british and proud.....

[pauld]

So, if they're so peaceful and tolerant what have they got these Muslamic RayGuns for then, eh? It's not for cooking their bacon sandwiches with, is it? We'll all be obliterated in our beds I tell thee

[mrverve]

Racist undertones? That is quite conservative.

How would you like Muslims to show this increased "respect for our way of life", and what exactly is our "way of life"? I've got an image of a guy in a turban, eating a bacon sandwich, pissed up, sitting outside the job centre, spitting racial slurs at a chinese man walking past.

Almost every religion has a small minority who see it as their purpose to try and convert people. Even seemingly passive forms of organised religion have such campaigners. It's offensive and not acceptable. Based on my experiences in Oxford and London, I've no foundation to believe that muslims even do this at all. Walk down Cornmarket Street in Oxford (the main shopping street in the city centre) on any day of the week and you can expect to see at least one, maybe two, stalls out pushing Christian Literature and attempting to draw you into a conversation, the motive of which is inevitably to convert or pursuade you. Then there is a fellow who is belting out his prophetic judgements for all and sundry to hear, phrases like "turn to Jesus or you will suffer when the time comes". Not once have I seen any Muslims attempting such shoddy tactics, and East Oxford in particular has a healthy Muslim community, so it is not due to a lack of presence.

In fact, the Islamic community here are known for their open-mindedness. Once a year there is a celebration of the Islamic faith, in the form of a street parade. People of all religions are openly invited to join their neighbours (and they do, en masse) and celebrate cultural diversity and the integration of people, regardless of faith. No preaching or attempted conversion or pursuasion takes place, it is merely the outward expression of the opposite sort of mindset which you claim Muslims (in your experience) to have - a willingness to integrate, accept, and celebrate difference.

I like the way you start a sentence with "I don't want to pigeon hole all muslims in the UK" then in the next sentence you pigeon hole all muslims in the UK ("I think muslims try and enforce their beliefs on people of other religions") based on your experience of "a fair few" - whatever that means.

I can only go on my experience of muslims in this country.

Again I'm all for people practising any religion in which they choose to believe in.

We are more tolerent of other religions of course we are, try going into Saudi Arabia and act / dress the way you do in this country and see where that gets you. Try practising another faith in certain muslim countries.

[spacey]

try going into Saudi Arabia and act / dress the way you do in this country and see where that gets you..

That's a bit harsh on Oxford Fan! I'm sure a pair of dungerees and a pair of orthopedic shoes would go down a storm in Saudi Arabia.

[pauld]

We are more tolerent of other religions of course we are, try going into Saudi Arabia and act / dress the way you do in this country and see where that gets you. Try practising another faith in certain muslim countries.

And we're rightly proud of that tolerance which to me is a fundamental part of "Englishness"/"Britishness". Which is why so many of us find the idea of an organisation calling itself the English Defence League which seeks to make us as intolerant as it claims some Muslamic countries are, so objectionable. There's nothing English about bigotry and intolerance.

[Ginginho]

And now, "Muslamic Ray Guns", the Bhangra mix:

That's just superb.

[Mexicano Rojo]

I concur genius.

[redbullzeye]

That's just superb.

Brilliant stuff although the tosser actually sounds coherant on this!

[jayohaitchenn]

It's Islamophobia, if you want to get pedantic about it.

No mate, a phobia is an irrational fear. It's not a phobia if you know why you don't like it.

[pauld]

No mate, a phobia is an irrational fear. It's not a phobia if you know why you don't like it.

It is if the reasons are complete bunk. People who suffer from arachnophobia know why they don't like spiders (hairy legs etc), but it doesn't stop the fear from being completely irrational.

Not that any of that's terribly germane to this discussion. It's racism, pure and simple, in the same way hatred of Jews is.

[BANGKOK RED]

Being scared of a snake on TV, at long distance or in a cage is a phobia because there is no way it could possibly harm you.

Seeing a snake up close is not a phobia, because there is a legitimate reason for fear.

I like snakes, in fact I used to keep them as pets. But if I saw a Cobra up close and in the wild (which I have done), I would cack myself (which I did, proverbially)

[pauld]

Proverbially? A cack in the pants is worth one in the bush?

[BANGKOK RED]

I've not found the right word there have I? It's bugging me.

[london_red]

Metaphorically?

[A Gent Orange]

Literally, I suspect. But then Jamie Redknapp seems to think that means metaphorically.

[reeves4england]

This thread has brought great entertainment to me today...

 - Attacks on Muslims and their rights based on a few isolated incidents concerning marginal extreme idiots
 - Claims about militant Islam growing with absolutely no concrete or even spurious evidence to back it up
 - Claims about Muslim communities without any consideration (or awareness) of the socio-economic factors which cause urban segregation
 - Attacks on all religions despite total ignorance over what they're based on, how they're practised, and how our society is built on (and continues to support) most of the things that they all believe in and practise more than Joe Bloggs
 - People protesting despite not knowing what they're protesting against or what they're trying to achieve
 
There have also been plenty of good points raised, and I understand people wanting to put Crispy in his place, but most of this thread has been comical.