Sure, but where were they when. . .

The Muslim community is coming out with all the ‘right’ statements, as usual. Once again, however, I’m bothered by the equivocal nature of same, and the apparent timing of their shared 'outrage' (coupled with the ‘poor oppressed Muslim’ meme that always manages to get attached). That little golden 'but' always manages to work its way in there, one way or another, though, and it's here as well:

AUSTRALIAN Muslims have widely condemned the London blasts but members of the Islamic community still feared they would become the target of retribution, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said today.

There are unconfirmed reports the blasts were carried out by a previously unknown al-Qaeda-inspired group based in Europe, prompting fears it could lead to a backlash against London's sizeable Muslim community.

Australian Federation of Islamic Council chief executive Amjad Ali Mehboob today said some members of the Australian Muslim community had also expressed similar concerns.

"We are of course wanting the Australian community to know that Muslims and Islam do not condone this type of violence at all and in fact we condemn it very very strongly.
No you don’t. Not really. And that’s our problem. How does the golden 'but' factor in here? 'We're outraged by the violence, but, how about us and all that evil oppression we suffer at your hands', in this case down to a fear of retribution we know damned well won't occur, but in the 'poor oppressed' Muslim community's mind, already has (and in much the same way in which our involvement in Iraq is a 'war' against all Muslims, which is also, of course, a complete fantasy - a fantasy with a purpose, however).

"This is why we are saying to the wider Australian community that they should not blame all Muslims, if there were elements of the Muslim community that partook in the act. The Australian community should not blame the rest of the Islamic world."
And this is why we have a problem, really. And this is the second half of the golden 'but'. It boils down to a refusal to admit that there's a problem here; a flat out denial that Muslims have anything to do with this, which, of course, merely serves to amplify the victim complex, adding further justification to acts of precisely this nature.

Yes - it's an insane and deeply paradoxical pathology we face here. There is no doubt in my mind that we face it, though.

Then again, we have something of an admission and a confirmation coming up, so thanks for coming right out and saying it: "The fallout from the attacks could also split the Muslim community, Mr Mehboob said."
"There are people who are fearful of retribution and of course there could also be division within the Muslim community because the majority of Muslims will stand up to condemn this but there could be some who might say we can't do that because at the moment we don't know," he said.
Bingo. Muslims didn't do it, so any action you take (imagined or otherwise) is entirely unjustifed, which therefore justifes precisely the action those Muslims took. And here’s the clincher:

"We are of course wanting the Australian community to know that Muslims and Islam do not condone this type of violence at all and in fact we condemn it very very strongly.
Really? So why aren’t you shrieking every bit as loudly, in advance of us finding out about things like this.

I think we all know precisely why.

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