Londonistan revisited

I used to think that Londonistan, in the sense of majority-Muslim and Islamic-ruled London, existed only in the differently sane heads of Al-Muhajiroun (may they rest in peace, and the sooner the better).

But now there is another differently sane (or differently-intelligent) person with a vision, and he explains his vision in TimeOut London. (via Dhimmi Watch)

It took me a while to decide whether the guy - his name is Michael Hodges - is serious or trolling. I finally decided that he is more likely to be serious, but I am not 100% sure. Not even 55% sure, in fact. I hope he is a troll. But hey, can I feed the troll just a little?

The man starts his article with a description of an Islamic execution in London in 2021. Then he stops halfway and says:

"Okay, not really - that's a hysterical, right-wing nightmare of a future Muslim London: where an cruel alien creed is forced on a liberal city. A society where women are second-class citizens, same sex relationships a crime and Sharia law enforces terrible public disfigurement and death. But the reality is a long, long way from this dark vision."

Errr... Are Al-Muhajiroun, technically speaking, right-wing? Here is a quote from them: "The Islamic judicial system would be implemented where adulterers would be stoned to death and thieves would have their hands cut. There would be no jury service or solicitors or barristers, rather Judges qualified in Islamic Law would preside over all cases and Judge according to God's law."

And what kind of hysterical paranoia could ever make a person imagine that in some Muslim society women might be second-class citizens, same sex relationships might be a crime and Sharia law might enforce terrible public disfigurement and death? Back to reality, you islamophobes!

After that our realist begins to list various advantages that Islam would bring to the city:

Public health: "On the surface, Islamic health doesn’t look good: the 2001 census showed that 24 per cent of Muslim women and 21 per cent of Muslim men suffered long-term illness and disability. But these are factors of social conditions rather than religion."

Education: "Presently, Muslim students perform less well than non-Muslim students. In inner London, 37 per cent of 16 to 24-year-old Muslims have no qualifications (the figure for the general population of the same age and location is 25 per cent). When it comes to university education the picture is equally gloomy: 16 to 24-year-old Muslims are half as likely to have degree level or above qualification than other inner London young people.

Again, social factors rather than religion have led to this state of affairs. Young Muslims in London are often of south Asian origin and therefore more likely to live in households where English is not the first language, more likely to encounter racism (both intentional and unintentional) during their education, and more likely to suffer from poverty and bad housing conditions."

As opposed to Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, of course, who never come from South Asia, always have English as their first language, never encounter any racism and therefore manage to get more degrees than Christians?

Food: "Application of halal (Arabic for ‘permissable’) dietary laws across London would free us at a stroke from our addiction to junk food, and the general adoption of a south Asian diet rich in fruit juice, rice and vegetables with occasional mutton or chicken would have a drastic effect on obesity, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorders and associated public health problems."

The man lives in the UK (presumably) and has never been to a Pakistani fast food joint?

Note how problems with health and education are totally not the fault of religion, but of social conditions and culture, but the South Asian diet is suddenly an achievement of Islam.

Inter-faith relations (oh, dear...): "Hindus and Sikhs manage to live alongside a large Muslim population in India, so why not here?"

India is not ruled by Muslims. Has the guy ever tried to find out what happened to Hindus and Sikhs who tried to live alongside a large Muslim population in Pakistan?

Social justice: "Each Muslim is obliged to pay zakat, a welfare tax of 2.5 per cent of annual income, that is distributed to the poor and the needy."

What a novel idea! Somebody please explain this guy about the welfare state.

This better be a troll. Otherwise the guy is so dumb that he'd get a second place at a stupidity contest.