Harry Askham

I'll be honest with you. Most of us have very little interaction with Muslims. You increasingly live apart from us. There is little we can say in favour of your religion and its contribution to British life, and it was never wanted to begin with. We weren't asked and your faith was further imposed on us without our consent. The expansion of Islam in Britain has made Britain less free and less safe, and it has eroded the foundations upon which our society is based. I am angry that a mosque was targeted last night. This was mob action on the basis of rumour and speculation. But all the same, Islam is a growing problem in Britain. Not least the rising sectarianism and third worldism creeping into our politics. Not forgetting that Islamic terrorism is the primary domestic threat facing the UK. It's inevitable that we will see yet another Islamic atrocity on British soil. There are thousands of you on the terror watch list. As such, when it happens, I would expect the suspect's mosque to be investigated for extremism, and if found, I would expect and demand it be shuttered at the very least. We should be doing this as a matter of course because the very worst racial hatred in this country is proliferated through British mosques. Antisemitism is endemic to Pakistani culture in Britain. If, however, the British state will not act, then the British public most certainly will eventually. Yesterday's events are the writing on the wall. I feel a great sadness that it has come to this, and I do not condone any of it, and you have my sympathy. But there must be some renewed dialogue in British Islamic circles. It's simply not acceptable to conduct electioneering in a foreign language. It's not acceptable to drape women in a black sack. It's not acceptable to wear tribal garments from the subcontinent on the streets of our cities. It's not acceptable to marry your first cousins. It's not acceptable to demand blasphemy laws and intimidate politicians, etc. etc. etc. The British people are tolerant, but that tolerance is not finite. There will come a point where the breakdown of relations between the British public, the state, and British muslims is simply irrecoverable, after which there is no telling which way this goes. I'm sad to say it, but you are right to feel afraid. It's not incumbent on us to change though. Islam in Britain must reform or expect at some point to be removed.