29/06/2009

But...the Express likes sharia law

I don't just head over to the 'Have Your Say' section of the Express for fun, you know. I had actually waded over there in search of wisdom from Express readers regarding the news that there are 85 sharia courts in the UK. Well, at least there are alleged to be 85 by the man responsible for the spiffy Policy Exchange study that appeared to have manufactured evidence to suggest that loads of Mosques were actually selling nasty books to evil baddies - you know, the one that had to be withdrawn - so maybe a pinch of salt is needed when looking at this current news. Especially as the press release looks a bit shonky.

What's interesting me more than whether or not there are that many courts and whether or not that should leave us shaking in our beds is the Express's approach to the news.

Obviously, the Express is outraged. The Express is usually outraged at what Muslims are doing, often to the point of exaggerating it and making extra stuff up so it sounds more scary.

But not always - at least in relation to sharia law. Just under a year ago, the paper was busy bigging up the sharia legal system and publishing, in full, a letter from a prominent sharia supporter to the Home Secretary, which outlined in stark terms how much the sharia system in the country he lives in is better than the system we have in Britain.

Anyone remember who it was? Anyone? Get ready for the answer.

Okay - the fawning report of the letter was 'DAVIDSON: THERE'S NO RESPECT LEFT IN BRITAIN' and the letter was published under the headline 'JIM DAVIDSON OBE: THE LETTER IN FULL'. See how the paper bigs up Davidson's OBE credentials to add extra weight to the crowing over how brilliant life is in Dubai's sharia-based system? It's a wonderful example of how a complete lack of self awareness can completely cloud a person's judgement. Davidson seems to think that it is Dubai's legal system that stopped him from being 'threatened and assaulted by a thug' rather than the fact that nobody knows who the hell he is in Dubai, so are unaware of how much of a cock-end he is.

Still, say what you like about Davidson (for me, that's usually, 'I'd like to kick him in the knackers and push him over a table') but at least he followed that sage advice often offered by right wing blowhards everywhere that goes, 'if you like it so much, why don't you go and live there?'

He liked right-wing, homophobic authoritarianism so much, he went to live in a right-wing homophobic authoritarian country.

If only the entire editorial staff of the Express, the Mail, the Star and the Sun had similar courage of their convictions.

Much more good stuff on the report itself over at Tabloid Watch in 'The Mail wants you to be afraid of sharia courts', which does something a lot more useful than slagging off Jim Davidson with the story.

4 comments:

FlipC said...

Notice how it's not until the penultimate paragraph that it's finally implied, rather than explicitly stated, that Sharia Courts are perfectly legal when MacEoin is quoted demanding that they be excluded from arbitration laws.

anarchlyst said...

Wonderful! Hilarous!! Thank you.

Sonofajoiner said...

"...I'd like to kick him in the knackers and push him over a table"

Ah, such modest dreams.

Five Chinese Crackers said...

Sonofajoiner:

Ah, such modest dreams.

Modest, but worthwhile.

FlipC:

Ah, the tradition of burying uncomfortable facts at the bottom. Where would scare stories be without it?