A "Peaceful Protest" in Iran?

I don't know enough about Iranian politics to be able to judge the veracity of Hilary Clinton's worries that the Iranian election was fixed. Welsh language blogger Cai Larsen claims that Western Powers build up a case for pro Western candidates and then get upset when common voters don't vote in accordance with Western hype. He may be right, he may be wrong. I don't know.

What I do know, however, having just watched a BBC World News report on protests against the election result is that the BBC is very inconsistent in its reporting style about pro western protests in Iran and anti western protests in Britain.

A few weeks ago a dozen, or so, Islamists protested during a military parade in Luton. They shouted abusive slogans at the soldiers and held up abusive placards. Their protest was described as offensive, appalling, disgraceful, extremist, abusive, incitive etc. I agree with all of those adjectives. As offensive as I found their protest there is little doubt that the protest was within the bounds of what might be called the British tradition of peaceful protest. But you won't find that word peaceful in any Western report covering the demo.

During the BBC's report on the Iranian protests, however, the term peaceful protest was used four times in a 60 second item. Whilst the term was being used pictures were being shown of thousands people running riot in the street, stones being thrown, vehicles being burned and soldiers and policemen being physically attacked.

If Mrs Clinton's claim of vote rigging is true one can argue that the protests are justified. Given the claimed circumstances one can even say that the protest was restrained, but what you can't say once, never mind four times, is that it was peaceful.

What I find unacceptable in the BBC's reporting is that it doesn't see the danger of the duplicity of its reportage. You can't get away from the fact that calling 12 people shouting extreme, and calling thousands rioting peaceful is inconsistent to say the least.

This form of stupid reporting by the BBC, and others, just plays into the hands of those who want to recruit faithful young British Muslims into the extremist Islamist cause by claiming that the West is clearly anti-Muslim and two faced when it comes to reporting stories about Muslims in different continents!

Cymraeg

Accommodating Shariah?

I am prohibited by English law (the alien law that I am forced to live by) from expressing my true feelings about Islam, should I do so I would be arrested, as another blogger has been, for inciting religious hatred, despite the fact that I am not a hateful person and I believe sincerely in the principal of freedom of religious expression.

During the last ten years or so fundamentalist secularists have used Islam and other religion's rights to try and undermine the existence of Christianity in Europe. They do this on those spurious grounds that my enemy's enemy is my enemy.

Secular politicians and activists have positively promoted Islam to the detriment of Christianity and, as a result, the Ismlamisation of Europe is a real and present danger. A danger that it is difficult to raise in public without being accused of Islamophobia, prejudice or being hateful in other ways.

Unlike Iain Dale I do not consider Rowan Williams to be an Idiotic Priest. I have always thought Dr Williams to be a very wise man. He is a man of huge intellect and an astute politician. As the Primus Inter Pares of a very diverse organisation that could be split on many issues, he has shown himself to be a great conciliator and an able diplomat since his enthronement.

Despite my disagreement with his view, I welcome Dr Williams's comments. His comments have invited a world wide rational debate on this important issue. Had he raised this issue from the other side of the argument, had he condemned Shariah law, it would have led to a political crisis, diplomatic incidents and snivelling apologies from the British Government.

By making these comments that suggest support for Shariah law, Dr Williams has opened an important debate that those who are opposed to this mediaeval legal system could never have opened themselves for fear of damnable reprobation by the secularist fundamentalists, so Diolch yn Fawr Rowan.


Others worth reading on this subject:
Rhys Llwyd; FaithWorld; Independent; London Village; Newbie Anglican; The Ugley Vicar; Our Kingdom; Archbishop Cranmer and many others