It is time, I am afraid to say, that the governments of the European Union had the same kind of courage as the government of Australia and woke up to the fact that while equality is indeed the aim to go for one cannot give one group more rights than other ones.
Recently whites in Holland, as much as in the UK, perceive, rightly or wrongly (but rightly more like) that, for instance, Muslims are being treated with kid gloves in everything and are being pandered to their demands whether this is with regards to dress, e.g. the Hijab, the full face veil, etc. or as regards to Christian festivals such as Christmas where this is now being basically banned as far as mentioning the word Christmas goes by the pc crowd, the wearing of the symbol of the cross, etc., lest it offend someone.
My own community, the Rom, on the other hand, are never given any sort of a 'break' like that and there are many Rom in the UK, for instance, who begin to think like the BNP in these matters in that they too reckon that the Muslims, for example, are given preference above all other ethnic groups.
Personally I must say that I do not blame them one bit for thinking in such a way.
All our politicians, unless they want to see a backlash happen, must take a leaf or ten out of the book of the Australian government under John Howard and be prepared to tell those Muslims that demand Sharia law, et al, to, if they don't like living in a democratic and free country to hop it and leave to a country there there is Sharia law. Shouldn't be too difficult to find one.
I am sorry, but if in Rome then do as the Romans do. I doubt that we could not demand in Saudi Arabia, for instance, be treated different because we are not Muslims. The fact is that I know that we cannot demand to be treated differently. In this country they can chose not to drink alcohol; no one forces them to drink it. However, if a non-Muslim is in those Muslim countries he cannot – often not even in private in his own home – consume alcohol for it is illegal in those countries. So, there are no special rules in Saudi Arabia or Iran or such for non-Muslims. Why then should we make allowances in this country for them.
I do not have a problem with Muslims or any other religion or group. I am of an ethnic minority myself, namely of the Romani People, but I cannot see why any country should kowtow to one group and be dictated to under the treat of terror.
The Gypsy and the Jew have lived in this country and elsewhere for centuries and have never ever demanded this or that and they have lived their culture and religion alongside the general (British) public while the Muslims, especially the more-or-less 'radicalized' ones, want to make the UK and other (EU) countries where they live into countries with Sharia law. I have yet to hear a Jew complain about Christmas and the symbols. They just generally ignore them and get on with their own faith. Shame others cannot do the same. The Hindus and Sikhs neither have such attitudes. Only the Muslims, it would appear, have this problem.
If the Muslims in the UK, Australia, etc. want to live under Sharia law then, like PM Howard told them, they have the freedom to leave the country and move to one which has the law they desire. But the truth is that they do not want to live under the version of Sharia that has been set up by other countries; they wish to impose their version of Sharia law on other people, especially those that they consider infidels. This does not compute.
© M V Smith, March 2007
