Thanks for your comments - I quite agree that the effect of the media coverage appears to be to polarise moderates.

As for faith schools (of any variety - don’t think I’m against only Muslim ones!!) - I simply think that they undermine the attempts our country is making to get people to integrate. Children are most receptive to new ideas: the Jesuits famously said, “If you give me the boy at five, I’ll give you the man”. So the best way to grow out of intolerance of the “other” is to have children of different faiths mix.

In addition, I consider it rather ridiculous that these schools discriminate on the basis of religion, when:

A] We’re taught that this is a “Bad Thing” to do in general life and that people of different religions should just get along.

B] The government is quite happy to take taxes from people who have no religion, yet exclude them from schools where you must profess a religious belief to attend!

The media has and always will attempt to polarise the debate for their own benefit. On 9/11 what was the main ‘reaction’ shown from muslim countries? Pictures of 5 or 6 people celebrating in the street were beamed around the globe as if to say that was how every muslim felt about it. And the flipside is true as well - fanatics will always shout loudest to get themselves onto the front pages.

More worrying is that people believe the stereotypes they see in the Daily Mail without thinking for themselves. Why do we get the impression most muslims want to change the UK into an Islamic state?

The vast majority of muslims would agree with you and me on these issues. But because they feel their faith / culture is being undermined, moderates will fight to defend their values and become increasingly isolated from mainstream society. Which is exactly what the extremists want.

BTW, I know your views on religion, but why do you think faith schools are such a bad idea? We don’t go around thinking Jewish or C of E schools are so awful. Most muslim children are educated in multi faith schools and that is always going to be the case. But why shouldn’t an islamic family have the same choices as anyone else? Or should our society become totally secular like France?

All the best

Tristan

I’m criticising the opinions being aired. I’m also asking why this isn’t being debated properly. I’m coming at it from the secularist angle (opposed to religions in general), and also from the rationalist viewpoint (why do we have to run our lives through soundbites anyway, when life is more complicated than that)?

Your comment acknowledges and simultaneously overlooks the fact that I have asked why the moderates aren’t being heard through the press.

I’m not sure I’ve said anywhere that I care about the environment, though. I’m not sure that Greenpeace are threatening anyone at HLS anyway…

I see value in the discussion surrounding the big integration questions and also how the media is bounding the debate in quite a Chomskyan fashion.

Always nice to hear comments on my posts. Must post more!!