Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Quote of the day


Channel 4's Dispatches investigates some of the 2,000 Muslim schools in Britain run by Islamic organisations.

"What was striking about the programme { dispatches} was how utterly, utterly alien the whole thing was. Here, in the county of Shakespeare, are children being taught in an environment – in manners, speech, clothes, subject matter and in fistful-sized beards – which is completely disconnected from England.
"
Ed West
Telegraph blog.

Never, never use 'The language of Shakespeare.'

Especially to try and make a religious point.
The Bard lived in a time of religious terror and extremism. The Armada wasn't coming here for Cowes week.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

zzz Quango.

The religious wars of Europes past were wars between the elites who ruled Europe.
The religious wars between Muslims amd the West will be neighbour vs neighbour.

A disaster is in the making worse than this country has ever seen.

Anonymous said...

I see that Guido Fawkes is/was an insurgent ;-) Anon above I think Wills is refering to the days of Good Queen Bess and Philip 2 of Spain and his agents, one of whom was Guido Fawkes. In the days of the Normans Muslims fought on the side who payed them, very mercenary.

Nick Drew said...

anon@8:19 - you been watching El Cid ?!

Old BE said...

I think at least West should have written that sentence in iambic pentameter.

Anonymous said...

Nope, read rather an interesting book of the vikings, who claimed to be descended from Roland (Rolo) and the vikings (c800AD) nasty bits of work as well, well the saracens followed the money as well as getting their own back on their enemies

Anonymous said...

Whoops sorry, that should read interesting book of the normans

Bill Quango MP said...

Anon{1}: All of Europe was ruled by elites. In effect all were dictatorships. But the wars were religious.
Henry VIII was made defender of the Faith for being a good catholic.

Anon{2}. Quite. Guido Fawkes and co would have been quite at home among the suicide bombers.

BE: Its a very Daily Mail sort of phrase. "The county of Shakespeare!"
Reminds me of The Simpsons and Homer's Land of chocolate.

Nick Drew said...

West should have written that sentence in iambic pentameter

don't tempt me, BE

Anonymous said...

Religion was the pretext for war, but in reality it was a fight for dominance between Europes ruling houses.

If they had not used religion they would have found some other reason.

Religion throughout the world is often a proxy for race or tribe. As in Nigeria, Sudan, North Ireland.
etc.

Anonymous said...

Don't people write nonsense on history on the internet? OF COURSE the wars were religious AND there were economic motives too (as ever). Don't mind them trolls, BQ.

It is a fair chance old Will was a closet Catholic. My theory is that his humane and reflective writing comes from trying to understand how men can do the basest things from the highest motives.

Anonymous said...

Europe was at each others throats long before Christianity in its different forms was invented, and long before Islam was invented as well.