'The Muslim Menace to Our British Nationality'

Friday, 26 June 2009 15:55

Alex Massie writes a marvellous piece in The Spectator this week, ‘The Muslim Menace to Our British Nationality. For Real!’.

Drawing on parallels from British history on the majority’s prejudicial and bigoted views towards other groups in society, Massie shows how attitudes towards Muslims in Britain have a precedent in the views and attitudes Britons have in the past displayed towards Irish Catholics.

He writes:

‘Here's a disturbing report from one of the great institutions of the land:

‘They cannot be assimilated and absorbed into the British race. They remain a people by themselves, segregated by reason of their race, their customs, their traditions and above all by their loyalty to their religion, and are gradually and inevitable dividing Britain, racially, socially and ecclesiastically...

‘Already there is a bitter feeling among the British working classes against the muslim intruders. As the latter increases, and the British people realise the seriousness of the menace to their racial supremacy in their native land, this bitterness will develop into a race antagonism which will have disastrous consequences for Britain.

‘Here's a leading parliamentarian worrying that:

‘Something must be done, and done soon if Britain is not to lose its historic individuality. All is not well with our country. Our population is declining; we are losing some of the best of our race stock by migration and their place is being taken by those who, whatever their merits, are not British. I understand that every fifth child born in Britain is a muslim.

‘Here's one of the country's leading intellectuals and polemicists:

‘Wheresoever knives and razors are used, wheresoever sneak thefts and petty pilfering are easy and safe, wheresoever dirty acts of sexual baseness are committed, there you will find the immigrant in Britain with all but a monopoly.

‘Of course, I've cheated. The words in italics aren't the terms used in the original. For Britain and British read Scotland and Scottish. for Muslim read Irish or Roman Catholic. For immigrant read Irishman. But the rhetoric and the scare-mongering is familiar, is it not? ’

Massie argues that the scaremongerers and the prophets of doom were proven wrong in the past in their prejudice against the Irish and other immigrant groups. Might they be willing to acknowledge their past and present bigotry? Well, have a read of the comments below Massie’s article.