Islam versus Europe

Our Shared Future: Deconstructing the Clash of Civilizations from British Council on Vimeo.

A week or two ago I made a post about the Muslim agitator posing as a Conservative MEP for the North-West of England, Sajjad Karim. Because he is an MEP, we have a record of all his meetings with lobbyists, allowing us to see what subjects he is interested in. As might be expected, a highly disproportionate number of these meetings had an obvious Muslim angle. A few of these meetings related to something called the "Our Shared Europe" project, run by the British Council. So I decided to do a bit of follow-up research on it. What do you know, it turns out to be a taxpayer-financed multicult propaganda operation, specialising in the kind of guff that is no longer taken seriously even on the Guardian:

Our Shared Europe seeks to explore our shared values, perspectives and behaviours in a way that is based on mutual respect and trust. In particular it is about how to acknowledge the contribution of a diverse set of communities and cultures – both in the past but also in the present – to the shaping of contemporary European society. This means recognising the rich and diverse roots of our culture and society and using this recognition to build a more inclusive view of the continent that we all share.

Perhaps even more disturbing than the fact that British taxpayers are paying for the privilege of being propagandised with this dangerously foolish nonsense is that we are also exporting it. Our Shared Europe has a sister programme called Our Shared Future which, with a similar utopian slant, focuses on the Muslim presence in the USA.

These extracts should give you a flavour of it:

Recent debates – on Park 51, Koran-burning and Sharia law – highlight increasing levels of hostility and growing misconceptions about Islam and Muslim communities in the US. Controversy in Europe about integration, religious freedom and cultural diversity affects the American side of the Atlantic, increasing the need for balanced and informed voices to weigh in on these issues.

Our Shared Future will set out to:

Shift the terms of the debate on relations between Muslims and non-Muslims by providing access to a diverse group of informed commentators and experts whose views are based on credible research and rational arguments

Address some of the enduring myths and misconceptions that continue to polarize relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe and the US. These issues include the concept of “Sharia law”, “Jihad”, freedom of expression and the relation between religion and politics

Disseminate constructive research and ideas at all levels of society through the Our Shared Future Network – a group of distinguished scholars, writers, policy-makers and journalists who are committed to improving trust and mutual understanding among diverse communities in the US and Europe

Typical of its output is this shocking propaganda post:

The images and stories coming from the Middle East and North Africa combine with these Gallup data to powerfully illustrate that many of the fears surrounding Islam are completely unfounded. Yes, the political outcome of the uprisings could take many forms. But nothing can change the fact that those Muslims who took to the streets undeniably want to share in values and freedoms common to those pursued in the West. These are our shared values.

In a time of across-the-board cuts to public services, how can this expenditure of public money possibly be justified? How is it a vital British interest to shape the relationship between Americans and the Mohammedans living amongst them? Is it not enough that we have destroyed our own country? Now we have to try and destroy other countries, too, in the same way?