Muslim first, British second...or British first, Muslim second? : Baroness Sayeeda Warsi Armed Forces speech

[Каие]

Often we are accused of ''being silent''. Here's a speech from a Muslim Women, a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Warsi, who is also a member of the Conservative Party and shadow cabinet as Communities and Cohesion Minister.

No, she's not the first or only Muslim Lord.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pola_Uddin,_Baroness_Uddin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed...,_Baron_Sheikh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waheed_Alli,_Baron_Alli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazir_Ahmed,_Baron_Ahmed

Neither are any of those up there the first Muslim parliamentarians/Lords. The first Muslim parliamentarians were a series of Lords in the 1800's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S...ey_of_Alderley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Arc...n,_5th_Baronet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowland..._Baron_Headley

This is her speech entitled:

The Armed Forces

Let me begin by extending my warmest thanks to Imam Assim Hafiz for inviting me here to speak today to some of Britain true heroes.
You – the heroes who put your lives on the line for our great country…
You who keep us safe…
And to your families who bear the brunt.
Over the past month, eleven members of our armed forces have paid the ultimate sacrifice: Sergeant Major Michael Williams, Private Joe Whittaker, Lance Corporal Richard Larkin, Corporal Sean Robert Reeve, Paul Stout, Corporal Sarah Bryant, Private Jeff Doherty, Lance Corporal James Bateman, Private Daniel Gamble, Private Nathan Cuthbertson and Private David Murray.
I would like to pay tribute to each and everyone of them today…
Today, Veteran’s Day, is a hugely important day as communities from all across Britain celebrate the contribution made by those who have served in the Armed Forces.


Daniel Hannan MEP
My good friend Daniel Hannan, a Conservative MEP recently wrote in The Telegraph…
…How every day, outside his central London flat, he walks past women wearing the hijab.
He wrote ‘We smile at each other and usually exchange a friendly word.’
Not so long ago, local people would have viewed such dress as provocative: the symbol of an alien religion.
But Londoners are a tolerant lot and, as the years have passed, they have come to see the veil for what it is: a sign of personal devotion’.
He explained ‘The veiled women in question were the Roman Catholic nuns who run the local homeless centre. And how easy it is to forget how recent and powerful force anti-popery was in British politics.
He added, ‘The restoration of a Catholic episcopacy in the 19th century led to riots across the country. And such feelings lasted well into the 20th century, even at the highest levels of politics’.
Catholics, he emphasised, in those days, like Muslims today, were seen by many as potential fifth columnists…


Loyalty
And all too often these days British Muslims are questioned about their loyalty to this great country.
Questioned whether they are British or Muslim first…
Underlying these questions is a belief, which was traditionally thrown at British Catholics, that they might be ‘loyal to a foreign prince’.
But, as the Muslim Chaplain to the Armed Forces has said this line of questioning is wholly unfair.
‘The vast majority of British Muslims’ he says… have a great sense of citizenship and duty to this country’.
The central tenets of his argument were backed up recently in a Gallup Poll which found Muslims in London are more patriotic than the average Briton, identify strongly with their country as well as their religion, and place great trust in the institutions of British democracy — elections, the courts and the police.
And there is no better demonstration of that, than the people in this room today.
I know, on the many occasions when I am asked about British Muslims, their loyalty and their identity.
I champion your example…
The example of British Muslims serving in the Armed Forces…
United by a single purpose - to keep Britain safe.
But your example is neither a new endeavour nor something new to this country…
For centuries Muslims have fought for the Crown…


Personal Family History
During the Second World War, my grandfathers, both paternal and maternal, as young men from the Punjab fought for the British Empire.
As members of the British Army - as sapres.
They fought the ugly manifestation of fascism in Burma, served in Aden and a great uncle was also taken as a Japanese prisoner of war - all to keep this country safe…
Like millions of other people from across the Empire…
They fought with great determination and love for ‘mother England’.
They knew what their duty was…
They knew what they were fighting for…
They were fighting for their country!
They were, in my mum’s words ‘true British patriots’…
And so today when I am asked whether I am British first or Muslim first (a very unbritish and insulting question aimed at determining my loyalty to my country) I simply say my family were displaying their loyalty to Britain on the battlefields of Burma, long, long before my parents even hit these shores.
And another question I hear today, from both within and outside of the Muslim faith is whether a Muslim can serve in the British armed forces…
Whether their faith allows them to fight for Britain…
Whether they can die for their country…
Well, let me today point them to the great example of those who have given their lives recently for this country…
Great patriots like…


Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi
A British Muslim Soldier who sacrificed his all in an attempt to build bridges between cultures.
A patriot, who according to his family ‘wanted to use his background and position’ to ‘contribute at a time where there exists a lack of understanding of cultures, ideologies and religious identities’.
In the words of his uncle, he was a ‘hero of Islam, Pakistan and Britain’.
British Muslims like you send the strongest message to our country that there is no conflict in being British and Muslim…
That British Muslims are found in all walks of life, not just as doctors and surgeons, lawyers and politicians but even in that ultimate commitment to their country as members of the Armed Forces…
And that British Muslims are willing to stand up and be counted.


