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Londonistan
When London was hit by suicide bombers in July 2005, the dirty little secret was finally out. Great Britain had been the European hub of Islamist extremism for more than a decade. Under the noses of British intelligence, a network of terrorists and their sympathizers had used Britain to plot, finance, recruit and train for atrocities in the United States and around the world. The scale of this activity was so large that exasperated European security agencies dubbed Britain's capital city Londonistan.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2006
76 people are currently reading
577 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Phillips
31 books156 followersMelanie Phillips, journalist, broadcaster and author, is Britain’s best known and most controversial champion of traditional values in the culture war.
Her weekly column, which currently appears in The Times of London, has been published over the years in the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times and Daily Mail. She also writes for the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Chronicle, is a regular panellist on BBC Radio's The Moral Maze and speaks on public platforms throughout the English-speaking world.
Her best-selling book Londonistan, about the British establishment's capitulation to Islamist aggression, was published in 2006. She followed this in 2010 with The World Turned Upside Down: the Global Battle over God, Truth and Power.
Her first novel, The Legacy, which deals with conflicted Jewish identity, antisemitism and the power of history, was published in April by Post Hill Press. Her personal and political memoir, Guardian Angel, was published by Post Hill Press in January.
Among her earlier books is All Must Have Prizes, a devastating critique of Britain's education system. She is also the author of The Sex-Change Society: Feminised Britain and the Neutered Male, published by the Social Market Foundation, America's Social Revolution, published by Civitas, and The Ascent of Woman, a history of the ideas behind the female suffrage campaign, published by Little, Brown. She also wrote a play, Traitors, which was performed at the Drill Hall in London in 1985
Her weekly column, which currently appears in The Times of London, has been published over the years in the Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times and Daily Mail. She also writes for the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Chronicle, is a regular panellist on BBC Radio's The Moral Maze and speaks on public platforms throughout the English-speaking world.
Her best-selling book Londonistan, about the British establishment's capitulation to Islamist aggression, was published in 2006. She followed this in 2010 with The World Turned Upside Down: the Global Battle over God, Truth and Power.
Her first novel, The Legacy, which deals with conflicted Jewish identity, antisemitism and the power of history, was published in April by Post Hill Press. Her personal and political memoir, Guardian Angel, was published by Post Hill Press in January.
Among her earlier books is All Must Have Prizes, a devastating critique of Britain's education system. She is also the author of The Sex-Change Society: Feminised Britain and the Neutered Male, published by the Social Market Foundation, America's Social Revolution, published by Civitas, and The Ascent of Woman, a history of the ideas behind the female suffrage campaign, published by Little, Brown. She also wrote a play, Traitors, which was performed at the Drill Hall in London in 1985
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May 26, 2021
This is a critical book that everyone interested in the fate of the world we live in must read. In this pivotal work Melanie Phillips explains how largely due to the appeasement policies of the liberal and left elites, Britain is becoming in international hub of Islamic terrorism, and how Islamic culture is destroying and pushing out the Judeo-Christian and British tradition in the United Kingdom.
Phillips explains how Britain "still doesn't grasp that it is facing a pincer attack from both terrorism and cultural infiltration and usurpation". Those who call attention to the threat of Islamic cultural takeover and the threat of sustained terrorism are accused of paranoia and Islam by Islamophiles who aim to silence any criticism of Islamism. Due to the fact that establishment of today is run by the post-modern Left that has given up the idea of economic or class equality and has instead focused on enforcing multi-culturalism, political correctness and 'anti-racism', the last of which is basically a code for anti-White racism. When in 2006 Europe was gripped by the furor and violent Islamic rage due to a series of Danish cartoons likening Islam's prophet Mohammed to violence , the former British foreign secretary Jack Straw ignored the violence and instead condemned those newspapers that had published the cartoons. While declaring that free speech must be limited to avoid giving offense or insult to minorities, namely Muslims, the British elite seemed to believe it should be unlimited when it came to Muslims inciting violence.
In February 2006, Muslims demonstrating outside London's upmarket Knightsbridge suburb were allowed to call for bombings and decapitations, while the police benignly looked on. 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Denmark' and 'nuke, nuke, nuke Denmark; were some of the slogans shouted while their placards read "Exterminate those who slander Islam", "Behead those who Insult Islam" and Europe you will pay. The fantastic four are on their way." (A reference to the deadly London tube bombings the previous year).
Due to Britain's extremely lax immigration policies, terrorists have found Britain a hospitable and extremely useful destination. As stated by Iman Abu Baseer, a leading religious supporter of Hezbollah
" One of the goals of immigration is the revival of jihad, and enforcement of their power over the infidels. Immigration and jihad go together. One is the consequence of the other and dependent upon it. The continuance of the one is dependent on the continuance of the other"
In 1999, there was a newspaper report that over 2 000 British Muslims were attending clandestine terrorist training camps around Britain to learn about holy war. The 21st century has seen a string of events which showed that many British Muslims are becoming terrorists. In December 2001, Richard Reid, an Al Qaida supporter, attempted to detonate a bomb, in his shoe, on a Paris-Miami airliner.
In 2002 Ahmed Omar Saaed Sheik masterminded the kidnap and murder of Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl. In 2003 two young British Muslim bombers Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, played a key part in carrying out the homicide bomb attack Mike's Place beachfront bar in Tel Aviv.
today the British elite has in the words of Melanie Phillips 'decided that not only was the British nation an embarrassment, but also that the very idea of a nation was a damaging anachronism, responsible for all the ills of the world, from racism, through colonialism to war." Thus they oppose national self-determination and support a one world dictatorship. Multi-culturalism and anti-racism were now the weapons used to beat the British indigenous peoples and to unravel the British nation. The values and norms of the majority culture are now regarded as reactionary and it's traditions as something to be destroyed and replaced by those of minority third world peoples.
Phillips exposes the avocation of terror by the so-called mainstream Muslim organizations in Britain that are supported by the liberal British establishment. The Muslim Council of Britain boycotted the ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, because it did not refer to the situation regarding Israel and the Palestinians. The MCB offered condolences to the family of mass murderer and chief Hamas terrroist Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, after he was blotted out by the Israelis, and lauded Sheik Qaradawi who has said that suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq are a religious duty for Muslims. MCB secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie has labelled Israel a 'Nazi State' and compared homicide bombers who ruthlessly kill Israeli civilians to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gahndi. He has accused of Islamophobia anyone who even uses the phrase 'Isalmic terrroism.' and demanded that they should be proescuted for incitement to religious hatred.
The author pulls no punches in exposing the hypocrisy of Britain's liberal establishment. Many of Britain's intellectual elites believe there is no contradiction between sympathizing with or supporting suicide bombing in Israel and opposing it in Britain. They are therefore blinding the public to the fact that the danger to the Jews stands proxy for threat to the West and to all who value freedom. Ulra-left politician and then Mayor of London Ken Linvingstone lauded Shiek Qaradawi -an al Qaeda supporter, anti-Semite and opponent of the rights of homosexuals, women and non Muslims- as 'a progressive force for change'.
