One thing that many of our Muslim friends never quite grasp, as they seek to “integrate” into our society on their terms, is that every time they use the West’s sense of fairness and indeed its laws against Westerners then there are making the gap wider. Increasingly such stunts persuade people not to accomodate them.
That there are plenty of fair-minded, reasonable and even positively-determined female Muslims who want to establish themselves as useful members of society is not in question. What is in question is whether waving a semi-barbaric religion in front of a large number of non-believing people, demanding people regard it as something special when it isn’t, gets in the way of simply being a human being. Society has to function as a give-and-take; and this woman it seems was happy to take without giving.
Bushra Noah has every right to worship whatever concept of God that pleases her; but I would imagine if God exists then He (or She) is – in the greater scheme of things – not much bothered by one person taking her headscarf off for a few hours a day.
But a religion which believes that God is continually angry and must be placated by gestures and even murder (yes, it appears to happen) doesn’t appeal to most of us. A lot of us can see no reason why we should continually amend our way of life for the supposed benefit of their belief-pattern.
Every time the Muslim faith bleats they are disliked and mistrusted they seem to do something to show there is cause for it. Parading placards calling for the death of ‘non-believers’ may be an extreme example of this, but we tolerate it for reasons I can never understand. It certainly isn’t fairness on their part for us to be told we are all to die for the glory of a religion we do not admire.
Ms Noah may in the eyes of many “angry” muslims be a hero of their cause. But her ill-advised action is for most part yet another piece of proof that religion ought to be a purely private matter and never be permitted to enter into the nation’s public life.
