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Jonathan Ward's avatar

Exactly so, as an 84 year old I can take a somewhat detached view. I see a desperate world for my grandchildren who seem blissfully unaware of the threat of Islamism itself. I think that two things should happen. The many Muslims who make a contribution must stand up to the Imams who spread hate and stop them: perhaps they are too intimidated. The other is to lose the ridiculous feelings of guilt (which I don't share) of Empire, slavery (which we abolished, nobody else did) and stand up for ourselves. If we don't we will lose our country. We also need to closely monitor what happens in mosques, we don't and that is one obvious problem with a free society which is being abused these radical preachers. We need to fight, it really is as simple as that.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

I totally agree with every word. The problem is that we have a Labour government that is likely to be in power for the next 4 years and if this state of affairs goes on until then, we are lost. Labour will never do what needs to be done, they refuse to see the problem and they totally lack any courage. They would rather turn a blind eye and continue with their false virtue signalling and globalist agenda which will sink us all in the mire of Islamist extremism. What I can't understand is why the moderate Muslims don't speak out against the extremists in their midst.

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Jonathan Ward's avatar

I think that they are too intimidated to speak out; the Imams have huge power and influence over what is perhaps a less educated and more easily influenced congregation. Don't forget also that martyrdom entitles a Muslim man to go straight to paradise and into the arms of 72 virgins - which gives you some idea of the religion itself. I am not sure of what happens to a female martyr(!).

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Lesley Snell's avatar

One of the biggest threats to all human beings is being expelled from your group, your tribe. This is likely to keep them silent and in line . I doubt Muslim female martyrs would want to go to the same destination as the men, only admitted in a serving capacity I suspect

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Penelope Beck's avatar

It is a mistake to think that there is just one tribe of Muslims. There are many which have differing emphases/interpretations on parts of the Koran and hadiths.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

Yes agreed but there are plenty of Muslim doctors, dentists, corporate lawyers and academics, eg Arif Ahmed is speaking up for free speech.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

Yes but what about all the educated Muslims - the doctors, dentists, corporate lawyers, academics, eg Arif Ahmed who is outspoken about free speech in universities.

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Anthony Mitchell's avatar

You have named one. Could you name all the others please.

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Lesley Snell's avatar

There is Zia Yousef

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Jeanne Millsom's avatar

I cannot trust that man, I left Reform because of the appalling accusations he made against Rupert Lowe.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

Jamal Masroor

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Carole Edmunds's avatar

I agree with you and Jonathan, I believe the reason the 'moderate' muslims don't stand up, is that there is a primary mindset that the faith comes first, everything else is secondary, with a shared belief that islam is the only true and last reliigion, which the whole world will ultimately submit to: only then will there be peace when sharia law rules. It is antithetical to the western mindset, who want to live and let live live in tolerance to other's beliefs. But but this has gone on for 1400 years, it is unchangeable and unchallengable to many muslims. When the chips are down, they know where there loyalty lies; and to use a leftist phrase 'silence is violence' and sadly most people are unaware of the ideology and doctrines and are easily apeased by believing the false rhetoric. The politicians are complicit and as the potential voting block gets bigger, so will the obfuscation, gaslighting and back door blasphemy laws they are endeavouring to bring in to completely shut down debate.

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

You’ve hit the nail on the head. There is very little chance of Islam ever being reformed because the indoctrination is based on the scriptures which contain all the hatred we see from the fundamentalists. So called moderate Muslims are simply Muslims who don’t strictly follow the scriptures but unfortunately it is estimated that across the world, between 10% -25% of Muslims are fundamentalists.

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Carole Edmunds's avatar

There are reformers, who want to reject the violence and supremacist doctri es, however they hit the brick wall of the claims and majority accepted views that the koran is the last and indelible, direct words from god, so how can it ever be reformed or even challenged.

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

Exactly

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Penelope Beck's avatar

No I don’t agree - take a look at the writings of and interviews with the moderate and thoughtful Ed Husain who advocates for a pluralistic society living in harmony , yet he is still a devout Muslim.