British elites have compared Israel's defensive actions against Palestinian terrorist attack against her civilian population, has compared Hamas and Hezbollah mass murderers of Israeli women and children to the resistance movements against Nazi during World War II, and leftwing procurators from the Anglican church have compared Israel's security fence which it referred to as the 'Concrete walls of Palestine' to the 'barbed wire fence of the Buchenwald camp'. Thus as Phillips puts it they "compared the Jews of Israel to the Nazis on account of a measure aimed to prevent them from being murdered"
Melanie Philips condemns the hypocrisy of the liberal establishment of the Anglican Church which she rightly says have lost their moral compass and no longer distinguish between the victim and victims whether it involves a Palestinian homicide bomber , the fall of Saddam Hussein or a teenage serial mugger in the largey black south London are of Brixton.
Phillips warns against the attitude of the elites who rule Britain against appeasing Islam and dismantling Britain's Judeo-Christian ethics and traditions. she reminds us that it is not about racism but survival. But she has predictably, like all who expose Islamism and it's left wing fellow travelers, has been under attack from the leftist sheep who are in charge of thought, but vicious sheep who bite the watchdog that tries to warn us.
Merged review:
This is a critical book that everyone interested in the fate of the world we live in must read. In this pivotal work Melanie Phillips explains how largely due to the appeasement policies of the liberal and left elites, Britain is becoming in international hub of Islamic terrorism, and how Islamic culture is destroying and pushing out the Judeo-Christian and British tradition in the United Kingdom.
Phillips explains how Britain "still doesn't grasp that it is facing a pincer attack from both terrorism and cultural infiltration and usurpation". Those who call attention to the threat of Islamic cultural takeover and the threat of sustained terrorism are accused of paranoia and 'Islamophobia' by Islamophiles who aim to silence any criticism of Islamism. Due to the fact that establishment of today is run by the post-modern Left that has given up the idea of economic or class equality and has instead focused on enforcing multiculturalism, political correctness and 'anti-racism', the last of which is basically a code for anti-White racism. When in 2006 Europe was gripped by the furor and violent Islamic rage due to a series of Danish cartoons likening Islam's prophet Mohammed to violence , the former British foreign secretary Jack Straw ignored the violence and instead condemned those newspapers that had published the cartoons. While declaring that free speech must be limited to avoid giving offense or insult to minorities, namely Muslims, the British elite seemed to believe it should be unlimited when it came to Muslims inciting violence.
In February 2006, Muslims demonstrating outside London's upmarket Knightsbridge suburb were allowed to call for bombings and decapitations, while the police benignly looked on. 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Denmark' and 'nuke, nuke, nuke Denmark; were some of the slogans shouted while their placards read "Exterminate those who slander Islam", "Behead those who Insult Islam" and Europe you will pay. The fantastic four are on their way." (A reference to the deadly London tube bombings the previous year).
Due to Britain's extremely lax immigration policies, terrorists have found Britain a hospitable and extremely useful destination. As stated by Iman Abu Baseer, a leading religious supporter of Hezbollah
" One of the goals of immigration is the revival of jihad, and enforcement of their power over the infidels. Immigration and jihad go together. One is the consequence of the other and dependent upon it. The continuance of the one is dependent on the continuance of the other"
In 1999, there was a newspaper report that over 2 000 British Muslims were attending clandestine terrorist training camps around Britain to learn about holy war. The 21st century has seen a string of events which showed that many British Muslims are becoming terrorists. In December 2001, Richard Reid, an Al Qaida supporter, attempted to detonate a bomb, in his shoe, on a Paris-Miami airliner.
In 2002 Ahmed Omar Saaed Sheik masterminded the kidnap and murder of Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl. In 2003 two young British Muslim bombers Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, played a key part in carrying out the homicide bomb attack Mike's Place beachfront bar in Tel Aviv.
today the British elite has in the words of Melanie Phillips 'decided that not only was the British nation an embarrassment, but also that the very idea of a nation was a damaging anachronism, responsible for all the ills of the world, from racism, through colonialism to war." Thus they oppose national self-determination and support a one world dictatorship. Multiculturalism and anti-racism were now the weapons used to beat the British indigenous peoples and to unravel the British nation. The values and norms of the majority culture are now regarded as reactionary and it's traditions as something to be destroyed and replaced by those of minority third world peoples.
Phillips exposes the avocation of terror by the so-called mainstream Muslim organizations in Britain that are supported by the liberal British establishment. The Muslim Council of Britain boycotted the ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, because it did not refer to the situation regarding Israel and the Palestinians. The MCB offered condolences to the family of mass murderer and chief Hamas terrorist Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, after he was blotted out by the Israelis, and lauded Sheik Qaradawi who has said that suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq are a religious duty for Muslims. MCB secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie has labelled Israel a 'Nazi State' and compared homicide bombers who ruthlessly kill Israeli civilians to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. He has accused of Islamophobia anyone who even uses the phrase 'Islamic terrorism.' and demanded that they should be prosecuted for incitement to religious hatred.
The author pulls no punches in exposing the hypocrisy of Britain's liberal establishment. Many of Britain's intellectual elites believe there is no contradiction between sympathizing with or supporting suicide bombing in Israel and opposing it in Britain. They are therefore blinding the public to the fact that the danger to the Jews stands proxy for threat to the West and to all who value freedom. Ultra-left politician and then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone lauded Sheik Qaradawi -an al Qaeda supporter, anti-Semite and opponent of the rights of homosexuals, women and non Muslims- as 'a progressive force for change'.
British elites have compared Israel's defensive actions against Palestinian terrorist attack against her civilian population, has compared Hamas and Hezbollah mass murderers of Israeli women and children to the resistance movements against Nazi during World War II, and leftwing procurators from the Anglican church have compared Israel's security fence which it referred to as the 'Concrete walls of Palestine' to the 'barbed wire fence of the Buchenwald camp'. Thus as Phillips puts it they "compared the Jews of Israel to the Nazis on account of a measure aimed to prevent them from being murdered"
Melanie Philips condemns the hypocrisy of the liberal establishment of the Anglican Church which she rightly says have lost their moral compass and no longer distinguish between the victim and victims whether it involves a Palestinian homicide bomber , the fall of Saddam Hussein or a teenage serial mugger in the largely black south London are of Brixton.
Phillips warns against the attitude of the elites who rule Britain against appeasing Islam and dismantling Britain's Judeo-Christian ethics and traditions. she reminds us that it is not about racism but survival. But she has predictably, like all who expose Islamism and it's left wing fellow travelers, has been under attack from the leftist sheep who are in charge of thought, but vicious sheep who bite the watchdog that tries to warn us.
Phillips explains how Britain "still doesn't grasp that it is facing a pincer attack from both terrorism and cultural infiltration and usurpation". Those who call attention to the threat of Islamic cultural takeover and the threat of sustained terrorism are accused of paranoia and Islam by Islamophiles who aim to silence any criticism of Islamism. Due to the fact that establishment of today is run by the post-modern Left that has given up the idea of economic or class equality and has instead focused on enforcing multi-culturalism, political correctness and 'anti-racism', the last of which is basically a code for anti-White racism. When in 2006 Europe was gripped by the furor and violent Islamic rage due to a series of Danish cartoons likening Islam's prophet Mohammed to violence , the former British foreign secretary Jack Straw ignored the violence and instead condemned those newspapers that had published the cartoons. While declaring that free speech must be limited to avoid giving offense or insult to minorities, namely Muslims, the British elite seemed to believe it should be unlimited when it came to Muslims inciting violence.
