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I TAUGHT in an East London school for 27 years and, in the final four, saw a growing arrogance and intolerance of other faiths from Muslim boys. It was an ominous warning for what I fear will happen in large swathes of urban Britain (We’re far too nice to Muslim extremists, Comment, last week). I lost count of the number of young girls taken to Pakistan to marry (one hanged herself in the summer holidays). We should adopt the Danish age limit of 24 for arranged marriages and insist on English being spoken. Each imported bride or groom puts back integration a generation.
Matthew Hague Ceredigion
THE WRONG MESSAGE:The present situation has been a very long time in the making. How many arrests were made when Muslims called for the death of Salman Rushdie? The Tory government, by doing little or nothing, sent the wrong message, allowing some to believe that incitement to murder was acceptable.
I question the value of spending money translating documents when it could be spent on providing free English classes for new immigrants.
The one little silver lining is the proposal to keep children in school until the age of 18, which will make it difficult for parents to marry them off.
Joe Aveline Derby
EXPORTING POISON:A greater scrutiny of the role of Saudi finance in the spread of radicalism via British mosques and schools is needed. Clearly the Saudi regime, and perhaps others too, allow and encourage their radicals to spread this poison abroad in order to keep them placated at home.
Sean Marriott London SW1
A HEAD START:Turkey, a secular country thanks to Attaturk, forbids women in public service, or schoolgirls, to wear a headscarf. The Turks are highly amused that we allow women to wear the full black niqab.
Philip Swift London SW5
EMPATHY: If an American Catholic can have empathy for one in Belfast, or a British Jew can send funds to an Israeli one via a UK charity — why can’t a British Muslim empathise with a Palestinian or a Chechen without being called a “terrorist mouthpiece”?
Perhaps pollsters should first ask the naïve 16-year-old British-born Muslim what he means by sharia law. I am not an advocate of sharia anywhere — least of all in a country where 97% of the population is not Muslim. However, magistrate friends of mine seem quite keen on the idea of excessive measures to reduce violations of our homes, and assure me our country has far more severe difficulties than the so-called “Muslim problem”. Minette Marrin forgets that most British Muslims are decent citizens and taxpayers — just like her.
Michael Jabir Loughborough, Leicestershire
CASTING THE FIRST STONE: If the supposedly moderate Dr Mohammed Naseem puts Marrin in a rage, imagine how some people felt about helicopter gunships over Falluja. Or when Israel demolished Lebanon while Britain vetoed a United Nations motion condemning this and acted as a conduit for weapons to Israel. It is hardly a coincidence that London has suffered terrorist attacks while Paris and Berlin are free from such problems. We have acted in ways that invite retaliation. I am ashamed of what we have done. I don’t understand the intellectual shortcircuit that lets people criticise Iran for developing nuclear weapons while knowing we are planning to spend billions updating our Trident nuclear arsenal.
Desmond Campbell London SE15
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Does Desmond Campbell excuse retailiation for the murder of Ken Bigley or for the death of every British soldier ? Why shouldn't sauce for the goose be available to the gander ?
ToMTom, Leeds, England