Viewpoint totally wrong on Palestine

Once again someone writes about Islam and Hamas with limited knowledge and ignorance. Of course political groups that have Muslims dominate their organisations in war zones will be involved in killing.

But the context must be reflected upon. What was the position of the French resistance towards collaborators with the occupiers in the Second World War? Did the resistance happen to be Catholic? Did the killing and torture of collaborators reflect on all Catholics? Did Bush’s crusade in Iraq as an invading force and the rapes and abuses of Abu Ghraib reflect on all Christians? Are we all culpable? Does Trump’s super-bomb reflect the desires of all Christians in the West? Was it carried out for religious purposes? Many in the USA would say it was.

Ian Macmillan seems to know so little of conditions in Palestine (Letters, April 13). His views are an abuse of fact. On a day-to-day basis the occupying forces of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) arrest and kill, with no sense of justice, men, women and children. They have the sole aim to illegally ethnically cleanse the region.

They follow similar tactics to the British Empire. The Israelis, as did the British, rely on collaborators to control the indigenous population. Irrelevant of religion, Hamas, using evidence, has meted out punishment for the ultimate treason. We all abhor killing, yet we justify the bombings in the Middle East as essential for our national security, with limited evidence or debate. Hamas as a democratically elected government is only doing as the French resistance did or western governments would do to those whose treason risks lives. David Walton Ramsgate

I was interested to read how Tamanna Miah (Comment Plus, April 6) described how the Muslim population should not have to apologise for acts committed in the name of their faith. I agree, and it is always worth remembering that most victims of Islamic terrorism and oppression are other Muslims.

However, the author lost me when stating that “no religion promotes violence” and “Islam is a religion of peace”. This is palpably false. The Quran/ Hadith and Bible contain both peaceful and barbaric teachings (and contradict themselves throughout). Most ordinary religious folk, in this country at least, do not take the immoral passages seriously and live their lives as if they do not exist. This is a good thing. However, some, if only a small proportion, do take them seriously and may commit themselves to acts of violence in following them.

Liberal Muslims, and liberals in general, would be better served following the examples set by the likes of Maajid Nawaz: recognising the role of these immoral teachings and seeking a modernising reform of the faith, rather than engaging in obscurantism and denying their existence. Russell Laughton Canterbury Spring has well and truly sprung – as this close-up of a bluebell taken by Simon Pettman at Blean Woods over the weekend shows. who voted Remain and the voters of the Canterbury constituency (who voted Remain by a majority) that they are antiMonarchists who loath their country and secretly adhere to Marxism.

Anger may be the reaction of those current and former Services personnel who advocated Remain. Among them being a former Captain in the Special Boat Service, Lord (Paddy) Ashdown, and Lord West, Falklands veteran and former First Sea Lord, plus 12 retired very senior officers who wrote to The Daily Telegraph in February 2016 in support of Remain.

They will all have taken an oath to defend Her Majesty and her realm. Most, if not all, will have put their lives at the disposal of their country. Yet Harry Bell questions their loyalty. Maybe he can explain his position to Lord West, who was last to leave HMS Ardent when it was sunk in Falkland Sound. West was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership and led the Falklands victory parade in London.

Perhaps the greatest piece of tinpot babbling from Harry Bell is his assertion that the EU is “a relic of cultural Marxism”. It was precisely to discourage extremism of Left and Right and encourage moderate, centrist, cooperative politics that the vision of European integration came into being.

Among the great capitalist institutions that have flourished in Harry Bell’s Marxist EU are BMW (which also owns that global symbol of capitalist success, Rolls-royce motor cars), Mercedes Benz (also owner of Bentley Motors), Dior, Siemens, Ericsson, Ikea, Gucci, Porsche and dozens more. If the EU is a child of Marx it has spectacularly failed to deliver any Marxism. Martin Roche Stuppington Court Farm, Canterbury