Recruitment
And that’s why I commend the work that the MoD is doing…
By appointing a Muslim Chaplain to serve the needs of Muslims members of the Armed Forces…
By providing the social, spiritual and emotional support our armed forces deserve.
I also commend the work Muslim organisations have been doing to encourage young men to join the Armed Forces.
And it is hugely encouraging that, after Christianity, Muslims now account for the biggest faith community in the Armed Forces -10,000 in total - and contributing 5% of the total armed force.


Our Policies
So where do we as Conservatives stand?
Our defence team, led by Dr Liam Fox, has done a great job in holding this Government to account.
Over the Government’s appalling record on accommodation standards…
Over the retention crisis…
Over falling morale…
And, critically, over the Government’s negligence over equipment.
But as Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, it is not enough just to lay criticism at the door of this Government - it is our duty also to lay down our vision for our armed forces.
And I can assure you that a future Conservative Government would never go down the route of this Prime Minister and appoint a part-time Defence Secretary.
The security of our nation is a 24/7 job - not a 20 hours a week opt in…
Most fundamentally, we will conduct a proper defence review in government to ensure that both investment and spending match our strategic defence commitments.
We will reinstate the Defence Exports Services Organisation (DESO) and bring defence exports under the control of the Ministry of Defence again.
We will publish a separate manifesto for Armed Forces’ families to ensure that our personnel and their families receive the medical care, housing, and welfare services they deserve.
We believe in dedicated military wards in hospitals, exclusively reserved to ensure the best possible treatment for military patients.
We believe that a debate should be started within NATO about setting up a common fund for operations, so that the costs of operation can be shared more fairly.
And we want to see the restoration of the three infantry battalions shamefully cut by this Government.
Let you be under no illusions we are committed to maintaining the nuclear deterrent and the replacement of the current Vanguard-class submarines when they reach the end of their operational lifespan.
And recently, in our concern for the Health of the Military Covenant, we set up a Military Covenant Commission to look into how government and society can meet their obligations to our Armed Forces personnel more successfully.
The Commission is chaired by Frederick Forsyth, and includes ex-forces people and military experts such as the Falklands war veteran, Simon Weston, and the distinguished military historian and journalist, Sir John Keegan.
The Commission will in particular consider the overall health of the Covenant, the relationship between the Armed Forces and society, and the care of families and veterans.


Make no mistake…
We are committed to protecting our country, its freedoms and institutions, and that includes a commitment to protect and provide for you: those who protect our country.
Sudan
Late last year I visited Sudan, and met with the President, trying to negotiate the release of Gillian Gibbons who was arrested after calling a teddy bear ‘Muhammad’.
What began as a simple mistake quickly became an international diplomatic incident.
Many provocateurs on both sides wanted this to be another example of a class of civilisations, or a war on Islam…
But we never allowed those arguments to develop…
Because I, as a female British Muslim parliamentarian, was not alone.
British Muslims, all across the country were championing the same cause.
Phone-ins were jammed by British Muslims wanting Gillian released.
The Sudanese embassy was being picketed by women in hijabs.
And British Muslims were simply saying this was wrong!
Muslims in Britain were not demonstrating with their co-religionists in, say, Bahrain and Brunei?
Rather they felt connected to Mrs Gibbons as Britons.
They were protesting against the mistreatment of a fellow subject.
And as a community they stood up for their compatriot.
I felt proud to be British, proud to be Muslim – and proud that Yorkshire plain speaking does have its uses!


Our Values
I believe the Conservative Party stands for a free society and a strong nation state…
An opportunity society, not an overpowering state…
A responsible society in which each person and every family, regardless of position or power or wealth, is able to fulfil their potential, to make their own choices, and to find true and lasting happiness.
The things that make us British – our reverence for Parliament, our common law, our indignation at injustice, our sense of freedom, our love of fair play – are the property of all our people.
We need to inspire our citizens, wherever their ancestors were born, whatever their faith, that they are part of something worth belonging to.
As a British Muslim woman I owe you a personal debt for the incontrovertible evidence that your lives provide…
That to be a British Muslim does not mean to have divided loyalties.
But as Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion I also have a professional debt to you all.
You have shown that it is perfectly possible for Muslims to integrate into a fully functioning community of Britons drawn from all walks of life.
That it is the core values of the armed forces - discipline, aspiration, opportunity and shared responsibility – that break down the false barriers of society.

