Is There An Ever Growing Anti Islam Movement In Uk?

[ToraToraTora]

With the bombings the other week and this latest incident:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23808038
are we seeing a growing tendency toward Islamophobia?

[doctordb]

Could it be that anti-islamic sentiments are highlighted because islam is less tolerant of criticism and satire or that it is more easily offended than the other religions, unwilling to laugh at itself or be laughed at?

[Octavius]

Certainly Islam appears less tolerant of crtiticism and satire - plenty of obvious examples for that and they do appear to have more 'protection' to their sensitivites (fear perhaps?), but other religions are sensitive too - Jerry Springer Opera. Antisemitism etc, which shows the varying degrees. We can probaby smile at the Jerry Springer / Life of Brian thing because ribbing Christians is easy and largely accepted, but anti-semitism....?

[vetuste_ennemi]

Am I afraid of people who want to murder my fellow citizens and me? Yes, I am.
Do I hate people who want to deny my fellow citizens and me our traditional freedoms and want to impose their own vile way of life on us? Yes, I do. (I leave it to you Christian to love your enemies. I understand you feel this does you credit; it will win you no brownie points from the barbarians who are as much your enemies as mine.)
So that makes me two kinds of phobe.
Do I put most of the Muslims I live and work with in the above two categories? No. So have avoided the stupid conflation attacked by Octavius.
As for “ever growing”, am I more or less of a phobe now than I used to be? I’m afraid I am. When I was young we didn’t have thousands of Islamic fundamentalists here. It was only later that somebody thought it would be a good idea to go to the sinks of the world, empty the village madrasahs and bring their morally malformed contents here to add a little frisson to British life.

[doctordb]

It's true Octavius that all religions have varying degrees of sensitivity but we'll have come a long way when we see an islamic 'woody allen' or 'Father ted'.

[Octavius]

doctordb - have you see Four Lions or The Infidel ? There are pockets.

[doctordb]

Yes, Octavius, Four lions. Don't think they were screened in tehran though. :)

[Octavius]

doctordb - I thought I'd neve see the day when Life of Brian was watched by all the members of a very strong catholic household one evening in a farmhouse in county Cork in around 1985..... but I did.

And we all laughed so much, even the gramps.