VDARE.com Blog Last Updated: 10/21/04

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Muslims in Britain and Europe [James Fulford] - 10/21/04

I heard that the BBC had done a radio story on a resurgence of Muslim Polygamy in Britain, and I went looking for it on their site.

I couldn't find it there, but in looking for it, I found the following:

• France deports controversial imam A Muslim preacher who defended wife-beating has been deported from France. [

German nuns 'face headscarf ban' A German court has ruled that a regional ban on Muslim teachers wearing headscarves in state schools must also apply to Christian nuns, reports say.

What happens if you are Muslim and gay?[About a Muslim youth website] Islamophobia and racist attacks are thought to [be] rising while long-standing problems of unemployment and low educational achievement persist in many Muslim communities.

• Beard row Muslim sacking appeal
  A Muslim who told his employer that if hired he would get a haircut and trim his beard, later decided it was against his religion to do so. Sorry, I mean, the haircut was against his religion, not lying to his employer. (His boss said that it wasn't just the beard, it was his "lack of enthusiasm."

And speaking of "lack of enthusiasm," here's a problem that I discussed before 9/11:

• Muslim reservist loses Iraq case
  A Muslim reservist who refused to take part in the Iraq war has lost a High Court battle over his conviction for going absent without leave.[He said "that he was not returning to duty because to do so was against his religion."]

But it could be worse; while he may not be loyal to the United Kingdom or the Royal Air Force, at least he's not going to fight for the other side:

• Danish detainee 'to join rebels'
  
  The administration has released a number of detainees from Guantanamo, based on their promise to go and sin no more. Remember Willie Horton?
  
  He told the reporter that a contract signed with US authorities when he was released, agreeing not to take part in terrorist activities or conspire against the US or their allies, was worthless.
  
  "This document is toilet paper for the Americans if they want it," he said, adding that he was "not afraid of being thrown in jail" by Danish authorities.
  
  He's planning a trip to Chechnya.

Oh, yes, polygamy. If I lived in England, that would be the least of my worries, (see above,) but still very worrisome, since the British and EU courts are now starting to do to British society, what American courts have been doing for years.

A challenge to the British marriage laws, which go back to the time of Edward the Confessor, as been brewing since the year 2000.

It's even been suggested that if polygamy is legalized, then polyandry, (multiple husbands) must be legalized too, because of equal rights.

Today there was a story in the Times of London about polygamy being practiced in secret in the immigrant Muslim community in England.  

UP TO 4,000 British Muslim men have entered into polygamous marriages, some of them keeping as many as five wives, according to senior religious figures. 

They have taken advantage of a loophole in the laws against bigamy by going through a “nikah” ceremony at a mosque rather than registering the marriages officially.

Many are avoiding the expense and obligations of divorce, but an estimated 2,000 or more are men who wish to exercise their “right”, according to traditional interpretations of the Koran, to have as many as four wives.

Such relationships, sealed in a Muslim ceremony conducted by an imam, are recognised by Islamic authorities as marriages in the eyes of God. They are, however, invalid under British law, which leaves many “wives” with no rights to their husband’s income, pension, benefits or share of the family home should the relationship break up.

In extreme cases, women brought from abroad, notably from Bangladesh, to marry a British Muslim have been victims of so-called honour killings by their families after being sent home when the relationship has failed.

[Muslim men use law loophole to get a harem of 'wives', By Lewis Smith, October 21, 2004]

That's multiculturalism for you. The only reason it's being reported at all is because Muslim religious figures in Britain are trying to put a stop to it.

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Taking AIM at the Iraq War [James Fulford] - 10/21/04

The Accuracy in Media people have produced a documentary called Confronting Iraq, [View trailer] which attempts to sort out the reasons for the War in Iraq, and counter some of the relentless anti-American propaganda found not only in the Mainstream Media, and on the left, but even here, I'm afraid, here on the right. Check it out.

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Health, Welfare, and Citizenship [James Fulford] - 10/21/04

Mark Steyn did a column about socialized medicine in Canada recently; he's had experience with English, Canadian, American and health care: American is best.

A reaeder who likes socialized medicine replied that socialized medicine was more egalitarian, since the rich and the employed could be treated just as badly as the homeless, and those on welfare. He said

National health care systems of course don't work well, but on a basic level they do work - they assure a citizens’ right to treatment is determined by nothing other than their citizenship. [EQUAL UNDER THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM , Scroll down)]

Steyn's short and accurate answer to the collectivist argument was  “equality of crap” and “universal lack of access”.

But there's an additional, National Question type point, suitable for VDARE.com. According to Steyn:

And the notion that the right to treatment is determined by “citizenship” is patently false: A government health care system inevitably finds itself servicing large numbers of people who aren’t citizens or legal residents at all: in Britain, while elderly citizens wait in pain for hip replacements, the overwhelming majority of the NHS Aids clinics are treating illegal immigrants from Africa.

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