And most of all…
If we, as a nation, follow your example and put these values into practice in our own homes, schools and communities, we have a real chance to mend our broken society and get back the Britain for which so many of your colleagues have fought and died for.

Personally I feel insulted when people ask me whether or not I am Muslim first, or British first. That statement alone personifies the entire problem.

Rear Admiral Amjad Hussein. - Highest ranking Muslim officer in HM's Armed Forces, Royal Navy
Lance Corporal Jabron Hashimi - the first to die in Afghanistan, for ''Muslims, Britain and Pakistan.''












Here's what David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party has to say:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...nt.communities

The challenges of cohesion and integration are among the greatest we face. I wrote in these pages in January that we cannot bully people into feeling British: we have to inspire them. Last week, I spent two days staying with Abdullah and Shahida Rehman and their family in Birmingham. The experience has strengthened my conviction about the right way to build a more cohesive Britain.

First, a concerted attack on racism and soft bigotry. You can't even start to talk about a truly integrated society while people are suffering racist insults and abuse, as many still are in our country on a daily basis. We must also be careful about the language we use. No Muslim I've ever met is offended by Christmas, or supports its replacement with 'Winterval'. But many Muslims I've talked to about these issues are deeply offended by the use of the word 'Islamic' or 'Islamist' to describe the terrorist threat we face today.

We do need greater understanding of the true nature of the terrorist threat. There's too much complacency about it among non-Muslims, and too much denial of it in the Muslim community. But our efforts are not helped by lazy use of language. Indeed, by using the word 'Islamist' to describe the threat, we actually help do the terrorist ideologues' work for them, confirming to many impressionable young Muslim men that to be a 'good Muslim', you have to support their evil campaign.

There's no easy answer. I don't think this is something that can or should be addressed through a government edict, but the BBC, as our national broadcaster, has both the responsibility and the opportunity to give a lead.

The second priority for building cohesion in our country is more integration: people from different backgrounds sharing public services, neighbourhoods, social networks. As I found in Birmingham, this is something they naturally want to do, and local institutions - including religious ones - provide the opportunity.

For example, those who say that faith-based schools hinder integration are wrong. The three Muslim children in the household I stayed with go to a local faith school - a Jewish faith school, which is massively oversubscribed, has a mixed roll with some 60 per cent of pupils from Muslim families, around a third from Birmingham's Jewish community and the rest a mixture of Christians and Sikhs. My obvious question to Abdullah - why do you, a practising Muslim, send your kids to a Jewish school? - does not get just the obvious answer: good discipline and good results. On top of that, the very fact that the school has a faith and a strong ethos is seen, at least by Abdullah and his family, as a positive advantage.

And the third step in promoting integration is to ensure there's something worth integrating into. 'To make men love their country,' said Edmund Burke, 'their country ought to be lovable.' Integration has to be about more than immigrant communities, 'their' responsibilities and 'their' duties. It has to be about 'us' too - the quality of life that we offer, our society and our values.
Here the picture is bleak: family breakdown, drugs, crime and incivility are part of the normal experience of modern Britain. Many British Asians see a society that hardly inspires them to integrate. Indeed, they see aspects of modern Britain which are a threat to the values they hold dear - values which we should all hold dear. Asian families and communities are incredibly strong and cohesive, and have a sense of civic responsibility which puts the rest of us to shame. Not for the first time, I found myself thinking that it is mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life, not the other way around.

Saying goodbye to Abdullah I was given gifts of T-shirts, shoes and a traditional robe which he said would be perfect for any visit to Pakistan. It's another reminder that integration is a two-way street. If we want to remind ourselves of British values - hospitality, tolerance and generosity to name just three - there are plenty of British Muslims ready to show us what those things really mean.

Finally a leader who pulled his head out of the arse of fools and can take a broad objective look. I'm even pretty sure he grew one ball in the process of writing this article.

[the Black Prince]

I heard a similar speech from Baroness Warsi. I hope you get a chance to hear her speak someday soon, because she's absolutely brilliant.

She mentioned in the speech I heard how annoyed she gets when journalists ask her if she considers herself to be muslim first or british first. She considers herself to be a british muslim.

The trouble is though, that while many muslims would consider themselves british muslims, there are a small minority who do not, for a great many reasons, one of which would be that sadly we haven't exactly given them much incentive to feel british or become british whilst remaining a true muslim.


Lord Ahmed isn't the best example of a peer though... and hopefully will be stripped of his title for his recent criminal endeavours.

[Каие]

I heard a similar speech from Baroness Warsi. I hope you get a chance to hear her speak someday soon, because she's absolutely brilliant.

She mentioned in the speech I heard how annoyed she gets when journalists ask her if she considers herself to be muslim first or british first. She considers herself to be a british muslim.

The trouble is though, that while many muslims would consider themselves british muslims, there are a small minority who do not, for a great many reasons, one of which would be that sadly we haven't exactly given them much incentive to feel british or become british whilst remaining a true muslim.

