There seems to be a firestorm in the UK over Nigel Farage’s recent comments that the UK is letting in too many immigrants who do not support “British values” and “loathe what we stand for.” He is being accused of “Islamophobia” for saying this.
Watch the original interview. It seems to me Farage is perfectly right, and the interviewer dishonest. He is trying to poison the well; Farage is not allowed to cite simple facts, or he is “Islamophobic.” This shuts down debate and leads to bad policy.
Farage here shows himself, once again, a true leader. He will not be intimidated.
Surely it is self-evident that Islam is a set of values. Are these values the same as traditional British values? Are they compatible with them? If not, is British culture and are British values worth preserving?
Let’s take these necessary questions in turn.
Are Islamic values the same as British values?
They are not, in one essential way. Islam demands sharia law. Nothing, not even the English language, is more central to British culture than British common law; including the principles of Magna Carta and all the rest.
Next to that, little is more central to British culture than parliamentary democracy. Islam demands a theocracy. There is a reason why there are no functioning democracies in the Muslim Middle East.
Britain is an officially Christian country; the King is head of the church. Islam is obviously a different creed. Granted, freedom of religion is also a mainstay of modern British culture. But Islam is also doctrinally opposed to freedom of religion: death is the punishment for apostasy. Blasphemy laws apply to non-Muslims; no one may deny the truth of Islam.
Can these Muslim values coexist with British values?
On their face, no. And the history of Islam everywhere suggests they cannot. Because of the requirement for sharia law and theocracy, Islam must rule. If there is a substantial Muslim population anywhere, there is an immediate demand for segregation and independence: they will not integrate.
Are, then, British culture and British values worth preserving?
Just consider the objective accomplishments of British culture. Science, democracy, the Industrial Revolution, Shakespeare, William Blake, the Salvation Army, the Boy Scouts, Dickens, the Brontes, Orwell, football, cricket, rugby, and so on. Suppose it is not the best culture in the world. Even so, surely it is worth preserving. Surely every people has a right to exist, to their culture.
But also consider the quality of the average person’s life in the UK, say over the past few hundred years, with that of the average countryman elsewhere worldwide. Look at the raw economic statistics, or the relative absence of violence and social turmoil.
The answer is obvious. If British culture is lost, it is unlikely to be replaced by something better.
All of these same considerations, of course, apply to Canada; or the US.
This is nothing against Islam. Different countries and different cultures all have a perfect right to exist. Muslims are free to be Muslims in Muslim countries. British people simply deserve the same right.
'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.