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

And yet the violent, hate filled passages are there. What do they do? Ignore them? It’s all very well to cherry pick but there are many who follow the scriptures to the letter. And that is the perennial problem.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

But we have violent hate filled passages in the bible too and also many contradictory passages. The problem is the Islamist interpretations of the texts which can appear ambiguous.

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The Martyr's avatar

Don’t forget that Muslims donate 10% of all their earnings to their Mosque so they are automatically invested, literally and socially, into what goes on, good and bad. If the hope is that moderate, sensible Muslims will stand up to the hate preachers I’d say it’s pretty unlikely this will happen.

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Sean Preston's avatar

Agree with all this save one thing. We need a Christian revival of faith. My hope is God will send us the leaders.

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Tracy Hill's avatar

I couldn't agree more and as you say it is simple. So simple. Wokeness is a long lingering disease which clouds judgement to suicidal levels. How much easier if would be if I didn't have children.

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The Martyr's avatar

Wouldn’t it just! You know, I have friends who are still Labour voters and even more unbelievably are incredibly woke. They probably think I’m a knuckle dragger and belong in the mountains. I just can’t get it through to them that we’re facing a life or death threat. Maybe I need to ditch them in 2026?

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Tracy Hill's avatar

No don't ditch them, that's the MO of the woke shutting themselves off in their safe spaces. Plus if you are their only sane influence you must keep going. I have a mix of woke and none woke and the woke ones provide much entertainment when I drop in I will probs vote reform. The look of bemusement on their faces is priceless. In their heads they're thinking big she's not racist, and she does all the things we do. It's the best way to convince them that supporting Reform and anti-immigration is not outlandish. Remember it's nearly 30 years since Blair came to power. That's 39 years of indoctrination and brain washing to unpick. It will take time.

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The Martyr's avatar

Curiously one of my more lefty friends was converted to Reform by “our friends in Hamas.” Specifically, 7th October 2023.

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Tracy Hill's avatar

Wow! How unusual. Oct 7 normally serves as an excuse to double down in the opposite direction. Brilliant. One converted.

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The Martyr's avatar

His rationale was “if my kids had been slaughtered on that day I’d expect my country to avenge them.” I have another friend who blames Israel for the explosion in immigration - he’s a very intelligent man but has clearly lost his mind and is about to lose me as a friend!

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Lesley Snell's avatar

For your own sanity . I have a couple of Labour voters in my circle but we keep off politics or the friendship wouldn’t survive

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The Martyr's avatar

I don’t really want to be friends with idiots and bigots and I’m getting a bit old to try to convert 60 year olds who should know better. My ex University friends are the worse particularly lawyers and teachers and of course the one local government chief officer. The accountants and bankers (me) can see the economy disappearing down the plug hole and the strain massive legal and illegal immigration is putting on growth and taxes. I only see them a couple of times a year so I can cope with that. Just!!

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Lesley Snell's avatar

Yes I would say a couple of times a year is quite enough ! It’s like these people inhabit La La land ! You can’t convert them unfortunately . Too far gone . It would take something happening to them or theirs

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The Martyr's avatar

Sadly that’s true and I’d hate for that to happen. Can’t be converted and 35% of the electorate should be enough for a Reform majority with the left fragmented.

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The Martyr's avatar

Muslims donate 10% of their earnings to their Mosques. On top of this most mosques are registered charities reflecting the “prayer, education and good community work” they undertake - you couldn’t make this stuff up. Charitable status means mosques qualify for gift aid so another 25% of donations is gifted by??? Us the taxpayers of course!! Fair enough the donor has to pay tax but this comes out of the total tax pot.

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Penelope Beck's avatar

Yes but there are different mosques for different types of Muslim, eg the peaceful integrating Ahmediyya. You need to listen to the sane thoughtful and old style Muslim Ed Husain. Influenced by older generations of his family he changed from being a young radical to who he has become today and is arguing the case for integration in writing and on social media. See also apostates who show us how the Islamists operate. Only by understanding how they operate and their mindset can we fight their poison. People need to educate themselves about this .

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Toot The Shoot's avatar

Now is the time for political titans that will take this problem by the scruff of the neck at throw it out of Western civilisations. Trump faces exactly the same problem in the States but, is actively doing something about it. Deporting millions and hunting down those who plot against his country. The rest of the West has the example and must follow it. Soon!

