Letter to South China Morning Post:
In February this year, British PM David Cameron gave a speech in which he set out his views of radicalisation and Islamist extremism. Virginie Guiraudon has called his speech an example of “official xenophobia” (“Face of bigotry”, June 23. Online it's "Growing religious intolerance finds popular voice in Europe"). This is sheer slander.
With this smear on David Cameron she signally fails to note his key message: that “passive” or “hands-off” tolerance of segregated communities allows the promotion of radical Islamist ideology by “young dynamic leaders who promote separatism....”. The truth of this observation is beyond reasonable dispute.
David Cameron is not a xenophobe. It is not xenophobia to state that a genuinely liberal country believes in and promotes certain values, including, as he says: “freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law, equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality”. How can anyone — left, right or centre — be against these fundamental rights and by what possible stretch could they be called “xenophobic”?
Yet in her litany of slander -- “intolerance”, “xenophobia”, “stigmatising”, “insulting” -- Guiraudon makes not one mention of the ideology of Islamic extremism, of its deep-rooted bigotry, that we see in many part of Europe today.
Why else does she think the majority of Europeans voicing their concerns, including heads of government and important ministers? No, it is not blind bigotry, as she claims.
It is genuine fear that in tolerating the intolerant, in being passive to bigotry, Europe is in danger of losing the very tolerance and liberal values it has spent centuries developing.
Yours etc,
PF
HK.
In February this year, British PM David Cameron gave a speech in which he set out his views of radicalisation and Islamist extremism. Virginie Guiraudon has called his speech an example of “official xenophobia” (“Face of bigotry”, June 23. Online it's "Growing religious intolerance finds popular voice in Europe"). This is sheer slander.
With this smear on David Cameron she signally fails to note his key message: that “passive” or “hands-off” tolerance of segregated communities allows the promotion of radical Islamist ideology by “young dynamic leaders who promote separatism....”. The truth of this observation is beyond reasonable dispute.
David Cameron is not a xenophobe. It is not xenophobia to state that a genuinely liberal country believes in and promotes certain values, including, as he says: “freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law, equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality”. How can anyone — left, right or centre — be against these fundamental rights and by what possible stretch could they be called “xenophobic”?
Yet in her litany of slander -- “intolerance”, “xenophobia”, “stigmatising”, “insulting” -- Guiraudon makes not one mention of the ideology of Islamic extremism, of its deep-rooted bigotry, that we see in many part of Europe today.
Why else does she think the majority of Europeans voicing their concerns, including heads of government and important ministers? No, it is not blind bigotry, as she claims.
It is genuine fear that in tolerating the intolerant, in being passive to bigotry, Europe is in danger of losing the very tolerance and liberal values it has spent centuries developing.
Yours etc,
PF
HK.
