Moderate Muslims Speak Out!

[boyfriday]

At last the national media have given moderate Muslims an opportunity to challenge the extremists and state their position, of course confirming what most of us already know about mainstream Muslims.

 

Public Enemy No 1, Anjem Choudary was eaten alive by Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation (http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/about-us.html) on yesterday's edition of Newsnight.

 

Among the challenging points raised by Nawaz were how much Choudary had claimed in benefits from the British, how hypocritical he was by using his freedom to speak to promote the restriction of freedom for others and whether he would have him executed as a traitor to Islam.

 

It's compulsive viewing and even the usually Rottweiller-like Paxman sat back like a puppydog, watching Nawaz tear into a clearly out of his depth Choudary-which demonstrates the benefits of allowing people like Choudary the freedom to speak, they will invariably shoot themselves in the foot and highlight the flaws in their own argument.

 

The fun begins about 24 mins into the programme on BBc iPlayer.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pyhj5/Newsnight_12_01_2010/

[Plain Talker]

well said boyfriday.

[Jabberwocky]

Beautiful... I hear the hissing of more than a few bonfires that have been wee-weed on

[cressida]

Thanks for posting that BF, the moderate Muslims should be heard more often IMO

[Plain Talker]

At 23 mins in, approx, the voiceover says something very pertinent, about the membership of such groups "being only in their 'Tens' and support for them being in their hundreds, but that they garner publicity"

 

-making them seem more important than they actually are.

[Plain Talker]

(PS:- wasn't Choudary a slimy, smirking so-and-so in Paxo's interview?)

[Plain Talker]

Was anyone else struck, profoundly, like I was, at the startling differences between the slavering nutjob, Choudary, and the later story, which involved two chaps who were former detainees at Gitmo, meeting a former soldier who was part of the guard detail at Gitmo, at the time they were there?

[Plain Talker]

(dignity is the word that came to mind re the Gitmo fellas.)

[boyfriday]

Was anyone else struck, profoundly, like I was, at the startling differences between the slavering nutjob, Choudary, and the later story, which involved two chaps who were former detainees at Gitmo, meeting a former soldier who was part of the guard detail at Gitmo, at the time they were there?

 

It was very interesting PT, and quite uplifting to see how two previously opposing sides can be reconciled-Choudary could learn a lot from the dignity of the two former detainees.

[Smithster]

It was very interesting PT, and quite uplifting to see how two previously opposing sides can be reconciled-Choudary could learn a lot from the dignity of the two former detainees.

 

He could, but I won't hold my breath.