In quest of Muslim votes, David Cameron has turned for policy advice to a group of Muslim party members known as the Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF).
Last week, that group gave David Cameron the benefit of its collective wisdom on what policies his party should adopt to make itself of greater appeal to Muslim voters.
Their advice took the form of a response to proposals contained in a report published in July by the party’s National and International Security Group (NISG).
Entitled ‘An Unquiet World’, this report contained a number of policy proposals designed to improve national security. Amongst such, there was claimed to be need to strengthen social cohesion by changing the history curriculum to make it more ‘inclusive’. Greater consideration should be given in schools, it was claimed, than is currently given to the histories of the various different peoples who make up Britain’s present-day population.
The CMF was inclined to place greater emphasis than the NISG upon how Britain’s national security might improve through changing British foreign policy rather than educational policy.
Among such foreign policy changes the CMF commended to David Cameron was for his party to cease supporting the state of Israel’s right to exist and to cease opposing Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capability.
The CMF also advised David Cameron's party to cease opposing admission to this country of Muslim preachers hostile to western democracy, as well as to cease resisting the notion that Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a leading Muslim scholar.
It is not clear why, were the Conservative party to heed the CMF’s advice on these matters, it would gain more votes than it would lose.
However, it is not on these bizarre foreign policy recommendations of the CMF on which I wish to dwell here. Rather, I wish to focus on one suggestion the CMF makes concerning how social cohesion could be strengthened by changing what is currently taught in schools. The CMF states:
‘Any revised compulsory history syllabus needs to give full recognition to the massive contribution that Islam has made to the development of Western civilisation. Historically the recognition of this contribution has been suppressed because in the past control of the educational system has rested with the Christian churches which saw Islam as a competitor.’
Now it might well be that social cohesion could be strengthened were it possible to teach in our schools about the ‘massive contribution that Islam has made to the development of Western civilisation.’
Regrettably, however, notwithstanding however fashionable it might have become in some circles to claim that Islam has made such a large contribution to Western civilisation, the claim it has done is simply untrue, as is, therefore, also the claim that recognition of this contribution has been suppressed within schools because in the past the church had control of them.
The reason why British schools have traditionally not taught that Islam has made a massive contribution to the development of Western civilisation is simply because Islam has not made any such contribution and, until quite recently, British schools have been content to confine what was taught in history to the truth.
As I say, in some quarters, it has of late become increasingly fashionable to claim that Islam did make a massive contribution to Western civilisation. But the plain fact of the matter is that it hasn’t and I defy readers of this blog who claim otherwise to point to the evidence that supports their contention.
True, it might have been easier to promote social cohesion in Britain given its current large Muslim presence had it been possible to make out that thesis in history.
But I doubt that the task of strengthening social cohesion there will ultimately be made any easier by schools starting to falsify the historical record in this fashion.
Admittedly, neither will their teaching that Islam has made little contribution to the development of Western civilisation be likely to strengthen social cohesion, despite being much nearer the truth.
Perhaps, therefore, to strengthen social cohesion what schools need to do is simply teach what happened in history without using the subject and every other subject as an occasion to go in for communal psychotherapy or group ego boosting.
I for one have far more confidence than so it would seem many other present-day educationists in the ability of British Muslim schoolchildren to welcome and appreciate learning in school simply about what has happened in history, ungarnished by fables dressed up as fact of what we might have liked to have happened but which never did.
Whatever reasons Muslims may have to take pride in their religion, its having made a massive contribution to Western civilisation is simply not among them.
David Cameron should consequently disregard this policy recommendation of the CMF as he also should its advice on what new foreign policies his party should adopt.
Britain can and should have more confidence in the sound judgment and common sense of its Muslim populace than the CMF appears to see the need for.
Comments (6)
It never ceases to amaze me how people like Anjelica don't actually do any research. Without the knowledge which the Muslims did give you, the main ones being medicine and personal hygeine, you would still be stuck in the dark ages. And considering you did not give your women the right to vote up until very recently, you haven't really got a leg to stand on! Go and do some proper research, love.
Posted by Janet Lawson | June 3, 2008 12:11 PM
Posted on June 3, 2008 12:11
ANOTHER WELL KEPT SECRET.
