John Reid Quotes
If we … are going to ask the decent, silent majority of Muslim men -- and women -- to have the courage to face down the extremist bullies, then we need to have the courage and character to stand shoulder to shoulder with them doing it.
Tragically, at the time, reasonable, moderate Muslims who did stand up at that time ran the personal risk of social, religious ostracism to physical attack and killing of them and their families.
John Reid, British Minister of Defense, English Secretary of State for Health (Labor), Speech, Labour Party Conference, Manchester, September 28, 2006
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Nigeria was about equally divided into Muslims who dominated the North and Christians and Animists who dominated the South. The former were intent on making Sharia—Islamic Law—the law of the nation and the latter were equally passionate to avoid it. Muslim protests got very violent including murdering innocent civilians; the Christians threatened to retaliate.
Islamic religious extremists do not allow freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to life, freedom from torture and mutilation, self-government, gender equality, protection of children or women from violence, sexual freedom, freedom of expression, reproductive rights for women, right work, which are just a few. The modern Islamic extremists allow about the same human rights as did the Christian Kings and the Church of 1000 years ago. Ironically, it is less respect for human rights that many of the great Islamic societies provided 1000 years ago.
Essentially, he is advocating a reformation of the Islamic religion, much like that which has taken place in Christianity and Judaism. However, while most Muslims of the world are not extreme fundamentalists, most of the existing clerics (as did their Christian and Jewish counterparts years ago) turn any attempt at reform into blasphemy and sin. Throughout much of the Islamic world, Muslims who argue publicly for reform are at risk for their lives as the existing Muslim clerics generally encourage attacks on reforms or turn a blind eye to efforts to suppress reform.
Slogans taken from posters listing 10 people targeted by Muslim extremists. Most were people who had said or published material that some fundamentalist Muslims had decided were offensive to Islam. One was Charlie Hebdo, the French Publisher who Islamic terrorists murdered later. Note the Americanisms that the terrorist propagandists adopted. The Wanted Dead or Alive was taken from the posters of the American West of the 19th century. The "Yes we can" was lifted from the Barack Obama 2008 campaign slogan. The "Bullet A Day Keeps the Infidel Away" is a takeoff on the American saying "An apple a day keeps the Doctor away." One of the reasons for these Americanisms was that the founding editor was Samir Khan, self-described American traitor.
See {586916} for a passage from the Koran supporting his point.
She had been covering Muslim nations and leaders for a long time and saw the relationship between the contemporary domination of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism long before most.
See {583817} for how France was more assertive in handling this problem.
Most Americans and Europeans and their governments feel that Muslim leaders and organizations have not done very much in terms of “drawing the line” and publicly condemning terrorism. However many of the critics did not understand the intimidation that exists in most Islamic communities where the fascist fundamentalists target any Muslim public critics as heretics and apostates themselves. Many have been killed or injured in assassination attempts.
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan PC, is a British Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010, and served in the Cabinet under Prime Minister Tony Blair in a number of positions. He was Health Secretary from 2003 to 2005, Defence Secretary from 2005 to 2006, and Home Secretary from 2006 to 2007.
