Why I doubt the reality of so-called moderate Muslims

Radical Islamists in England sought to blow up at least ten transatlantic flights. Britain’s so-called “moderate” Muslims did not condemn this manifest act of terror. Instead, they sought to be capitalize on it, in order to advance the same Muslim agenda the terrorists wanted to impose through mass murder:

Islamists working within the system exploited the thwarted Islamist terror plot to pressure the British government to implement their joint wishes and reverse British policy in the Middle East. Lawful Islamists shamelessly leveraged the near death of thousands to forward their agenda.

Despite its reported fears of Muslim street unrest, the Blair government heatedly rejected the letter. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called it “the gravest possible error.” The Foreign Office minister Kim Howells dismissed it as “facile.” Home Secretary John Reid deemed it a “dreadful misjudgment” to think that the “foreign policy of this country should be shaped in part, or in whole, under the threat of terrorism activity.” Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander rejected the letter as “dangerous and foolish.”

Undaunted, the “moderate” Muslim establishment pushed even harder on the domestic front. In an August 14 meeting with high government representatives, including the deputy prime minister, it made two further demands: that a pair of Islamic religious festivals become official holidays and that Islamic laws pertaining to marriage and family life be applied in Britain. A Muslim present at the meeting later warned the government against any plans to profile airport passengers, lest this step radicalize Muslim youths further.

Why these ultimata and why at this time? According to the Daily Mail, the leader of the August 14 Muslim delegation, Syed Aziz Pasha, explained his group’s logic: “if you give us religious rights, we will be in a better position to convince young people that they are being treated equally along with other citizens.” More ominously, Mr. Pasha threatened the government leaders. “We are willing to cooperate, but there should be a partnership. They should understand our problems. Then we will understand their problems.”

The press reacted furiously to these demands. The Guardian‘s Polly Toynbee condemned the open letter as “perilously close to suggesting the government had it coming.” The Daily Mirror‘s Sue Carroll portrayed Mr. Pasha’s position as “perilously close to blackmail.”

This was not the first such attempt by “moderate” British Muslim leaders at political jujitsu, to translate Islamist violence into political clout. The same happened, if less aggressively, in the aftermath of the July 2005 London bombings, when they piggybacked on the death of 52 innocents to demand that British forces leave Iraq.

By the way, as Daniel Pipes, who wrote the above quotation, goes on to explain, the last acts of political jujitsu worked. Maybe after the show of heated expressions of outrage at the latest demands, the British establishment will cave this time too.