Belinda wrote:LucyLu wrote:
"a person who follows the lessons of history passionately without ideals is tiresome, a person who follows ideals passionately without knowledge of history, is dangerous". This can be applied to politicians and to extremists.
It also applies to a neighbourhood policeman, and to the more intelligent criminals.
In what way? Example?
-- Updated July 26th, 2016, 1:50 am to add the following --
Last year, 5,702 cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) were reported in England, the first year that medical professionals have been legally obliged to report cases that they come across.
The figures were collected from April 2015 to March 2016.
Most of those who whose FGM was recorded were immigrants who had the procedure performed abroad.
Over half of the cases of FGM were recorded in London.
But 43 girls who suffered FGM were born in the UK, while 18 had the procedure done in the country.
The British government estimates that the real figures are much higher. They say 170,000 women and girls living in the UK have undergone FGM and further estimate that 65,000 girls under the age of 13 are at risk.
Female genital mutilation has been illegal in the UK since 1985, but there has never been a conviction for performing the procedure. The government brought in regulations last year mandating that medical professionals in England and Wales record all instances that they encounter as part of a nationwide effort to eradicate the practice in the UK.
Last year, a report by the City University London and the women’s rights charity Equality Now found that FGM is present in every part of the UK.
-- Updated July 28th, 2016, 2:13 am to add the following --
England Allows Entry of Pakistani Extremists for Speaking Tour
The preachers supported an assassin of a liberal governor who spoke against blasphemy law. One was welcomed by the archbishop of Canterbury.
The Church of England's highest priest has welcomed an extremist Muslim cleric from Pakistan to discuss countering "the narrative of extremism and terrorism" as reported by the International Business Times.
Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman and Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman both were vocal supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who murdered the liberal governor of the Punjab, Salman Taseer, in 2011 after Taseer dared to question Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Qadri was one of Taseer's bodyguards.
Qadri was executed this year by Pakistani authorities, but Islamist extremists led a national campaign in support of Qadri, calling him a martyr.
Between 15,000 and 100,000 people attended Qadri's funeral, shrieking slogans such as "Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution" and "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading."
Fierce riots ensued in Pakistan for after Qadri’s execution.
Despite their support for the murderer, the two clerics were allowed entry into the UK for a seven-week preaching tour of mosques. Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman was welcomed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest priest in the Church of England, which comprises some 80 million Christians worldwide.
"They supported and incited my father Salmaan Taseer's murder," Taseer's son, Shehryar, 30, said. "The UK government should deport them, and Pakistan should prosecute them for the incitement of violence under the terrorism act."
"I find it disrespectful that a man like this has been entertained by the archbishop. My family has been on the front lines when it comes to inter-faith harmony and these people disrespect anyone and everyone who speaks about religious harmony," he added.
The UK home secretary has the power to ban people from the UK if their presence is deemed to not be "conducive to the public good." Former home secretary and now prime minister, Theresa May, used these powers to ban controversial counter-jihad activists Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from the country, as well as controversial Islamist preacher Zakir Naik.
-- Updated July 30th, 2016, 2:11 am to add the following --
Something is very wrong when our judges cannot judge the difference between our superior system to that of a barbaric one.
Amina al-Jeffrey was born in Swansea, UK, and taken at age 16 to Saudi Arabia by her father, who disapproved of her Western lifestyle.
Now 21, she is fighting a court battle in the High Court in London against her father to be allowed to return to the UK.
She alleges that her father, Mohammed al-Jeffrey, put "metal bars" on her bedroom and described being a "locked-up girl with a shaved head."
Still a judge in the High Court, Justice Holman, has asserted, "We have to be careful about asserting the supremacy our cultural standards."
Holman also said that it is unclear whether or not Britain had jurisdiction in the matter since al-Jeffrey was an adult with dual Saudi and UK citizenship.
Al-Jeffrey said her father hit her, deprived her of water and forced her to urinate in a cup.
Although "metal bars are no longer in her room" according to her lawyers, "she is still locked up in the house" and "not allowed to use the phone or internet."
"Steps need to be taken to ensure Ms. Jeffery is returned to the UK where her safety can be guaranteed," the Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit said in a statement.
"Her treatment has extended to depriving her of food and water, depriving her of toilet facilities, physical assault and control of her ability to marry who she wishes and creating a situation in which she feels compelled to marry as a means of escape," Henry Setright, a lawyer acting on behalf of al-Jeffrey said in a statement.
He described the situation as a "fundamental breach of human rights."
Saudi Arabia does not recognize al-Jeffrey's British citizenship. They are also paying for her father's legal fees.
"Regarding returning Amina back to the UK, I am unwilling to do this as I fear she will go back to her old destructive lifestyle," her father said in a letter submitted to the court.
"As her father, I fear for her health and safety and only want what is best for Amina, so she may focus on her education."
"She is a normal Welsh girl and still has her Welsh accent," said Anne-Marie Hutchinson, from the Academy of Family Lawyers who is representing al-Jeffrey.
“She wants to return home so she can have control of her own life and make her own choices.”