A number of Councils have responded to the Centre for Social Cohesion’s report Hate on the State.
Birmingham Council has denied that its library holdings are problematic. They claim in the Birmingham Mail that: ‘Many of the writings highlighted are historic and scholarly works.’ Indeed. But why the need for 60 different works by Maududi? Evidently Birmingham Council is pleased to continue so disproportionately providing the works of the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami in its Islamic sections.
Tower Hamlets meanwhile are standing firm in their desire to keep ‘Women who deserve to go to hell’ and the works of Abu Hamza available free of charge to their residents.
Among the reaction to the Centre’s work in the press are major pieces in the Telegraph, Sun and a lively column in the Daily Mail. In the blogosphere the report has been picked up by numerous sites including Little Green Footballs and Jihad Watch.
Comments (4)
Following on from Carol's suggestion, wouldn't a simple, quiet and PC short-term solution to the problems raised by the CSC report be for Tower Hamlets council to redistribute their Islamic holdings over the entirety of Greater London (or the South-East, if necessary)?
May I also take this opportunity to say how impressed I was with Mr Murray's Question Time performance, which I just got round to watching on the BBC website. I am reading his book on Neoconservatism right now!
Posted by Richard | September 11, 2007 3:26 PM
Posted on September 11, 2007 15:26
I agree with Carol.
The ideas in these books will always be available underground if necessary. It's better if they are kept in the open; in fact it's best if a very bright spotlight is put on them so that people who have not yet recognised the nature and gravity of the problem we face can see the reality of the religion/philosophy/politics of the authors the report refers to.
Books presenting the opposite view should be available too. The fault is not in holding the extreme Islamist books; it is in not holding anti-Islamist books. That's where the efforts of The Centre For Social Cohesion and others should be directed.
Posted by Kevyn Bodman | September 10, 2007 7:02 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 19:02
If the books remain available to the public, then members of the public who are not aware of how dangerous muslim extremists are can read them and then get a better understanding of what a grave threat they are.
Posted by Carol | September 10, 2007 2:31 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 14:31
Tower Hamlets libraries do not stock the Danish Mohammed cartoons: the Council practices censorship.
Posted by Thomas Pellow | September 7, 2007 9:07 PM
Posted on September 7, 2007 21:07