In February 2006, Muslims demonstrating outside London's upmarket Knightsbridge suburb were allowed to call for bombings and decapitations, while the police benignly looked on. 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Denmark' and 'nuke, nuke, nuke Denmark; were some of the slogans shouted while their placards read "Exterminate those who slander Islam", "Behead those who Insult Islam" and Europe you will pay. The fantastic four are on their way." (A reference to the deadly London tube bombings the previous year).
Due to Britain's extremely lax immigration policies, terrorists have found Britain a hospitable and extremely useful destination. As stated by Iman Abu Baseer, a leading religious supporter of Hezbollah
" One of the goals of immigration is the revival of jihad, and enforcement of their power over the infidels. Immigration and jihad go together. One is the consequence of the other and dependent upon it. The continuance of the one is dependent on the continuance of the other"
In 1999, there was a newspaper report that over 2 000 British Muslims were attending clandestine terrorist training camps around Britain to learn about holy war. The 21st century has seen a string of events which showed that many British Muslims are becoming terrorists. In December 2001, Richard Reid, an Al Qaida supporter, attempted to detonate a bomb, in his shoe, on a Paris-Miami airliner.
In 2002 Ahmed Omar Saaed Sheik masterminded the kidnap and murder of Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl. In 2003 two young British Muslim bombers Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, played a key part in carrying out the homicide bomb attack Mike's Place beachfront bar in Tel Aviv.
today the British elite has in the words of Melanie Phillips 'decided that not only was the British nation an embarrassment, but also that the very idea of a nation was a damaging anachronism, responsible for all the ills of the world, from racism, through colonialism to war." Thus they oppose national self-determination and support a one world dictatorship. Multi-culturalism and anti-racism were now the weapons used to beat the British indigenous peoples and to unravel the British nation. The values and norms of the majority culture are now regarded as reactionary and it's traditions as something to be destroyed and replaced by those of minority third world peoples.
Phillips exposes the avocation of terror by the so-called mainstream Muslim organizations in Britain that are supported by the liberal British establishment. The Muslim Council of Britain boycotted the ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, because it did not refer to the situation regarding Israel and the Palestinians. The MCB offered condolences to the family of mass murderer and chief Hamas terrroist Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, after he was blotted out by the Israelis, and lauded Sheik Qaradawi who has said that suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq are a religious duty for Muslims. MCB secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie has labelled Israel a 'Nazi State' and compared homicide bombers who ruthlessly kill Israeli civilians to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gahndi. He has accused of Islamophobia anyone who even uses the phrase 'Isalmic terrroism.' and demanded that they should be proescuted for incitement to religious hatred.
The author pulls no punches in exposing the hypocrisy of Britain's liberal establishment. Many of Britain's intellectual elites believe there is no contradiction between sympathizing with or supporting suicide bombing in Israel and opposing it in Britain. They are therefore blinding the public to the fact that the danger to the Jews stands proxy for threat to the West and to all who value freedom. Ulra-left politician and then Mayor of London Ken Linvingstone lauded Shiek Qaradawi -an al Qaeda supporter, anti-Semite and opponent of the rights of homosexuals, women and non Muslims- as 'a progressive force for change'.
British elites have compared Israel's defensive actions against Palestinian terrorist attack against her civilian population, has compared Hamas and Hezbollah mass murderers of Israeli women and children to the resistance movements against Nazi during World War II, and leftwing procurators from the Anglican church have compared Israel's security fence which it referred to as the 'Concrete walls of Palestine' to the 'barbed wire fence of the Buchenwald camp'. Thus as Phillips puts it they "compared the Jews of Israel to the Nazis on account of a measure aimed to prevent them from being murdered"
Melanie Philips condemns the hypocrisy of the liberal establishment of the Anglican Church which she rightly says have lost their moral compass and no longer distinguish between the victim and victims whether it involves a Palestinian homicide bomber , the fall of Saddam Hussein or a teenage serial mugger in the largey black south London are of Brixton.
Phillips warns against the attitude of the elites who rule Britain against appeasing Islam and dismantling Britain's Judeo-Christian ethics and traditions. she reminds us that it is not about racism but survival. But she has predictably, like all who expose Islamism and it's left wing fellow travelers, has been under attack from the leftist sheep who are in charge of thought, but vicious sheep who bite the watchdog that tries to warn us.
Merged review:
This is a critical book that everyone interested in the fate of the world we live in must read. In this pivotal work Melanie Phillips explains how largely due to the appeasement policies of the liberal and left elites, Britain is becoming in international hub of Islamic terrorism, and how Islamic culture is destroying and pushing out the Judeo-Christian and British tradition in the United Kingdom.
Phillips explains how Britain "still doesn't grasp that it is facing a pincer attack from both terrorism and cultural infiltration and usurpation". Those who call attention to the threat of Islamic cultural takeover and the threat of sustained terrorism are accused of paranoia and 'Islamophobia' by Islamophiles who aim to silence any criticism of Islamism. Due to the fact that establishment of today is run by the post-modern Left that has given up the idea of economic or class equality and has instead focused on enforcing multiculturalism, political correctness and 'anti-racism', the last of which is basically a code for anti-White racism. When in 2006 Europe was gripped by the furor and violent Islamic rage due to a series of Danish cartoons likening Islam's prophet Mohammed to violence , the former British foreign secretary Jack Straw ignored the violence and instead condemned those newspapers that had published the cartoons. While declaring that free speech must be limited to avoid giving offense or insult to minorities, namely Muslims, the British elite seemed to believe it should be unlimited when it came to Muslims inciting violence.
In February 2006, Muslims demonstrating outside London's upmarket Knightsbridge suburb were allowed to call for bombings and decapitations, while the police benignly looked on. 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Denmark' and 'nuke, nuke, nuke Denmark; were some of the slogans shouted while their placards read "Exterminate those who slander Islam", "Behead those who Insult Islam" and Europe you will pay. The fantastic four are on their way." (A reference to the deadly London tube bombings the previous year).
Due to Britain's extremely lax immigration policies, terrorists have found Britain a hospitable and extremely useful destination. As stated by Iman Abu Baseer, a leading religious supporter of Hezbollah
" One of the goals of immigration is the revival of jihad, and enforcement of their power over the infidels. Immigration and jihad go together. One is the consequence of the other and dependent upon it. The continuance of the one is dependent on the continuance of the other"
In 1999, there was a newspaper report that over 2 000 British Muslims were attending clandestine terrorist training camps around Britain to learn about holy war. The 21st century has seen a string of events which showed that many British Muslims are becoming terrorists. In December 2001, Richard Reid, an Al Qaida supporter, attempted to detonate a bomb, in his shoe, on a Paris-Miami airliner.
