Isn’t this lowbrow even for the Telegraph?

‘I am living in a place where I am a stranger’, claims ‘reluctant racist’ at Torygraph

“The streets around Acton, which has been my home since 1996, have taken on a new identity. Most of the shops are now owned by Muslims and even the fish and chip shop and Indian takeaway are Halal. It seems that almost overnight it’s changed from Acton Vale into Acton Veil.”

Over at the Telegraph, Jane Kelly protests against the Islamification of west London. At least she doesn’t bother trotting out the usual excuse that her dislike of Muslims is based solely on cultural differences and has nothing to do with race. She writes that “many white people in London and the Home Counties now move house on the basis of ethnicity” and justifies this on the grounds that “mass immigration is making reluctant racists of us all”.

Kelly is consulting editor at the Salisbury Review, a publication that achieved notoriety back in 1984 when it published an article by Bradford headteacher Ray Honeyford entitled “Education and Race – an Alternative View” which featured a range of offensive racist stereotypes.

Describing a meeting with Bradford Asian parents to discuss education policy, Honeyford wrote: “The hysterical political temperament of the Indian sub-continent became evident – an extraordinary sight in an English School Hall…. A half-educated and volatile Sikh usurped the privileges of the chair by deciding who was to speak.”

Which only goes to show how little things have changed on the Conservative right over the past three decades.

The Telegraph presents Kelly’s op ed as “a provocative personal piece”. I suppose that’s one way of describing an article expressing bigotry towards an entire ethno-religious community. Perhaps the Telegraph might consider following it up with another “provocative personal piece” complaining that Golders Green or Stoke Newington have been taken over by Jews, and see how that goes down.

Robert Spencer

Why is it that the media is so keen on associating the word ‘Muslim’ with the word ‘bomb’?  Even the mere presence of Muslims in Europe is now being considered by some as a ticking “demographic time bomb“.  Adrian Michaels of the Telegraph writes:

Britain and the rest of the European Union are ignoring a demographic time bomb: a recent rush into the EU by migrants, including millions of Muslims, will change the continent beyond recognition over the next two decades, and almost no policy-makers are talking about it.

After reporting a slurry of carefully selected statistics, even Michaels admits that

Recent polls have tended to show that the feared radicalisation of Europe’s Muslims has not occurred. That gives hope that the newcomers will integrate successfully.

However, this doesn’t stop our dear friend Robert Spencer over at Jihad Watch from wasting a moment before screaming the proverbial “I told you so!”

And those who are talking about it are smeared and vilified as racists and bigots. When a nuclear-powered Islamic Republic of France threatens the U.S., however, some Americans may come to regret the ease with which they swallowed and even propagated defamation and lies about anti-jihad European politicians such as Geert Wilders.

Aside from the blatant alarmist (and delusional) drivel about the emergence of a fantasy land “Islamic Republic of France” the fact of the matter is that openly welcoming and embracing Muslim immigrants into Europe is perhaps the best way to moderate the radical fringes of the Muslim population.  Ostracizing the immigrant population or condemning their religious heritage will only cause further enmity and create more bitter radicals.

It’s only when those individuals see firsthand that what they have been told about Westerners is wrong that they will begin to question their long held perceptions.  Likewise, some Western stereotypes of Muslims may also break down in the process.  Perhaps this is what Robert Spencer is most afraid of.