1116 days ago
I sometimes find myself searching my emails for something or other and stumble on something completely unexpected. Tonight I stumble on the raw text of what my uncle, the late Christopher Booker, submitted to the Sunday Telegraph for January 16 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. I am not sure if the Torygraph tweaked it but here is the original and in exposing the pious hypocrisy of the great and good back then, we might all reflect on matters such as the drowning silence of the left in defence of free speech in Bradford today. But also, as Chris notes, on why certain sections of the Moslem community do feel so justifiably angry and that can vent in various ways. I commend to you a great piece of journalism.
1120 days ago
A teacher at Batley Grammar school in Bradford showed students in a religious studies class a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed. Over in France, such actions can see you getting your head chopped off and what happened next is just so predictable. A mob gathered outside the school. Had that mob included James Delingpole, Piers Corbyn, Toby Young and Laurence Fox and the protest been about lockdown, the Police would have waded in, made arrests and broken it up.
3389 days ago
Naturally I am shocked over the massacre of journalists at Charlie Hebdo in Paris by Islamofascist gunmen. It is an assault on free speech, it is sickening and it must be deplored but watching C4 coverage of the event last night the cowardice and duplicity of the Western Media was there for all to see.
First up were the range of voices singing the praises of the publication for daring to challenge cultural norms, standing up to religious intolerance and to racism for fighting for free speech and calling for the Front Nationale to be banned. Er…hang on a sec…
Personally I do not find some of the crude jibes made at all religions by this publication very clever, funny or brave. Let’s face it Jews and Christians are not going to react by hacking heads off in protest, that sort of behaviour is the preserve of the Islamofascists. However, amongst the trendy liberal elite it is deemed clever and almost the norm to mock those of any faith (but especially the Christian faith) as if they were some relic of a former age, like those who support fox hunting, hanging or who believe in a flat earth. I admire those with faith. I cannot believe but almost wish I did. I find the principles of Christianity as far more appealing than those of the chattering classes.
As such while I regard much of what Charlie Hebdo lampooned about the faith I’d like to have offensive, crude and not very clever. Sure, attack the Church where it fails (like in child abuse) but to attack folks just for having faith or the faith itself in a sneering manner – how very Islington.
But I defend its right to publish this bollocks because I believe in free speech. And that is why I am perplexed by how the liberal elite think that Charlie Hebdo trying to get the Front Nationale banned is worthy of praise. Okay it fits in with the modern liberal agenda but it is hardly in the Mill or Gladstone tradition of supporting free speech is it?
That I loathe and despise everything that the party of Le Pen stands for is a given. But
