Wednesday, July 04, 2007

‘Bring hatred into the fold’

The shadow cabinet has made like a banana and split.

David Cameron’s new star Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion, Sayeeda Warsi, made a helpful suggestion on 19 July 2005, less than a fortnight after the 7/7 bombings:

Tony Blair needs to consider holding talks with Islamic extremists in the wake of the London bombings, the Conservatives' Muslim vice-chair says. Sayeeda Warsi says Mr Blair should follow the example of ministers' engagement with IRA representatives. …
Ms Warsi, 34, who failed to win the Dewsbury seat from Labour at the general election, says Mr Blair should consider talking to the very people he believes are linked to the London bombings. "We must start engaging with, not agreeing with, the radical groups who we have said in the past are complete nutters," she said.
"We need to bring these groups into the fold of the democratic process. As long as we exclude them and don't hear them out, we will allow them to continue their hate.
"It may not achieve results immediately, but it may stop the immediate violence."

The logical contradiction in the last sentence is, I think, the smallest fault of this position.

And today in Parliament: Cameron demanded that Islamic extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir should be banned.

There are too few young people in front-line politics; there are too few women; and there are too few Muslims. One can understand Cameron’s desire to kill three birds with one stone by appointing (indeed, ennobling) Warsi. But her views make her unfit for purpose.

When’s he going to sack her?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am a muslim extremist and am ready for a sex change-could I be a Lord?