In 2002 Ahmed Omar Saaed Sheik masterminded the kidnap and murder of Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl. In 2003 two young British Muslim bombers Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif, played a key part in carrying out the homicide bomb attack Mike's Place beachfront bar in Tel Aviv.
today the British elite has in the words of Melanie Phillips 'decided that not only was the British nation an embarrassment, but also that the very idea of a nation was a damaging anachronism, responsible for all the ills of the world, from racism, through colonialism to war." Thus they oppose national self-determination and support a one world dictatorship. Multiculturalism and anti-racism were now the weapons used to beat the British indigenous peoples and to unravel the British nation. The values and norms of the majority culture are now regarded as reactionary and it's traditions as something to be destroyed and replaced by those of minority third world peoples.
Phillips exposes the avocation of terror by the so-called mainstream Muslim organizations in Britain that are supported by the liberal British establishment. The Muslim Council of Britain boycotted the ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, because it did not refer to the situation regarding Israel and the Palestinians. The MCB offered condolences to the family of mass murderer and chief Hamas terrorist Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, after he was blotted out by the Israelis, and lauded Sheik Qaradawi who has said that suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq are a religious duty for Muslims. MCB secretary-general Sir Iqbal Sacranie has labelled Israel a 'Nazi State' and compared homicide bombers who ruthlessly kill Israeli civilians to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. He has accused of Islamophobia anyone who even uses the phrase 'Islamic terrorism.' and demanded that they should be prosecuted for incitement to religious hatred.
The author pulls no punches in exposing the hypocrisy of Britain's liberal establishment. Many of Britain's intellectual elites believe there is no contradiction between sympathizing with or supporting suicide bombing in Israel and opposing it in Britain. They are therefore blinding the public to the fact that the danger to the Jews stands proxy for threat to the West and to all who value freedom. Ultra-left politician and then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone lauded Sheik Qaradawi -an al Qaeda supporter, anti-Semite and opponent of the rights of homosexuals, women and non Muslims- as 'a progressive force for change'.
British elites have compared Israel's defensive actions against Palestinian terrorist attack against her civilian population, has compared Hamas and Hezbollah mass murderers of Israeli women and children to the resistance movements against Nazi during World War II, and leftwing procurators from the Anglican church have compared Israel's security fence which it referred to as the 'Concrete walls of Palestine' to the 'barbed wire fence of the Buchenwald camp'. Thus as Phillips puts it they "compared the Jews of Israel to the Nazis on account of a measure aimed to prevent them from being murdered"
Melanie Philips condemns the hypocrisy of the liberal establishment of the Anglican Church which she rightly says have lost their moral compass and no longer distinguish between the victim and victims whether it involves a Palestinian homicide bomber , the fall of Saddam Hussein or a teenage serial mugger in the largely black south London are of Brixton.
Phillips warns against the attitude of the elites who rule Britain against appeasing Islam and dismantling Britain's Judeo-Christian ethics and traditions. she reminds us that it is not about racism but survival. But she has predictably, like all who expose Islamism and it's left wing fellow travelers, has been under attack from the leftist sheep who are in charge of thought, but vicious sheep who bite the watchdog that tries to warn us.
January 15, 2022
This book is a disquieting snapshot of contemporary Britain, and a wakeup call to anyone still deaf to the danger of growing Islamist influence, not to mention Western capitulation to that influence.
Melanie Phillips has been dismissed as a fringe voice by some of her ideological opponents, but as the plethora of end notes for each chapter makes clear, this passionate book is also meticulously researched.
Despite what some reviewers would have you believe, nothing in "Londonistan" is racist (The provocative title of the book may offend some people, but its derivation is explained, and the name itself is not original to Phillips). Certainly Phillips is indignant throughout the book, but she's also scrupulously fair. In fact, given the controversial subject matter and the way that she disdains conventional "wisdom" in both England and America, this might also be the bravest work I've ever read. It's a quick but important read, highly recommended, and not just to "right-wingers."
Melanie Phillips has been dismissed as a fringe voice by some of her ideological opponents, but as the plethora of end notes for each chapter makes clear, this passionate book is also meticulously researched.
Despite what some reviewers would have you believe, nothing in "Londonistan" is racist (The provocative title of the book may offend some people, but its derivation is explained, and the name itself is not original to Phillips). Certainly Phillips is indignant throughout the book, but she's also scrupulously fair. In fact, given the controversial subject matter and the way that she disdains conventional "wisdom" in both England and America, this might also be the bravest work I've ever read. It's a quick but important read, highly recommended, and not just to "right-wingers."
June 29, 2017
I made it to page 116 of this piece of propaganda before giving up. I voluntary choose a book that was controversial. Once in a while I like to read an author whose opinions differs from mine but this time I was getting bored and embarrassed to be seen in public reading Melanie Phillips’ book.
Not that the author doesn’t have some interesting points but they are drowned in a sea of prejudices. This is not a book; it is a pamphlet and should be sold as such. It’s acceptable to use some strong words to make a point but using the same strident tone fore 190 pages can give the readers headaches
Let’s start with her strong points. Since they are so far and few, it will be easy to get them out of the way. First there is the real danger caused by extremisms of every stripes and it is a valid question to ask ourselves how much incitement to violence we should tolerate. It is also legitimate to question how much we should pander to repressive regimes such as Saudi Arabia because it is in our commercial interests.
It is also valid to question the culture of hyper-individualism, entitlement and “dutiless rights”.
Melanie Phillips hates Islam and human rights that she pictures as equally dangerous for Western civilization. “In fact, it (human rights law) has undermined Western society, eviscerated its values and helped create the conditions breeding Islamist extremist and terror in the UK…” And I thought the human rights were a Western value. I stand corrected. Even worst, human rights can be equate with – gasp! – Socialism. “…left-wingers everywhere – had to find a new radical motif that would enable them to continue their defining mission to transform society and human nature. Human rights provided the perfect vehicles. “
This is reflected in her opinion of European law that “…threatens to usurp the democratic process…” and that human rights law is a key mechanism for those who want to force people to conform to highly subjective notions of how to behave” and that gay rights are “…a direct and deadly attack on the normative values of family life that underpin British society”.
Which leads me to think that it is not only radical Islamists that she his attacking but any change in the society in which she grew up with its pillars of “family, education and church”. That is a society with traditional families and where the only church is a Christian church. In particular she regrets that a secular society has replaced the Christian one. She blames the secular world order for Britain moral, cultural and spiritual vacuum. Religion, Christian religion that is, is seen as the only force that can restrain behaviour. In her apocalyptic vision of Britain today, the absence of religion leads to a free for all philosophy that threatens civilization en encourage promiscuity, alcoholism, drug abuse and the breakdown of family life and where divorce leads to polygamy.
While condemning extremism she affirms that “…a moderate attitude in a minority is that it is prepared to… practice its own culture in the private sphere” Am I the only one who find this affirmation deeply disturbing?
Now if her vision of a proper Western society is one where gays and all other minorities are back in the closets, where divorce is illegal, where sexuality is repressed and where Christian religious practice is mandatory to paraphrase Orwell “The creatures outside looked from fundamentalist Christians to fundamentalist Islamists, and from Islamists to Christians again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
Not that the author doesn’t have some interesting points but they are drowned in a sea of prejudices. This is not a book; it is a pamphlet and should be sold as such. It’s acceptable to use some strong words to make a point but using the same strident tone fore 190 pages can give the readers headaches
Let’s start with her strong points. Since they are so far and few, it will be easy to get them out of the way. First there is the real danger caused by extremisms of every stripes and it is a valid question to ask ourselves how much incitement to violence we should tolerate. It is also legitimate to question how much we should pander to repressive regimes such as Saudi Arabia because it is in our commercial interests.
