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- ConnectionsFeatured in The Bolt Report: Episode #7.33 (2017)
Featured review
An important documentary.
Over time, we as a society have become more liberal and supportive of one another. Our differences have mattered less over time and we are at a point where everybody has an equal playing field. However, there are still issues to deal with, mainly that of radical Islam. Not just terrorism, but the way many Muslims are willing to detach themselves from their communities, which create tension & division, as areas like Luton & Rotherham demonstrate. But how do we deal with such an issue?
In this documentary, all these issues are tackled and highlight some solutions to the issue. For the most part, this show consists of Trevor Phillips (behind the equally brilliant & uncompromising Things We Won't Say About Race That Are True doc) discussing the results of a survey whose participants consisted of half of British Muslims. The results found demonstrate how part of the problem is how a large amount of British Muslims refuse to accept many aspects of our culture. This includes freedom of speech (especially when it concerns their Prophet), homosexuality, how to treat women and worst of all wanting to imply sharia law in our country. That part about women is especially concerning when they interview some Muslim women who are happy to be slaves to their husbands on the grounds that it is the duty of their God to do so.
That is one of the recurring themes of the show: many Muslims are not extreme or evil, but are rather brainwashed by a backwards ideology. This is mainly applied to the aforementioned women & the ones who operate the stalls advocating sharia law that we see. The film shows how these people are simply that: people who have been vulnerable and impressionable to such views. Meanwhile, it shows how many Muslims feel that their religious lifestyle is stopping them from being who they are, including many gay Muslims. This is one of the strong points of the show, as despite what the hundreds of complaints of Islamophobia would tell you (presumably from people who either hadn't seen it or can't accept the truth), it is anything but. While it heavily criticises the religion of Islam, it demonstrates how many Muslims are either perfectly integrated and ready to accept our values (like the Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and comedian Aatif Nawaz) or actively trying to help other Muslims to do so (like Dialogue Development Officer Anjum Anwar or Zurich scholar Elham Manea). This gives a balanced approach, showing that while there is a problem with Islam, many of those who practice it are peaceful.
Meanwhile, it goes into the explanations as to where such beliefs spring up from. This includes the obvious (many of the Muslims who come here come from countries where such beliefs are justified and as such don't change it when in Britain) to the less discussed ideas (including the suggestion that much of the Anti-Semitism in Muslims comes from the issues surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict). It also shows how part of the blame includes the sharia councils that are set up, due to how they reinforce many of Islam's fundamentalist beliefs, mainly the sexism towards women. This is mainly highlighted with how they will have less chance of winning custody of their children & are worse off from trying to settle divorce at these courts. It is all very interesting and goes into much depth on the issue.
It also shows why this division is bad. It leads to many Muslims to be hostile to non-Muslims, due to their lack of exposure towards those outside their culture. This is mainly seen when the headmistress of a school in Birmingham was discussing how the Muslim boys were attacking girls and calling them sluts for not wearing hijabs, which is one of the more upsetting parts of the film. Meanwhile it shows how such isolation and vulnerability can lead to these children to grow up and become a part of Islamic terror groups.
The only problem I have with the show is the solutions it offers and the approval of other problematic ways to solve the issue. For the former, it suggests having race quotas for schools so that children can mix and therefore discourage the segregation that is going on in our society. While I understand the rationale behind it, to me it feels that it is restricting the freedoms of parents who want to send their children to certain schools because of this race quota. Meanwhile, if they don't want any school to be one ethnicity only, how would that work considering how the indigenous population is white, and how certain areas (like Allerdale & Eden) which are almost exclusively so? How can we justify penalising them? Meanwhile for the latter, it approves David Cameron's plans to fund English lessons for Muslim women. As they aren't compulsory, what good will they do, especially if those women don't choose to attend? Meanwhile, it also doesn't discuss the other solutions that are being used to change this, including the Quillim Foundation, or other potential solutions, like shutting down the many sharia courts in the country that cause such division that the doc brings up.
Despite that, this is a great documentary. It may not be able to find a conclusive solution, but it does address one thing spot on: this is an issue that needs to be tackle now. It is clear that the continual sweeping under the carpet that the politicians, the media & many on the left are doing is only going to make things worse. It is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with, otherwise we're going to go down this spiral further until it's too late. Hopefully this doc will help many to understand that and could hopefully lead us to change. It may not have the best solution, but it shows how certain issues are no longer worth ignoring.
