So a left wing politician dares to point out that

[Burney]

See, this is where your principle of representation runs aground. Looking at their seat's demographics can just as easily be described as representing the views of their constituents.

If your constituents' views are that the mass rape of white girls isn't that big a deal, I don't think there's any duty to represent them. Indeed, you have a duty not to.

[eastgermanautos]

Yes, but the tacit support they receive from your average liberal is, I believe, in the name of political correctness rather than electoral calculation. When a liberal in the street doesn't speak out against Pakistani grooming gangs, it's not because they worry about it losing Labour the next election by alienating Asian voters. They're just scared of being called racist or aligning themselves with individuals and parties that their Facebook friends deem beyond the pale.

Come on, you clowns. Looks at you, working yourselves into a froth about white hookers. As a black man, I resent it.

[Monty92]

In your own time

We will have to pick this up again later, I am a bit busy this morning.

[Monty92]

Will respond to this next week

We can argue back and forth about whether it demonises the entire religion. Likewise, we can argue over whether different interpretations of Islam already exist. For example, many Islamic scholars will tell you that fundamentalism (strict adherence to archaic values and the most vicious forms of sharia) is a relatively recent movement in Islam and a reaction to the dispersal of muslim populations to (particularly) non-muslim countries. I wouldn’t be confident enough to comment on that.

The bigger, broader principle here is whether you can blame an original text for what people or groups choose to do with it. Is Catcher in the Rye responsible for the death of John Lennon? Was Clause 4 to blame for British Rail being so ****? Would the Old Testament be to blame if some new crazy organisation decided to start enacting some of the crazy **** contained in it?

By blaming the script you partially absolve these individual rapists of their desire to rape, or of the horrific consequences of their views on white women. You also present the millions of good muslims with the notion that their religion is sick and twisted in a way that others aren’t. You also ignore the fact that these guys, alongside being evil ****s, were also pretty **** muslims- for one thing, they were drinking and taking drugs. Proof if any were needed that they are not exactly Quran-clutching zealots on some sort of holy mission.

I am not suggesting there is no link whatsoever between these acts and the ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds of those committing them. The numbers confirm that. You seem to skate past this clutch of issues and go straight back to scripture despite the fact that these individuals never mentioned it, never cited it as motive and clearly haven’t ****ing read or taken note of significant parts of it.

There is a difference between saying there are problems with social attitudes within our muslim communities and there is a problem with Islamic scripture. Apart from anything else, if scripture is the problem how do you propose to solve it? You can’t change the word of God? I don't see how blaming scripture helps separate good and bad muslims.

[Peter]

Will respond to this next week

Don't feel as though you have to

[Burney]

Don't feel as though you have to

You speak for us all there, p.