Lord Ahmed isn't the best example of a peer though... and hopefully will be stripped of his title for his recent criminal endeavours.

I do hope I get to see her speak, I'm very much interested in her speciality as it's something I am experienced in and am effected by. As are we all really.

I was just wondering is she contesting a seat at the next election?

Sooo...(muslim) Aristocracy handles the daily bussiness of the country, good...

The Lords are not aristocracy. They are veterans and experts of various fields appointed to sit in the upper chamber of the bicameral British legislature to technically amend legislation, conduct and form committees and research and advise the house of commons, and if they are in a party serve in the cabinet.

[Treize]

The Lords are not aristocracy. They are veterans and experts of various fields appointed to sit in the upper chamber of the bicameral British legislature to technically amend legislation, conduct and form committees and research and advise the house of commons, and if they are in a party serve in the cabinet.

The name is a bit confusing...
Nothing wrong then:tacticalw

[Draco Borealis]

"The veterans and experts of various fields" are infact modern aristocracy the young urban profesionals. Of course they're np hereditery feudal elite like Norman lords... yet.
Ancient Rome had one, Catholic church too, Soviet Union had their own red aristocrats the party nomenclature. Hell even modern archdemocratic USA has: Bushes-Clntons-Bushes- The Change oups Clintons again. It's natural oder of things.

[Каие]

"The veterans and experts of various fields" are infact modern aristocracy the young urban profesionals. Of course they're np hereditery feudal elite like Norman lords... yet.
Ancient Rome had one, Catholic church too, Soviet Union had their own red aristocrats the party nomenclature. Hell even modern archdemocratic USA has: Bushes-Clntons-Bushes- The Change oups Clintons again. It's natural oder of things.

Sorry I don't consider success or expertise an aristocracy. There are people of all backgrounds, and class in the Lords.

Rome: That is France, Germany and Spain. Britain still has hope.

Exactly what I mean. If in France and Germany over a quarter of the population has a problem with Jews still...the problem is with the Frenchies, Germans, and Spaniards.

Hell, anti-Muslim attitude is lowering in the US and you know how long it takes us to stop hating someone. It was only last week the last Spaniard hater died (not Spanish, Spaniard).

Anti-Muslim attitude was mainly a fad in the USA, the US treats it's Muslims far more.

[Mr Mac]

The trouble is though, that while many muslims would consider themselves british muslims, there are a small minority who do not, for a great many reasons, one of which would be that sadly we haven't exactly given them much incentive to feel british or become british whilst remaining a true muslim.

Small minority? I wish that were the case, there are many Muslims in Britain who probably think:
1) She shouldn't be a politician
2) She is a traitor to the Muslim cause

[Treize]

Sooo...

(muslim) Aristocracy handles the daily bussiness of the country, good...

[bomberboy]

Good speech.

[Farnan]

Great speech...

[Barry Goldwater]

Nice speech.

[Babur]

great speech

Personally I feel insulted when people ask me whether or not I am Muslim first, or British first. That statement alone personifies the entire problem.

This concept is alien to me tbh.One's nationality always come first.

[Каие]

It's alien to me, as they are not mutually exclusive. One does not have a Muslim passport and there is no country called Islamia. I would understand if people went, British first or African first. That would be grounds for logic.

[Babur]

It's alien to me, as they are not mutually exclusive. One does not have a Muslim passport and there is no country called Islamia. I would understand if people went, British first or African first. That would be grounds for logic.

yeah and this is common amongst Muslims shown on TV,this idea of being Muslim first and British second.

Sadly it seems that anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in Britain...

Wait, why is it rising in Poland though? :hmmm:

[The Fishman]

Did a Muslim steal Spain's car in 2006 or something?

[boofhead]

Did a Muslim steal Spain's car in 2006 or something?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Madrid_train_bombings

Mass murder tends to piss people off. Surprising, isn't it?

[Juicemisbruk]

Can someone please tell me what thread says without filling the whole page?
i think cant you be bout at the same time, but i did'nt really read it all...

[Pickle_mole]

Did a Muslim steal Spain's car in 2006 or something?

194 killed 2050 wounded march 11 2005 by " a loose group of Moroccan, Syrian, and Algerian Muslims". maybe it was still rising from that, kind of late though. Maybe immigration problems from North Africa or if those french muslim youth riots were going on, :hmmm:

[Farnan]

194 killed 2050 wounded march 11 2005 by " a loose group of Moroccan, Syrian, and Algerian Muslims". maybe it was still rising from that, kind of late though. Maybe immigration problems from North Africa or if those french muslim youth riots were going on, :hmmm:

The was March 11, 2004.

If you want to make statements you must get your facts right.

[Farnan]

Sadly it seems that anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in Britain...