It is also valid to question the culture of hyper-individualism, entitlement and “dutiless rights”.
Melanie Phillips hates Islam and human rights that she pictures as equally dangerous for Western civilization. “In fact, it (human rights law) has undermined Western society, eviscerated its values and helped create the conditions breeding Islamist extremist and terror in the UK…” And I thought the human rights were a Western value. I stand corrected. Even worst, human rights can be equate with – gasp! – Socialism. “…left-wingers everywhere – had to find a new radical motif that would enable them to continue their defining mission to transform society and human nature. Human rights provided the perfect vehicles. “
This is reflected in her opinion of European law that “…threatens to usurp the democratic process…” and that human rights law is a key mechanism for those who want to force people to conform to highly subjective notions of how to behave” and that gay rights are “…a direct and deadly attack on the normative values of family life that underpin British society”.
Which leads me to think that it is not only radical Islamists that she his attacking but any change in the society in which she grew up with its pillars of “family, education and church”. That is a society with traditional families and where the only church is a Christian church. In particular she regrets that a secular society has replaced the Christian one. She blames the secular world order for Britain moral, cultural and spiritual vacuum. Religion, Christian religion that is, is seen as the only force that can restrain behaviour. In her apocalyptic vision of Britain today, the absence of religion leads to a free for all philosophy that threatens civilization en encourage promiscuity, alcoholism, drug abuse and the breakdown of family life and where divorce leads to polygamy.
While condemning extremism she affirms that “…a moderate attitude in a minority is that it is prepared to… practice its own culture in the private sphere” Am I the only one who find this affirmation deeply disturbing?
Now if her vision of a proper Western society is one where gays and all other minorities are back in the closets, where divorce is illegal, where sexuality is repressed and where Christian religious practice is mandatory to paraphrase Orwell “The creatures outside looked from fundamentalist Christians to fundamentalist Islamists, and from Islamists to Christians again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
January 2, 2015
A superb book!
When I read this book,what I thought was:This is what happens when you appease some1 hellbent on world domination and subjugation of others!!
1938 was a huge mistake,of appeasing Hitler by the same feckless British leadership,Brits and rest of the world paid a heavy price for this grave mistake!
It happened again!Europeans have become complacent post WW2,partly due to revulsion of European Nationalist politics which resulted in the Holocaust and due to America becoming a world superpower,protecting Europe at her expanse and rendering Europeans careless about their own fate.
This resulted in unwritten code between European (and esp UK/France)intelligence,political establishment and Islamic terrorists of all kind,that Islamists wont unleash demons of their Jihad on the UK as long as UK officials,hedonistic,selfish and stupid turned blind eyes on them!
The result:Londonistan!
The way things turned out esp in recent times,prove that the premise of Londonistan is bang on!
Recently during the 50 days war between Israel and Gaza,Londonistan saw massive pro Jihadist pro Hamas demos,sometimes over 1,00,000 strong,vs BBC,and repeatedly,these were terrorist demos,filled with hardcore antisemitism,anti Zionism,anti Israel,anti West sentiments!
When Taliban or Al Qaeda did their horrible acts of Jihad,same Londoinistan went on doing things usually,not a pip!Not a single demo!!
The way UK people have turned out pro Islamist,it's alarming!It's a lost cause,as filled with hate for the Jews(or Hindus/Sikhs or even freakin Buddhists for that matter) and Israel,the way common Brits talk about Israelis being the new Nazis etc,it has become a caricature of itself,of it's past,and now EU foreign policy is at best is like 'human rights' troll-ism!(I made that word up and I stand by it!)
More Muslims are fighting for terrorist empire of Islamic State than for the UK army!Are you kiddin me?Europe's and UK's immigration policies are a total and devastating failure,rather in fact a spectacular failure!
UK is already a lost cause and will in time turn Islamic,it'll beome an evil empire with a new flavor and this book said it a long long time ago!
I absolutely loved reading this book,so sharp,spot on and somewhat prophetic!
I hope people wake up,there's no sense of Islamophobia and many times people are hurt by it when it's uncalled for but in the UK's case,they have let this disease of poisonous ideologies in,and there's no cure,not in the near future anyway!
The British govt has officially declared 44 British areas as no-go zones!You cannot go to these Shariah Zones unless you are a Muslim and the police won't protect you if you do!Cowards even published official maps showing these areas!
Thing is,behavior of Islamists are different in areas based on concentration of Muslim populations in those areas,they will be adorable minority when in 1-2% populations but if a city has like 10-20% of them,they 'own' those areas and PC govt of Dhimmis will publish maps declaring them no go zones for non Muslims!!When in majority,these areas look like Baghdad or Islamabad and NOT London!This is a prime example of a thoroughly corrupt government!Much vaunted 'Minority outreach' programs just work to appease and make these people feel 'Special',doesn't serve anything good!!It in fact festers anti nationalist 5th columns whose contribution to the society are very very detrimental!Point is,these cuddling of Jihadists make them feel entitled and bold,validates their narcissism and there's no incentive for integration offered by the govt!They live i ethnic enclaves and never bother to learn English,dont feel thankful to the host European countries at all!
Even those who are motivated to integrate in the UK society by themselves don't feel like it,due to this politically correct BS by leftists!The fact is European left has sold their countries out to a hungry ideology that knows nothing about loyalty to the host country but just domination!!
Multiculturalism the overdose of it,and political correctness have ruined the UK,ad west at large has become a gutless feckless ogre but for America,which while leaning somewhat left post Obama victory,has maintained a healthy balance,America is wayyyy better than EU and Islam will have a super hard time doing the same here,rather it's most likely that such a horrible conquest will never happen here in the US!
Thankfully America is a very balanced nation this way and people love America by heart!Islamic Jihad can't thrive here the way it has in Londonistan!I hope it remains that way forever!
Meanwhile,political class in the UK needs to get its head out of sand and confront the reality,more British Muslims being the fighters for IS than serving the UK military tells you that something is horribly shitty here and no dose of 'Community/minority/mulitculti outreach' will ever solve this terrorist breeding problem ever!
Ms.Phillips also details how cultural decay has led to infestation of radical Islam in the UK,how UK churches have died down and lost the purpose!The thing is,and all established religions are far from perfect and in fact origin of most conflict,decay of Christianity has given in to rise of Islam!People will always seek at least some faith rather than Atheism(which is perfectly fine,atheism is fine I mean) ,people crave it and Islam gives it to them,where there's o individuality,no choice and just submission,surrender!Some people go for that!And far leftist doctrines as manifested by anti Israel demos in London,if left unchecked,is only going to exacerbate this problem!
