Isis - Did The Sun Get It Wrong?

[agchristie]

Comment from the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/08/sun-unite-against-isis-muslim-bigotry

[Gromit]

Yep.
Look out for next week's campaign...
Black people - prove you are not a criminal and rapist.

[naomi24]

No, I don’t think it did. I’ve not read today’s Sun, but I listened to much of a discussion on Radio 4 between two speakers – one from the Sun and one representing the views expressed in the link. Having missed the introduction, I don’t know their names. The fact is Islam holds itself unique from the rest of the world; Isis claims to speak and act for Islam, and therefore it is in the interests of moderate Muslims who just want to get on with their lives to speak out against something that purports to represent their views, but does not. All credit to the Sun for giving genuine Muslims the opportunity to voice their opposition to atrocities being committed in their name. Such an exercise can only fortify much needed social cohesion.

[FrogNog]

Naomi I don't agree.
That's like saying all christians should roundly denounce the Westboro baptist church all day every day because the WBC claims to be the true followers of the bible's teachings.
I don't think red top propaganda helps the situation and the Sun should be ashamed of its use of imagery IMO. But then, the editor knew exactly what they were doing.

[douglas9401]

Okay, form two orderly queues and let's get this done quickly.

[naomi24]

FrogNog, The Westboro Baptist Church doesn’t present a threat to the world, and is universally acknowledged to be a bastardisation (I wonder if that will get 'starred' out?) of Christianity. On the other hand, ISIS is radical Islam in all its disgusting reality – its ambition to rule the world, so where is the line drawn there? That’s the difference between what the Westboro Baptist Church does and the current threat that ISIS is presenting to us all – Muslims and the rest of us alike. The imagery portrayed by the Sun is the political uniform of radical Islam – make no mistake about that - and as such it is a very appropriate image. How many ordinary Muslims have, up until now, had the chance – or the courage - to voice their opposition? None! The Sun is the most read newspaper in this country so what better opportunity? The more Muslims who make their opposition apparent, the weaker the perceived support for extremist Islam becomes – and, for social cohesion at least, that has to be a good thing.

Douglas, I'm going to bed shortly. And breathe.... :o)

[FrogNog]

Naomi are you saying that radical islam wears a union jack Hijab as a uniform? I think not.
I think you have a certain slant in this area and from previous debates with you I can see that it's not worth trying to make you see the flaw in your logic.
I'll bow out because I've said what I believe.
You may not agree with me, but I don't agree with you either.

[naomi24]

FrogNog, No, I'm not saying that radical Islam wears a Union Jack hijab - simply that the uniform of political Islam is the hijab/burka. If you think there's a flaw in my logic but are reluctant to tell me what you think it is, I suspect my logic isn't that flawed. Night, night.

[jim360]

While I agree that it is in the interests of normal Muslims to speak out against IS, I don't think they should feel pressured into doing so, or condemned/ vilified if they do not. At any rate I hope that this doesn't turn into a sort of "if you are not with us then you are against us" argument.

[Huderon]

Yes they did get it wrong, but then they don't give a hoot about anything other than selling papers by using flashy headlines and stirring the ordure.

I'm fairly sure that Muslims do discuss and debate issues like ISIS and other such groups, but they do it within the family, the community and the mosque, all of which takes time before a consensus is reached.

And before someone decides to jump on me for that statement, I will just point out that Islam is fundamental to the daily life of Muslims, and that while individual members of that faith may well abhor the actions of ISIS and other extremist groups, the debate within the community is about the interpretation of Islam being used by those groups to justify their actions, hence the time taken to condemn them as a community.

As regards the Sun's sign to put in your window - anyone who is Muslim and does so will make themselves a target for all the idiots who believe all the anti-Muslim headlines they see in the papers and first few paragraphs of the accompanying articles. The Imam of the mosque in Southfields (the oldest mosque in London) has been targeted by local idiots - bricks thrown through windows, racist graffiti daubed on the walls of his house and the like.

As far as I know, that mosque, and others I know of in the area, have never been associated with extremist views or fundamentalist Islam, not that that makes a blind bit of difference to the believers of the headlines of some tabloid newspapers.

[naomi24]

Correction to my post. For hijab/burka read niqab/burka. The woman portrayed in the Sun appears to be wearing a Union Jack patterned hijab – a headscarf – so not the political uniform of Islam – simply the traditional head covering. Nothing offensive about that.

[anotheoldgit]

Perhaps if the Muslims in this country embraced Britain more, along with it's ways and traditions, instead of isolating themselves in their ghettos and wearing Middle Eastern dress, the perhaps there would be more integration, after all Britain was the country they chose to bring their families up in, they wasn't forced to come here.