Labour Muslim Network have got their collective knickers in a twist over a meme put out by a Labour Peer mocking the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream company decision not to sell ice cream to parts of Israel. However the manner which the Labour Muslim Network have chosen to do so gives the unfortunate impression that this Labour organisation is on the side of the genocidal terror group Hamas. Now of course that may not have been their intention to do this but the way that they’ve worded their whining Tweet about Lord Ian Austin’s meme, does give the impression that the Labour Muslim Network thinks ‘Israel bad – Hamas good’.
Here is the meme in question.
As you will see from the screenshot of the LMN’s Tweet pasted below, they whined hard about how criticising Hamas, which the meme clearly does, is ‘Islamophobia’.
This claim that the meme is linked to anti Muslim prejudice or the fake word ‘Islamophobia’ is to put it frank, bullshit. How on earth can criticism of a vile and genocidal terrorist group be considered as being against Islam the religious ideology. The answer is clearly that such criticism of Hamas is not rooted in anti Muslim prejudice, unless of course some Muslims in Britain consider Hamas as representative of Islam?
Labour Muslim Network have committed a bit of an own goal here and for several reasons. Firstly they’ve reached all too swiftly and readily for the tools of whining and self declared victimhood and secondly they’ve treated criticism of a terror organisation with criticism of Islam. If the Labour Muslim Network really were committed to peace in the Middle East then they would have no problem with criticising Hamas. After all many of the individual Arabs of both Israel and the Judea and Shomron areas want peace, as do the Jewish and Christian inhabitants of the region, it’s mainly the headcases, a group that plainly includes Hamas, who do not want peace.
Labelling criticism of murderous loons as Islamophobia strongly implies that you think that Islam = murderous loons. It goes without saying that anti semitism is just fine and dandy.
Yeah Labour Muslim Network have shot themselves in the foot there. It forces people to think as you say that Islam=Murderous loons. Many people of various religions are capable of denouncing or distancing themselves from the lunatics in their own ranks so why can’t Labour Muslim Network do the same re Hamas?
“How on earth can criticism of a vile and genocidal terrorist group be considered as being against Islam the religious ideology. The answer is clearly that such criticism of Hamas is not rooted in anti Muslim prejudice, unless of course some Muslims in Britain consider Hamas as representative of Islam.”
And why should they not?
Al-Azhar, which is recognised as a leading Sunni authority on religious matters, could not bring itself to condemn ISIL, but has had no problem condemning “Modernist” Muslims on occasion.
So if ISIL is still within the fold of Islam (along with some 50+ other terror groups) why not HAMAS?
Does that mean that HAMAS’ ISIL’s etc interpretation of Islam is the only legitimate one? No, but it does mean it is A legitimate one.
Also: why am I totally unsurprised that the HAMAS (et al) supporters are in the Labour Party? (Presumably they form either a majority or else are the most powerful block within the LMN since they speak for it.)
The answer, which some may not like, is that there are some Muslims in Labour who are ideologically wedded to Hamas. This is something that Labour’s political opponents should point out at every possible opportunity as it will inevitably damage Labour’s image among the normals.