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Lesley Snell's avatar

We are lead by sheep and surrounded by wolves .

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Jonathan Ward's avatar

We are the sheep I'm afraid.

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Lesley Snell's avatar

I like to think we are the Border Collies . Just waiting for the right leader and we will sort out the wolves and send the sheep off to market . We are alert, aware, just waiting for the word and we will work together . Am running with this metaphor !

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Cass's avatar

That is exactly what it feels like.

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The Martyr's avatar

Led by snakes more like.

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Andrina's avatar

And yet all governments keep letting more and more followers of Islam in. It just isn’t compatible in western countries. Yes we all know there are decent Muslims, we just can’t know which is which

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Will Blake's avatar

Sadly even decent Muslims can be afraid to oppose their radical Brethren for fear of being murdered themselves. That is what their Koran instructs. Also remember that Islam is not a religion. It is an ideology which promotes men and subjugates women.

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Jonathan Ward's avatar

Read the chapter in the Koran on women. It clearly states that in a court it needs the testament of two women to counter that of one man. A man in his will is exhorted to leave twice as much to a male heir as a female one. Women are second class citizens and that could be the Achilles heel of Islam: women, rise up and change things.

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Maryanne's avatar

You really think they will ever be allowed to rise up, all this is embedded in their laws, unlike when Western women were demanding the vote. Muslim women will never be able to rise up without actually being killed. Just look at honour killing, always women killed!

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Grahame Allan's avatar

Do you really think there will ever be a female Imam ?

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barbara jones's avatar

so where are the women standing up for the rights that we have fought hard to win. The Womens’ Movement seems to have been silenced by the woke left

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The Martyr's avatar

Speaking as a Roman Catholic I have never experienced anything like the level of devotion my Muslim friends hold for their religion. As others have said it’s more a cult, a movement than a simple religion. Islam doesn’t just rule their lives it IS their lives. Sadly, the Q’aran’s teachings are incompatible with our secular ways of life in western democracies and this will either be resolved with mass deportations and closure of the mosques where evil has festered or our country will become Pakistan 2.

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

Same and I agree

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Grahame Allan's avatar

Bradford is often referred to by the locals as Bradistan.

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Roger Broad's avatar

Not only does our current Government let more Muslims in, they are welcoming them !

The incredible situation of allowing thousands of illegal immigrants into our precious country , without any checks or restrictions is appalling !

It’s all part of the WEF plan. Our Government is leading us towards mayhem !

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

Well said Matt. We are stuck between two totalitarian ideologies which want to destroy western democracies and impose their world view- the red / green alliance between Marxists and Islamists. But as happened in Iran, once islamists are in power they execute the Marxists and leftists. And yet, here we are with the same indoctrinated lefties, so blinded by ideology that they refuse to see what’s happening or to learn from history. There are now many ex Muslims trying to warn our leaders and wake them up to the threats…..but they do nothing apart from call us far right for noticing the dangers. They are as guilty as the terrorists for every attack and rape from people who do not need to be here. And if there’s anyone who still doesn’t think that the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t behind all the men flooding into the country, think again. They act like the mafia, financing the crossings.

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Lesley Snell's avatar

The Muslim Brotherhood is banned across much of the Middle East , Austria and Russia also I believe. Slow to act Starmer is unlikely to do it .

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

Exactly. A minister from the UAE warned us to do something back in 2017. The Muslim Brotherhood has been acting like the Fabian Society, slowly radicalising men by building mosques everywhere. It’s partly how the revolution happened in Iran.