Too much focus on multiculturalism,too little on nationalism and ridiculous laxity on Jihad ism and Islamist terrorism has eroded the UK,it has become a sad pathetic excuse of a society,culture and nation!Ms.Phillips has a strong message for all the Londoners who dont want to bury their heads in sands of denial!That appeasement attitude didnt help in 1938,it didnt help in 2001,2004,2005,7/7 etc at all!It never helps!
Another decay which has caused this society dearly is how political correctness and moral relativism have benefited radical Islam!Open any UK paper,you will find some real nasty Jihadist stuff,like rape,grooming,FGM,suicide bombs etc,many times these things by 'British' Muslims!And all you read is,some 'Asian youth' did this and that!WTF!Have you ever seen any Buddhist blow a bus up?NO!Any Indian or Hindu?NO!Chinese/Korean any1?Hell no!But Uhh..Musl...wait,you can't say that!But they do it all the time...NO!You cant say that!It's just Asian youth but not Pakistani(Most likely culprit in case of UK),this actually annoys and offends Asians a lot who dont follow Islam!Multiculti PC actually hurts non Muslims like hell!!
And the reasons we are given for this are gems,like colonialism and poverty and linguistic barriers and youth disenfranchisement,racism and uhh,orientalism!WHoa!Thats the magic word isnt it?
Did you notice that all these things apply to Hindus(80% of whom are poor) Buddhists(Cambodia/Myanmar/Sri Lanka anyone?),Hispanics and Africans too,but we dont see 'youths' of these cultures blowing towers,trains and plane off!It's something very peculiar to one ideology and it's ime it's called out for what it is!Londonistan the book precisely does that!
A book with a strong worded message,very easy to read and will shock you,may be open some eyes!Highly recommended read!
5 stars!
And uh,Am Israel Chai:)
When I read this book,what I thought was:This is what happens when you appease some1 hellbent on world domination and subjugation of others!!
1938 was a huge mistake,of appeasing Hitler by the same feckless British leadership,Brits and rest of the world paid a heavy price for this grave mistake!
It happened again!Europeans have become complacent post WW2,partly due to revulsion of European Nationalist politics which resulted in the Holocaust and due to America becoming a world superpower,protecting Europe at her expanse and rendering Europeans careless about their own fate.
This resulted in unwritten code between European (and esp UK/France)intelligence,political establishment and Islamic terrorists of all kind,that Islamists wont unleash demons of their Jihad on the UK as long as UK officials,hedonistic,selfish and stupid turned blind eyes on them!
The result:Londonistan!
The way things turned out esp in recent times,prove that the premise of Londonistan is bang on!
Recently during the 50 days war between Israel and Gaza,Londonistan saw massive pro Jihadist pro Hamas demos,sometimes over 1,00,000 strong,vs BBC,and repeatedly,these were terrorist demos,filled with hardcore antisemitism,anti Zionism,anti Israel,anti West sentiments!
When Taliban or Al Qaeda did their horrible acts of Jihad,same Londoinistan went on doing things usually,not a pip!Not a single demo!!
The way UK people have turned out pro Islamist,it's alarming!It's a lost cause,as filled with hate for the Jews(or Hindus/Sikhs or even freakin Buddhists for that matter) and Israel,the way common Brits talk about Israelis being the new Nazis etc,it has become a caricature of itself,of it's past,and now EU foreign policy is at best is like 'human rights' troll-ism!(I made that word up and I stand by it!)
More Muslims are fighting for terrorist empire of Islamic State than for the UK army!Are you kiddin me?Europe's and UK's immigration policies are a total and devastating failure,rather in fact a spectacular failure!
UK is already a lost cause and will in time turn Islamic,it'll beome an evil empire with a new flavor and this book said it a long long time ago!
I absolutely loved reading this book,so sharp,spot on and somewhat prophetic!
I hope people wake up,there's no sense of Islamophobia and many times people are hurt by it when it's uncalled for but in the UK's case,they have let this disease of poisonous ideologies in,and there's no cure,not in the near future anyway!
The British govt has officially declared 44 British areas as no-go zones!You cannot go to these Shariah Zones unless you are a Muslim and the police won't protect you if you do!Cowards even published official maps showing these areas!
Thing is,behavior of Islamists are different in areas based on concentration of Muslim populations in those areas,they will be adorable minority when in 1-2% populations but if a city has like 10-20% of them,they 'own' those areas and PC govt of Dhimmis will publish maps declaring them no go zones for non Muslims!!When in majority,these areas look like Baghdad or Islamabad and NOT London!This is a prime example of a thoroughly corrupt government!Much vaunted 'Minority outreach' programs just work to appease and make these people feel 'Special',doesn't serve anything good!!It in fact festers anti nationalist 5th columns whose contribution to the society are very very detrimental!Point is,these cuddling of Jihadists make them feel entitled and bold,validates their narcissism and there's no incentive for integration offered by the govt!They live i ethnic enclaves and never bother to learn English,dont feel thankful to the host European countries at all!
Even those who are motivated to integrate in the UK society by themselves don't feel like it,due to this politically correct BS by leftists!The fact is European left has sold their countries out to a hungry ideology that knows nothing about loyalty to the host country but just domination!!
Multiculturalism the overdose of it,and political correctness have ruined the UK,ad west at large has become a gutless feckless ogre but for America,which while leaning somewhat left post Obama victory,has maintained a healthy balance,America is wayyyy better than EU and Islam will have a super hard time doing the same here,rather it's most likely that such a horrible conquest will never happen here in the US!
Thankfully America is a very balanced nation this way and people love America by heart!Islamic Jihad can't thrive here the way it has in Londonistan!I hope it remains that way forever!
Meanwhile,political class in the UK needs to get its head out of sand and confront the reality,more British Muslims being the fighters for IS than serving the UK military tells you that something is horribly shitty here and no dose of 'Community/minority/mulitculti outreach' will ever solve this terrorist breeding problem ever!
Ms.Phillips also details how cultural decay has led to infestation of radical Islam in the UK,how UK churches have died down and lost the purpose!The thing is,and all established religions are far from perfect and in fact origin of most conflict,decay of Christianity has given in to rise of Islam!People will always seek at least some faith rather than Atheism(which is perfectly fine,atheism is fine I mean) ,people crave it and Islam gives it to them,where there's o individuality,no choice and just submission,surrender!Some people go for that!And far leftist doctrines as manifested by anti Israel demos in London,if left unchecked,is only going to exacerbate this problem!
Too much focus on multiculturalism,too little on nationalism and ridiculous laxity on Jihad ism and Islamist terrorism has eroded the UK,it has become a sad pathetic excuse of a society,culture and nation!Ms.Phillips has a strong message for all the Londoners who dont want to bury their heads in sands of denial!That appeasement attitude didnt help in 1938,it didnt help in 2001,2004,2005,7/7 etc at all!It never helps!
Another decay which has caused this society dearly is how political correctness and moral relativism have benefited radical Islam!Open any UK paper,you will find some real nasty Jihadist stuff,like rape,grooming,FGM,suicide bombs etc,many times these things by 'British' Muslims!And all you read is,some 'Asian youth' did this and that!WTF!Have you ever seen any Buddhist blow a bus up?NO!Any Indian or Hindu?NO!Chinese/Korean any1?Hell no!But Uhh..Musl...wait,you can't say that!But they do it all the time...NO!You cant say that!It's just Asian youth but not Pakistani(Most likely culprit in case of UK),this actually annoys and offends Asians a lot who dont follow Islam!Multiculti PC actually hurts non Muslims like hell!!
