By Anwar Akhtar

I confess, I’ve enjoyed reading some Telegraph Blogs recently. There’s the ever enjoyable histrionics of James Delingpole, determined to take the crown from Melanie Philips as most frothing media shock jock. Melanie will not relinquish her title without a fight, but the best of British, James. With arguments that Wind farms, Guardian readers and multi culturalism led to the global economic meltdown you’re making a sterling effort!

 
Then Katharine Birbalsingh saying words to the effect that, whilst David Starkey may not be the Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan (heading in that direction if you ask me) what he said was offensive to black people, communities and cultures which are multiple not homogenous.  Queue a load of abuse in the comments for her, including advice to depart forth back to the Caribbean.

Then I come across a real jaw dropping example of ignorance and muddled thinking by Richard Landes. He runs a blog called the Augean Stables, which primarily concerns Muslims in Europe as fifth columnist 'enemy within' types. The Augean Stables is the myth of Hercules clearing the shit out of King Augeas' royal stables as a test of strength – so you get the hint of where he is coming from. He also describes himself as an historian, academic and an expert on “millennialism”. 

Richard Landes is impressive in cramming together so much nonsense in such a short piece. His main arguments include the old chestnut that the media is scared to criticise Islam and Muslims.

Well no shortage of evidence to the contrary on that, including his blog for the Telegraph, a paper with a daily circulation of approximately 700,000. For more evidence of a media scared to criticise Muslims see here or tune into Fox news any time you like.

Richard informs us: “Muslims are prone to violence and aggression linked to a theory of honour culture...In an honour culture, it is legitimate, expected, even required to shed blood for the sake of honour, to save face, to redeem the dishonored face.”
 

The best response to that are the actions of two great Muslims, who I am also proud to share Pakistani heritage with. Abdul Sattar Edhi , almost at times single-handedly built the closet thing Pakistan has to a national health system.
 

‘The ambulance is more Muslim than you.’ That was the answer Abdul Sattar Edhi gave to a question when once asked: ‘why must you pick up Christians and Hindus in your ambulance?’

Closer to home, the dignity with which Tariq Jahan conducted himself in the face of great personal trauma with the senseless killing of his son Haroon and his friends the brothers Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir, during the riots in Birmingham, as they protected their community.
 

Richard argues that Muslims are not capable of modern rational thinking, presumably of the kind he displays below:
 

“And yet, so far, we are doing very badly, mostly because we avoid dealing with the problem. The “thin skin” of Muslims is proverbial, and much public, diplomatic, and even academic discourse tacitly acknowledges and placates that cultural reality. When Western positive-sum principles (we do everything we can to “get to yes,” win-win) meets Arab zero-sum principles (they can only win, if we lose), we most often lose (Oslo “Peace” Process)”.  

Yes, I thought that was muddled tosh as well, with pseudo scientific formulas, giving a veneer of intellectual rigour. But I am no Millennialist. What I do get from the above is that only Muslims are responsible for the failure of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
 

He even manages to link Muslims to the Dreyfus affair, where a Jewish officer was persecuted and wrongly imprisoned in 1894, because he was Jewish by the French army and establishment. That’s the type of impressive lateral thinking that presumably qualifies one as a Millennialist.

However just to correct one of the many howlers in what reads like an anti Muslim rant: Islam is not just Arabs. There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet of which almost 700 million of us are South Asian.

Clarity would be helpful when referring to all Muslims or just Arabs, with such crass sweeping racial stereotyping of up to a quarter of humanity.

Do not confuse tribal customs and traditions with what is in the Koran and many Hadiths.  Islamic scholars constantly argue and dispute religious laws, precedent, interpretation and modernity, just as they do in Judaism, with countless reformist and orthodox schools and opinions. Customs found in Afghanistan and some regions of Pakistan, are more to do with backward tribal traditions than anything in the Quran.

To talk of a conflict between ‘Islamic culture’ and ‘the West’ without mentioning the Cold War is going some for a historian. That is like talking about 20th century Europe without mentioning World War II.

I recommend Charlie Wilson’s War , starring Tom Hanks. A tad low brow perhaps, but it shows just how much western governments, especially the USA and Britain backed the networks and militias that founded Al Qaeda, with devastating effects and the havoc they have caused in Muslim countries, especially Pakistan. Ask civil rights activists in Pakistan how they feel about this and you get some strong opinions about Western values. But that was when Osama Bin Laden was one of our guys and it was the Russians that were the enemy in the East that threatened Western civilisation.

Also given the inquisition and the various other pogroms that have been launched against Jewish people and Muslims by Christians, I find it obscene to have Muslims being accused of being anti Semitic and incapable of civilisation and rational thinking by a Christian fundamentalist. Perhaps reading up on some Islamic history, civilisation and culture before rubbishing 1.6 billion people would be a good idea, so here is a beginner’s guide, if you like:

Ibn Rushd achievements in philosophy and physics, Mimar Koca Sinan’s in architecture and city building, The leadership and chivalry of Saladin, The poetry, literature and lifetime campaigning for justice that was Faiz Ahmed Faiz,  and The theatre of Ajoka in Pakistan

Perhaps that could be factored into some zero sum millennialist equations.

Some Telegraph bloggers are very quick off the mark to condemn Muslims and often link marginal preachers of hate as being representative of mainstream Muslim communities. Andrew Gilligan has famously reinvented his journalistic career with a relentless focus on the East London Mosque.  Maybe he should look a bit closer to home and investigate preachers of hate operating in his own patch. That’s if he is allowed to.

A great challenge for the Muslim world is how much of it is located in regions of conflict where tribal and rural communities are coming head long into globalisation, mass urbanisation and modernity. Religion is a huge element in what is often a difficult mix of regional conflicts, tribal tensions, and sectarian discord and resource wars. We have many major challenges and sensitive issues. Thoughtful constructive engagement and criticism is welcome, bigoted hate filled ignorant rants we can do without. The Telegraph really has lowered itself into the sectarian gutter by hosting such rubbish.

Originally published by Dale & Co