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Graham L's avatar

Yes, the failure to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots is just incomprehensible. Surely it would be a way of saying "OK we accept the secularized not-so-strict Muslims as becoming a part of our society, but the dangerous ones are banned and Out or Else. Otherwise they all get "tarred with the same brush". The trouble is that, because it puts them in danger, these moderate and reasonable Muslims don't speak up - where are the ones marching in the streets saying "For Allah's sake, a 10 year old girl!, we are nothing to do with this poison and hatred and violence"? Unless the Government shows leadership on this... I await wild responses about how ridiculous it is to expect this at the moment!... they won't even have the freedom to stand up and join in to civilized Western society. Their only choices, if they have the brains and the guts, is to cut themselves off from the Mosques and from religious expression in their lives, or even to convert to another religion. But if there is leadership, they could become "secularized" and "only cultural" Muslims and feel socially supported. I don't know if this is possible long-term - after all, Raymond Ibrahim acknowledges the moderate Muslims but says that basically Islam simply is not compatible with Western Civilization. I don't think we should necessarily give up hope on this - after all, there are plenty of cultural Jews but we don't burn all the copies of Deuteronomy because of the risk of fanatic extremist Jews in a future generation. (For people who haven't seen it, it's well worth watching on YouTube the intelligent conversation in Triggernometry's latest interview with Mr Ibrahim, with some great comments by Mr Kisin and Mr Foster as well.)

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Tenaciously Terfin's avatar

I watched it this morning, Ibrahim is excellent as is Jasmine Mohammed and Dan Burmawi (apologies for wrong spellings).

We do need to try and be optimistic simply because we have many Muslims already here, but I’m with ibrahim really, Islam is incompatible with the west and we should drastically limit immigration whilst finding ways to insist that Muslims here adapt to our values or if necessary,leave.

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Lesley Snell's avatar

Agree

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Lesley Snell's avatar

I don’t think Jews , who have caused no harm, in fact have benefitted our country since the 1600’s was a good example to use there . There is not the slightest bit of evidence to support the scenario you postulate and even the suggestion isn’t helpful when they are facing murderous anti semitism

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Graham L's avatar

You misunderstand my point, which is only about scriptures and logic. There are many arguments about how all this hatred and intolerance is justified by the Koran, and therefore even if you had a "reasonable" generation, some future fanatic could justify the revival of appalling treatment of other human beings by "going back to their holy book". But our own "Old Testament", as Christians rather than Jews refer to it, includes appalling things, e.g. stoning homosexuals and disobedient adolescents to death. We don't therefore "take against the Bible" just because some future Jew could try and revive such practices, as they were acceptable to a primitive tribe. We rely on the "cultural evolution" of post-Enlightenment modern Jews to enable them to continue with their own rituals reinforcing their cultural identity, without mistrusting them. I'm suggesting it would be nice if future Muslims could do the same, and survive as "cultural Muslims" rather than strictly observant fundamentalist ones. I am not even beginning to suggest there is any "evidence" for this, I am just looking at connections between scriptures and practices and fundamentalism and potential rediscovery through new generations. The Jews are, in my estimation, a generally superior people, partly because of the survivors of centuries of appalling treatment and conquest by other nations being representative of an "evolutionarily refined" survival instinct and high intelligence (as evidenced by their wildly disproportionate number of creatives e.g. in the entertainment industry, and also of Nobel Prize winners). They are an absolutely vital civilizational force which need to be appreciated and defended at all costs. I have never anywhere failed to be against anti-semitism, being particularly aware of the amount of propaganda around the Gaza war and of the high standards to which the IDF hold themselves.

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Heide's avatar

Oth Jews and Christian's have a history of critical exegesis of the Bible, whereas Orthodox Muslims believe that the Quran must be interpreted literally. Of course there are a few Muslims who takes different view, bit they are few and far between and often need round the clock protection from their more "pious" co- religionists. Mainstream Islam takes the Quran absolutely as written.

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David's avatar

Matt...

As always, you have hit the nail on the head. Excellent aricle.

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Shaun Chandler's avatar

Perfectly expressed as usual Matt. Thank you for your tireless work.

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Jonty44's avatar

Enough with the candles, hashtags and baby-talk slogans. “This is not who we are.” “Love wins.” “Diversity is our strength.” These aren’t answers — they’re anaesthetic, wheeled out by gutless leaders every time blood hits the pavement.

From Bondi to Manchester, the script never changes. Killers butcher innocents, and within minutes the political class is competing to sound the most soothing, the most inclusive, the most determined not to notice the obvious. Ideology is scrubbed away. Motive is “complex”. Violence is endlessly “contextualised”. Anything resembling honesty is denounced as “hate”.