And the reasons we are given for this are gems,like colonialism and poverty and linguistic barriers and youth disenfranchisement,racism and uhh,orientalism!WHoa!Thats the magic word isnt it?
Did you notice that all these things apply to Hindus(80% of whom are poor) Buddhists(Cambodia/Myanmar/Sri Lanka anyone?),Hispanics and Africans too,but we dont see 'youths' of these cultures blowing towers,trains and plane off!It's something very peculiar to one ideology and it's ime it's called out for what it is!Londonistan the book precisely does that!
A book with a strong worded message,very easy to read and will shock you,may be open some eyes!Highly recommended read!
5 stars!
And uh,Am Israel Chai:)
June 28, 2017
This is not a relaxing read. This is not a book to take lightly. From the cover (let alone the first page!) Phillips has you in an armlock and tries her best to wrestle you to the floor. I came out bruised, battered and I think she might have edged the bout on a referee’s decision.
If you live in the UK, particularly if you live in an area with a sizeable Muslim population as I have done, many of the points Phillips makes in this book will not be new to you. In fact, they might well affirm how you’ve been feeling. They might even give voice to opinions you’ve felt too intimidated to share with anyone.
It’s obvious to anyone who is a reader of the signs of the times that Britain has become a victim of its own political correctness. This book gives you example after example of how the legislature has tied itself in knots as it worships the god Diversity and celebrates the beliefs of anyone who happens to be in a minority. Thus, it has spent the last 20 years appeasing the Muslim community in particular.
Why in particular? Well world events and those within its own boundaries have meant that the UK has had to face people living out the teachings of the Koran in a more direct way than at any other time in history. And, Phillips argues, they are having the wool pulled over their eyes by the Islamic architects of a plan that, ultimately, has the Islamicisation of the world as its end goal. I agree with this. In fact, I would challenge any Muslim who did not agree that they were not taking their faith and the Koran seriously. I’ve read the Koran and that is the clear agenda.
It would take a lot of work to refute the argument Phillips presents. I’m not saying that this is because its watertight. Rather, her argument is long, detailed and, for the most part, well-researched. I can’t imagine anyone from the Muslim community, for example, writing as scholarly a document in rebuttal. I’m not saying they’re incapable. I’m saying that, from my experience, I can’t imagine it.
There are however, areas of weakness. For example, late in the book, while presenting evidence of a scholar’s views which argue for nothing less than the eradication of Israel as a nation state, she says
Nothing wrong with this. Except that earlier in the book, she says that the British judiciary has lost its spine and given itself over to the rule of international law which, she argues, is undemocratic and therefore a fantasy. You can’t have it both ways. Either international law is binding or it isn’t. If it is, Israel has a lawful right to exist as a nation. But if it is, the British judiciary would do well to work under its influence.
Phillips spends a lot of time also haranguing the Church of England for sticking its head in the sand. I agreed with much of what she said. But, in criticising Archbishop Carey for apologising “for bringing Christianity to the world” in a culturally insensitive way during the reign of Empire, she attacks him with
Right there, I could tell that she has no experience of living overseas with those who make up the church in those “remote parts.” I have a great deal of experience of this and I can tell you right now that “civilisation” was well and truly in place before the message of Christ ever arrived. Of course what Christ taught is superior to any worldly culture if you believe that he is God. But those who actually work, live and love in those overseas communities can tell you that there has always been much in them that reflects Christ’s teachings, as with all cultures, because they are made up of people made in the image of God. It’s a shame to hear such moralising twaddle from someone who is considered to be so scholarly.
I think Phillips has an important message to proclaim. But her style can be described only as rabid and this will put a lot of readers off. More off putting, and a major stumbling block to me, is that after finishing the book, a book which challenges the predominant view that Israel is the baddie in the Palestinian situation, I discovered that she is Jewish.
Now, as someone who has a lot of experience writing social research, not declaring a vested interest is tantamount to rendering your entire paper invalid. It is a major omission that nowhere in this book (as far as I remember) did she tell me where she was coming from. It may be, as my dad argued, that everyone knows she’s Jewish. But I’d never heard of her and I didn’t know. At least now I understand one of the major driving factors behind her writing the book in the first place and why she seemed pretty angry all the way through it.
If you live in the UK, particularly if you live in an area with a sizeable Muslim population as I have done, many of the points Phillips makes in this book will not be new to you. In fact, they might well affirm how you’ve been feeling. They might even give voice to opinions you’ve felt too intimidated to share with anyone.
It’s obvious to anyone who is a reader of the signs of the times that Britain has become a victim of its own political correctness. This book gives you example after example of how the legislature has tied itself in knots as it worships the god Diversity and celebrates the beliefs of anyone who happens to be in a minority. Thus, it has spent the last 20 years appeasing the Muslim community in particular.
Why in particular? Well world events and those within its own boundaries have meant that the UK has had to face people living out the teachings of the Koran in a more direct way than at any other time in history. And, Phillips argues, they are having the wool pulled over their eyes by the Islamic architects of a plan that, ultimately, has the Islamicisation of the world as its end goal. I agree with this. In fact, I would challenge any Muslim who did not agree that they were not taking their faith and the Koran seriously. I’ve read the Koran and that is the clear agenda.
It would take a lot of work to refute the argument Phillips presents. I’m not saying that this is because its watertight. Rather, her argument is long, detailed and, for the most part, well-researched. I can’t imagine anyone from the Muslim community, for example, writing as scholarly a document in rebuttal. I’m not saying they’re incapable. I’m saying that, from my experience, I can’t imagine it.
There are however, areas of weakness. For example, late in the book, while presenting evidence of a scholar’s views which argue for nothing less than the eradication of Israel as a nation state, she says
despite saying he supported Israel’s existence, he appeared to be suggesting that the Jewish state should be singled out for a fate imposed on no other democracy properly constituted under international law.
Nothing wrong with this. Except that earlier in the book, she says that the British judiciary has lost its spine and given itself over to the rule of international law which, she argues, is undemocratic and therefore a fantasy. You can’t have it both ways. Either international law is binding or it isn’t. If it is, Israel has a lawful right to exist as a nation. But if it is, the British judiciary would do well to work under its influence.
Phillips spends a lot of time also haranguing the Church of England for sticking its head in the sand. I agreed with much of what she said. But, in criticising Archbishop Carey for apologising “for bringing Christianity to the world” in a culturally insensitive way during the reign of Empire, she attacks him with
The fact that Christianity had brought civilisation to these remote parts, for the very good reason that it was superior to traditional practices there was not acknowledged.
Right there, I could tell that she has no experience of living overseas with those who make up the church in those “remote parts.” I have a great deal of experience of this and I can tell you right now that “civilisation” was well and truly in place before the message of Christ ever arrived. Of course what Christ taught is superior to any worldly culture if you believe that he is God. But those who actually work, live and love in those overseas communities can tell you that there has always been much in them that reflects Christ’s teachings, as with all cultures, because they are made up of people made in the image of God. It’s a shame to hear such moralising twaddle from someone who is considered to be so scholarly.
