There is something fishy about the argument that countries such as China have a right to develop while countries like the UK and the US must make reparations for having succeeded. It’s a fairly obvious double standard. If China has the right to develop and shouldn’t pay now, why should the West have to pay for the same right retrospectively? If aspiration is a virtue, achievement cannot be a vice.
Tom Minchin
Melbourne
Main Streets all over
Sir: There is no need for Charles Moore to travel out of the southern counties to find a ‘Main Street’, as Richard de Lacy QC suggests (Letters, 12 December). He could find some close to him by visiting the East Sussex villages of Northiam, Peasmarsh and Iden, all of which have one.
Alexander Stiller
Rye, East Sussex
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