This is how a civilisation sleepwalks into danger. Islamist extremism is real, organised and deadly — yet mentioning it is treated as more offensive than the bodies it leaves behind. Assimilation is taboo. Borders are porous. Preachers of hate are indulged. Meanwhile Jews are told to keep their heads down while mobs chant for intifada on Western streets.

The toxic pact between Islamist grievance politics and a self-loathing woke left has produced a culture where the majority is lectured, minorities are infantilised, and law-abiding citizens are expected to accept the unacceptable.

This isn’t compassion. It’s surrender dressed up as virtue. No society survives by lying to itself, and no democracy endures when telling the truth is treated as extremism. The question isn’t whether the West has a problem. It’s whether it still has the courage to admit it — before the slogans run out and the graves keep filling.

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Maryanne's avatar

I read yesterday that the Australian immigration Minister was giving 2,000 visas to Palestinians to come to live in Australia. Do these people ever think about consequences!

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Heide's avatar

They live in their gated communities,travel in their chauffeured bullet-proof limousines, never use public transport and move in their little bubbles of like-mindedness. They are truly clueless.

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Carole Edmunds's avatar

No, but it looks virtuous on the world stage..

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Bev Craven's avatar

That's a superb summary of this absurd situation. Or is it absurd? How does this aid the globalist/Fabian/Schwab/WEF agenda? If radical Islamists and the globalists are so antithetic? Are we the jam between these two slices of bread? Or what?

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Dr Christine Dewbury's avatar

A Muslim man put his life on the line at Bondi Beach in order to protect Jews. If more moderate Muslims at least expressed their horror it would go a long way to improving the situation. The fact that most are too terrified to speak out tells us all we need to know of the increasing danger we are all facing.

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Karan Brown's avatar

Thank you for all you do in shifting the Overton window Matt. Rupert Lowe is doing very good work also. Such a shame that he is not a part of Reform 😪 On another note, in relation to pandering to minorities, the report in the British Medical Journal attempting to make the idea of female genital mutilation seem acceptable due to it being 'cultural' , is truly shocking. On par with the NHS espousing the benefits of cousin marriage. Now this is what you call 'infiltration'!!! Where will it all end 🤬

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Jean C's avatar

Let’s remember the Fabians are wolves in sheeps’ clothing and as with the Islamists are out to overthrow the west…socialist governments are complicit - we have a fight on our hands

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Roger Broad's avatar

I agree Jean but fight with what ?

Our Police force is now in effect “The Thought Police”. We have to watch what we say and to whom.

Our King is a member of the WEF, whilst our Government is full of traitors !

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Jean C's avatar

We fight by rallying behind those with a platform, who can speak up for the majority and overturn this orwellian nightmare at the ballot box asap! We must live in hope - cometh the hour…

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Brian Jackson's avatar

Our politicians can only speak platitudes - with the notable exception on The Donald.

OZ PM Albaneze' comments were 100% pure gold platitudes. I cringed while watching him.

He had NOTHING of substance at all to say.

Him and all his ilk are to blame, giving a welcoming home in Oz to Muslim terrorists and their support groups ie - their extended families.

There will have to be a civil war where all these Muslims are so terrified they go back to where they came from, en masses.

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Roger Broad's avatar

Oh yes, send them back as soon as possible !

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Tracy Hill's avatar

Just imagine if these extremist Muslims had deliberately attacked a black community, the response would be much different. And if it had been actual far-right, neo-nazi types doing the attacking, the progressives would have called for a ban on Reform and tarred every last person who was right-leaning and anti-immigration as part of the problem (I.e. looking at a culture or belief-system). Yet we can't mention Islam after yet another Islamist attack. I still don't understand how the left progressives who hate religion and tradition and anything conservative seem to adore the most conservative of all religions. A complete contradiction.

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Miss Haversham's avatar

I have lived in three Muslim majority countries and I must say I found the people very pleasant, peaceful and courteous - maybe it is true they are exporting the worst and most extreme to our shores - but one thing that could not be ignored was the rampant racism especially against Black people who were seen as the race designated by Allah as fit only for slavery. In one country the poorest "guest workers" were construction workers from North Sudan who were almost universally despised.

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Caroline Salt's avatar

This government,as well as the previous are all criminally insane!

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