Excuses are wearing thin

IN THE letter “Let’s be fair about freedom of speech” Fazilla Farouk (Weekend Argus Saturday, January 17), quickly descends into blaming the West for producing deviants like the Kouachi brothers, because it marginalises its immigrant communities.

This is the standard refrain of apologists to explain radicalisation. Rather than search for the causes within the Muslim communities, or even within Islam itself, it is always easier simply to blame the West.

Farouk’s anti- Western stance, although more nuanced, is similar to that of these fanatics. Whereas Europe is full of marginalised peoples, eg, the Roma (Gypsies) and others, none of these groups has resorted on an ongoing basis to the barbaric measures perpetrated by the radical Islamists.

Apologists like Farouk are being deceitful because many radicals and suicide bombers have not come from the fringes of society, but from rather affluent families and some are qualified doctors. Many are recent converts to Islam, eager to show their commitment and devotion, and come from mainstream families.

What Farouk needs to acknowledge, is that if “marginalised” people are unhappy living in the West, they are free to migrate back to Algeria, Syria, Libya or whatever society they came from. The reason they don’t is because their own societies are not desirable and are failures.

■■■ CONSPICUOUS by its absence in the last editions of the Weekend Argus was any discourse regarding the abomination of terrorist atrocities.

Just as conspicuous is the amount of space given to spokespeople and defenders of the Islamic religion reaffirming their condemnation of “Islamic extremism” – and/but arguing this is not representative of their religion.

Followed by defence mechanisms, (excuses, explanations), what is sometimes also manifest, is “the best form of defence is attack” approach ie, blame and accusations as to why maniacs commit these heinous crimes: “Had they respected our culture”... “Had they not been treated like outsiders”.

This occurred in the prejudiced and duplicitous article “Let’s be fair about freedom of speech” by Fazilla Farouk (Weekend Argus, January 17). Her remark “To be sure, Islamic states do employ harsh measures to silence voices of dissent” must surely be the understatement of the century.

Stating the obvious: 1 The name of this religion is Islam; 2 Terrorists commit their monstrous acts in the name of Islam; 3. IS stands for Islamic State. So please forgive any normal person for thinking that these are in any way related.