In this documentary, all these issues are tackled and highlight some solutions to the issue. For the most part, this show consists of Trevor Phillips (behind the equally brilliant & uncompromising Things We Won't Say About Race That Are True doc) discussing the results of a survey whose participants consisted of half of British Muslims. The results found demonstrate how part of the problem is how a large amount of British Muslims refuse to accept many aspects of our culture. This includes freedom of speech (especially when it concerns their Prophet), homosexuality, how to treat women and worst of all wanting to imply sharia law in our country. That part about women is especially concerning when they interview some Muslim women who are happy to be slaves to their husbands on the grounds that it is the duty of their God to do so.
That is one of the recurring themes of the show: many Muslims are not extreme or evil, but are rather brainwashed by a backwards ideology. This is mainly applied to the aforementioned women & the ones who operate the stalls advocating sharia law that we see. The film shows how these people are simply that: people who have been vulnerable and impressionable to such views. Meanwhile, it shows how many Muslims feel that their religious lifestyle is stopping them from being who they are, including many gay Muslims. This is one of the strong points of the show, as despite what the hundreds of complaints of Islamophobia would tell you (presumably from people who either hadn't seen it or can't accept the truth), it is anything but. While it heavily criticises the religion of Islam, it demonstrates how many Muslims are either perfectly integrated and ready to accept our values (like the Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and comedian Aatif Nawaz) or actively trying to help other Muslims to do so (like Dialogue Development Officer Anjum Anwar or Zurich scholar Elham Manea). This gives a balanced approach, showing that while there is a problem with Islam, many of those who practice it are peaceful.
Meanwhile, it goes into the explanations as to where such beliefs spring up from. This includes the obvious (many of the Muslims who come here come from countries where such beliefs are justified and as such don't change it when in Britain) to the less discussed ideas (including the suggestion that much of the Anti-Semitism in Muslims comes from the issues surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict). It also shows how part of the blame includes the sharia councils that are set up, due to how they reinforce many of Islam's fundamentalist beliefs, mainly the sexism towards women. This is mainly highlighted with how they will have less chance of winning custody of their children & are worse off from trying to settle divorce at these courts. It is all very interesting and goes into much depth on the issue.
It also shows why this division is bad. It leads to many Muslims to be hostile to non-Muslims, due to their lack of exposure towards those outside their culture. This is mainly seen when the headmistress of a school in Birmingham was discussing how the Muslim boys were attacking girls and calling them sluts for not wearing hijabs, which is one of the more upsetting parts of the film. Meanwhile it shows how such isolation and vulnerability can lead to these children to grow up and become a part of Islamic terror groups.
The only problem I have with the show is the solutions it offers and the approval of other problematic ways to solve the issue. For the former, it suggests having race quotas for schools so that children can mix and therefore discourage the segregation that is going on in our society. While I understand the rationale behind it, to me it feels that it is restricting the freedoms of parents who want to send their children to certain schools because of this race quota. Meanwhile, if they don't want any school to be one ethnicity only, how would that work considering how the indigenous population is white, and how certain areas (like Allerdale & Eden) which are almost exclusively so? How can we justify penalising them? Meanwhile for the latter, it approves David Cameron's plans to fund English lessons for Muslim women. As they aren't compulsory, what good will they do, especially if those women don't choose to attend? Meanwhile, it also doesn't discuss the other solutions that are being used to change this, including the Quillim Foundation, or other potential solutions, like shutting down the many sharia courts in the country that cause such division that the doc brings up.
Despite that, this is a great documentary. It may not be able to find a conclusive solution, but it does address one thing spot on: this is an issue that needs to be tackle now. It is clear that the continual sweeping under the carpet that the politicians, the media & many on the left are doing is only going to make things worse. It is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with, otherwise we're going to go down this spiral further until it's too late. Hopefully this doc will help many to understand that and could hopefully lead us to change. It may not have the best solution, but it shows how certain issues are no longer worth ignoring.
helpful•10
- eddie052010
- Jul 3, 2016
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