Wednesday 19 November 2014

What do you mean "we" White Man? Cameron nearly gets it on Islam...

PM David Cameron with Moderate Muslim
Last Friday, British PM, David Cameron made a speech to Australian Parliament, a speech that was gracious and at times witty.
But what took the world's attention was his take on ISIS, or the "threat of terrorism and extremism" (it's about half-way through the speech).
He gets it right for about half of his analysis.  It's not poverty, it's not exclusion and it's not foreign policy.  The root cause is the "extremist narrative".
So far so good.
Then he breaks bad.  He says that it's a "twisted narrative" that misrepresents "Islam as a great world religion of peace". And "we" must counter it.
Now, I understand that, as PM, Cameron cannot openly say that the "narrative" is core Islam (even if it is).  But does he have to completely exonerate Islam (the "religion of peace")?
Surely he could have found some formulation that would sheet home responsibility, not to "we" -- politicians and public at large -- but to those "overwhelming majority of Muslims who abhor [do they?] the twisted narrative". And to call on them to take on that "twisted narrative" at its core?  The tenets of Islam, the trinity of Islam, are indeed the problem and until they are taken on by moderate imams, there cannot be a defeat of the likes of ISIS. After all, the head of ISIS is a PhD in Islamic studies.  He knows whereof he speaks, and none of what he or his acolytes have said contradicts the Islamic Trinity.  So, it's a tough job for the moderate imams.
But just because it's tough does not mean it must be ignored.
Why, even the leftie Huffington post has recognised what we're up against!