Oct 8, 2006
Simon Jenkins on the Hypocrisy of Jack Straw
As some of you may be aware, last week Jack Straw, a senior member of the Labour government, called for Moslem women in Britain to discard the burqa. Straw was formerly Home Secretary and latterly Foreign Secretary, and is now Leader of the House of Commons. In other words, he has been an important member of the cabinet since Tony Blair became prime minister. In today's Sunday Times Simon Jenkins has written a perceptive column where he agrees with Straw's request but then explains how Shaw's exploitation of this topic is vulnerable to a number of hypocrisies.
"He and Blair took Britain to war. Straw has bought the full package, bombing Kabul and Baghdad, Guantanamo Bay, the return to Afghanistan and now a refusal to discuss withdrawal. He is a paid-up member of the pro-war cabinet.
"That the Iraq and Afghan wars have radicalised Muslim opinion against the West worldwide is a truism everywhere but in those citadels of denial, the White House and No 10. While the radicalising is most vociferous in the Middle East, its crypto-religious connotations have spilt over into Muslim communities everywhere. Antipathy is not just to the wars but also to the 'western values' in whose name they are being fought.
"The government’s claim that it is saving Muslims from their own worst selves and bringing them democracy is as patronising as it is implausible.
"Yet Straw believes it and last year vociferously declared that Muslim fanaticism in Britain 'has nothing whatever to do with the war'."
"He and Blair took Britain to war. Straw has bought the full package, bombing Kabul and Baghdad, Guantanamo Bay, the return to Afghanistan and now a refusal to discuss withdrawal. He is a paid-up member of the pro-war cabinet.
"That the Iraq and Afghan wars have radicalised Muslim opinion against the West worldwide is a truism everywhere but in those citadels of denial, the White House and No 10. While the radicalising is most vociferous in the Middle East, its crypto-religious connotations have spilt over into Muslim communities everywhere. Antipathy is not just to the wars but also to the 'western values' in whose name they are being fought.
"The government’s claim that it is saving Muslims from their own worst selves and bringing them democracy is as patronising as it is implausible.
"Yet Straw believes it and last year vociferously declared that Muslim fanaticism in Britain 'has nothing whatever to do with the war'."