Muslims just don't get it.

I read this article on the BBC site, nodding my approval of things like:

"If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable," he said.

"We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for society."

All very fair and reasonable. I agree with him that there's too much demonisation of Muslims, and far too much stereotyping. He follows on:

"Some of the Muslim principles can help social cohesion - family, marriage, raising children with boundaries, giving to the poor, and not being too greedy," he said.

Again, I found this hard to disagree with. These are principles which our culture tries to live up to, but often fails. They're a little old-fashioned, maybe, but none the worse for that.

And then he says this:

He also suggested restrictions on drinking alcohol in public places should be introduced, to follow on from the introduction of the smoking ban.

...Britain should embrace "assisted" marriages - the term he said he preferred instead of arranged marriages - as well as making abortion more difficult and encouraging more modesty.

"You shouldn't be revealing your body so much that it can be tempting to other people," he said.

Essentially he is against things like the freedom to marry who you want and get drunk occasionally. He is against the freedom for women to wear what they like, and have control of their own fertility.

They just don't fucking get it do they? This is what makes them foreign. This is what makes them alien. I'm saying 'them' in a perjorative manner here because these are cultural, not individual differences, which make them Not Like Us.

These things are intrinsic parts of our culture, like it or not. They are markers for deep underlying principles which underpin much of our way of life. Principles that people have fought and died for over the last 1000 years, such as the primacy of the individual over government, and particularly equality for women in all spheres of life.

And I'm afraid that until they understand this Muslims will continue to be regarded with suspicion.

Update: He likes book-burning as well.