In 1975 the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation (PAEAC) met in Strasbourg and stated, inter alia, the necessity for recognising "the historical contribution of Arab culture to European development". There were 200 West European Parliamentarians(WEPs) present. No doubt Arab oil. Arab markets, and "Palestinians" were, as always, on the minds of the WEPs. They still are. The Arabs keep them there.
Mana Ben Saeed Al-Otaiba, Chairman of OPEC, at a symposium in Rimini, Italy 1979:
"Europe and other oil consuming countries want us to guarantee them oil and petroleum products. We must work together...otherwise the oilfields....will burst into flames and then there would be no more oil to supply the industrialised countries with. We must all face this reality if we want to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem and the problem of the Middle East".
This is the threat that keeps the EU weak at the knees. The Conservative Muslim Forum tries to maintain the collective momentum. The same advice would come from a Labour Muslim forum.
The PAEAC appeared as a result of the EuroArab Dialogue (EAD), another little-known EuroArab get-together , the mainspring of EuroArab togetherness.
The EAD has several goals and no time limit, among others:. " imposing the political, cultural and religious influences of Arab Islamism on European countries, through an immigrant population that remained politically and culturally attached to its countries of origin".
Unless David Cameron and other members of our political elite begin to see that the real problem is not that we should include Arab Islamic culture as a school subject but how far that culture will have spread when it will apply to around 29% of the population in 2051 as against 9% now, as predicted in the latest population and immigration forecasts.
Thanks to "Eurabia" by Bat Y'Eor for the quotes.
Posted by Andrew Lawson | October 24, 2007 7:55 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 19:55
The lucid critique, "A Well Kept Secret", by David Conway is very distressing indeed.
In the first place, that the Leader of the Conservative Party should ask advice on the formulation of policy, domestic and foreign, from an organisation, the Conservative Muslim Forum, so patently dogmatic and alien to Western values, shows how startlingly naive Cameron is.
The pitiable kowtowing to minority interests which Cameron's fawning behaviour represents is no way for a party leader to behave.The impression is that of weakness and the politically astute Muslim caucus will not be slow thus to interpret it.
As to the rewriting of history which the CMF proposes as the price of support from Muslim electors it is far from a remote possibility that in a Conservative Party which has revised its traditional views on sexual orientations, criminality, national identity et al.there are not sufficient numbers prepared to revise their views on history at the behest of their latest ringmaster
Since his inception as leader his political acrobatics make it clear there is nothing we should rule out.
Very distressing indeed.
Posted by Alastair Harper | October 24, 2007 4:19 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 16:19
I am constantly amazed at the number of otherwise intelligent people who fall for the myth of Islam's Golden Age' and the 'Andalucian' myths in general, since these are all so very easily dismissed as fantasy and propaganda with very little research.
I believe it was the Western Romantic movement that began peddling this nonsense in the early 19th C, Chateaubriand being one of them, and he thought nothing of passing off some of his entirely fictional trips as fact.
The advice from the CMF simply smacks of the usual tendency within Islam to rewrite history and, in this instance, it serves also to indoctrinate a new, young, non-Muslim audience to the fantasy, in the hope, no doubt, that once adults they will be ignorant of Islam's real history, its contribution (or lack of) to the world, and be more supportive of it at the very least. Another extremely cynical move by Muslims in positions of responsibility and power in my opinion.
Posted by Anjelica | October 24, 2007 1:12 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 13:12
Trevor Phillips, head of the Commsission for Equality and Human Rights, has already made the starting push on the effort to re-write history. Last month, he claimed that Ottoman Muslims played a key role in defeating the Armada in 1588 : this is bogus history.
But, as he said: "Let's rewrite that story so that it is truly inclusive. That's the reason for this : so that we have an identity which brings us together and binds us in the stormy times we're going to have. "
Perhaps he should also explain to Spanish immigrants that the Armada was actually a visiting bowls team seeking a friendly match on Plymouth Hoe ; no harm intended... big misunderstanding....
Posted by anthony norman | October 23, 2007 10:46 PM
Posted on October 23, 2007 22:46
My advice to David Cameron would be to stop taking advice from the CMF.
Posted by mike | October 23, 2007 7:39 PM
Posted on October 23, 2007 19:39