I think Phillips has an important message to proclaim. But her style can be described only as rabid and this will put a lot of readers off. More off putting, and a major stumbling block to me, is that after finishing the book, a book which challenges the predominant view that Israel is the baddie in the Palestinian situation, I discovered that she is Jewish.
Now, as someone who has a lot of experience writing social research, not declaring a vested interest is tantamount to rendering your entire paper invalid. It is a major omission that nowhere in this book (as far as I remember) did she tell me where she was coming from. It may be, as my dad argued, that everyone knows she’s Jewish. But I’d never heard of her and I didn’t know. At least now I understand one of the major driving factors behind her writing the book in the first place and why she seemed pretty angry all the way through it.
August 7, 2011
This was an especially troubling book for me, as I was born in England and went back to live there for a year when I was in my teens. Although the English economy seems to be in a better state than it was when I lived there, in some ways England is much, much worse off. The threat posed by radical Islamists is worrying enough, but I'm shocked by the degree of civilizational self-loathing that has taken over the country. Phillips does a fine job of documenting the relationship between Islamic radicalism and self-defeating multiculturalism.
No nation is perfect, but I'd venture to say that England has given far more to the world than it gives itself credit for.
No nation is perfect, but I'd venture to say that England has given far more to the world than it gives itself credit for.
April 28, 2010
This is the kind of racist vitriol that is destroying the world. Phillips can be incredibly manipulative -- largely in her suggestion that if you don't condemn the Islamic faith itself as fanatical, then you are an anti-semite. The gist of her argument was, "Hey, if you don't want to be a Nazi, then you have to hate Muslims!" That being said, I'm glad to have read this book. It helped me realize the conservative, post-Powell perception of multiculturalism in England.
February 9, 2014
An author that tells it as it is, she doesn't mince words. What a courageous woman!
All the people on the Left, anti-Christian, and anti-Israel should read this. Supposing that they were well-meaning, honest, and loving to their neighbors as they are to their pets, that won't keep them from being the targets of Islam. Islam hates them as much as they hate Jews and Christians. The sooner these well-meaning (and ill-meaning) people realize how foolishly they are acting the better. This book should do the job of opening the eyes of the well-meaning ones. It's a religious war, folks. A secular society can't fight a religious war; the secular has no values to stand for, nothing worth defending (as long as the aggressors have been victimized), while Islam is mad as a rabid dog. Appeasement? Yeah, right. One thing is for certain: when the paradise-seeking Jihadist next door starts cutting throats in your neighborhood, they won't ignore you because you're pro-Palestinian or an atheist. Those, and other excuses, won't get you off the hook.
If a whole civilization has nothing to stand for, and everything has the same value in this crazy multicultural society of ours, if we have no definitive values, no faith in God, no respect for our history, what is there left for us to defend? Well, somebodyelse's history, values and faith. The West has reached a point of no return.
But this book is not about philosophy at all. This is a tremendous work of clear-sighted journalism. A wake-up call and a challenge for every lover of Freedom. The author will never get the honorable mentions she so much deserves, because those who ought to give them are the ones tightening the ropes around our necks, selling us cheap to the enemy.
A cultural suicide is taking place in Europe. It is not new, we've been suffering it since the rich sons-of-mummy-and-daddy turned Left in the late 60's. The Left decided they had to buy their redemption from the guilt complex they carried by siding with their dads' historical victims. The enemy showed up, alright, in the person of Islam (=fascism turned pious, in an Arab fashion). This is not to say, as the author repeatedly mentions, that all Muslims are fascists. Of course not. The problem is that all the fascists claim to be Muslim.
Melanie Phillips has shown a lot of courage by reporting the facts of this struggle in the UK. Describing the big picture as well as the small pictures composed of the daily lives of the British citizens. Fearless, straightforward, clear-minded, and right on target, she gives the names, quotes the public statements, and does an powerful analysis of the general political situation worldwide and the implications in our daily lives.
This book is dynamite. If you don't wake up reading this, you're probably alive only physically, not morally, and not spiritually. This book was such a thrill to read, despite its pessimism, and is so well written, so direct, so powerful, that I can't remember one that impressed me so much since "The Gulag Archipelago", long ago. Its pessimism doesn't overpower. It has the quality of detachedness, of being able to see the trees through the thick wood, of not getting entangled fruitlessly in discussions.
The hunger for power of the judges is exposed. The organized church, faithless, soulless, and politicized, is put to shame. The British political class are there: destroying the leftovers of what was a great country, for the votes of the mob & the irate (a lot of sound & fury). The media, but specially the BBC, is exposed for its biased policy against one religion and in favor of another (the BBC is an issue that deserves a separate book).
And it all comes down to one issue: Israel. It is not even the US, or capitalism vs socialism; it is not America; it is not even a clash of civilizations as some intellectuals would have us believe. The isthmus test is Israel. Why is it so? Read, and find out for yourself. (the Bible has a lot to say about that too).
All the people on the Left, anti-Christian, and anti-Israel should read this. Supposing that they were well-meaning, honest, and loving to their neighbors as they are to their pets, that won't keep them from being the targets of Islam. Islam hates them as much as they hate Jews and Christians. The sooner these well-meaning (and ill-meaning) people realize how foolishly they are acting the better. This book should do the job of opening the eyes of the well-meaning ones. It's a religious war, folks. A secular society can't fight a religious war; the secular has no values to stand for, nothing worth defending (as long as the aggressors have been victimized), while Islam is mad as a rabid dog. Appeasement? Yeah, right. One thing is for certain: when the paradise-seeking Jihadist next door starts cutting throats in your neighborhood, they won't ignore you because you're pro-Palestinian or an atheist. Those, and other excuses, won't get you off the hook.
If a whole civilization has nothing to stand for, and everything has the same value in this crazy multicultural society of ours, if we have no definitive values, no faith in God, no respect for our history, what is there left for us to defend? Well, somebodyelse's history, values and faith. The West has reached a point of no return.
But this book is not about philosophy at all. This is a tremendous work of clear-sighted journalism. A wake-up call and a challenge for every lover of Freedom. The author will never get the honorable mentions she so much deserves, because those who ought to give them are the ones tightening the ropes around our necks, selling us cheap to the enemy.
A cultural suicide is taking place in Europe. It is not new, we've been suffering it since the rich sons-of-mummy-and-daddy turned Left in the late 60's. The Left decided they had to buy their redemption from the guilt complex they carried by siding with their dads' historical victims. The enemy showed up, alright, in the person of Islam (=fascism turned pious, in an Arab fashion). This is not to say, as the author repeatedly mentions, that all Muslims are fascists. Of course not. The problem is that all the fascists claim to be Muslim.
Melanie Phillips has shown a lot of courage by reporting the facts of this struggle in the UK. Describing the big picture as well as the small pictures composed of the daily lives of the British citizens. Fearless, straightforward, clear-minded, and right on target, she gives the names, quotes the public statements, and does an powerful analysis of the general political situation worldwide and the implications in our daily lives.
This book is dynamite. If you don't wake up reading this, you're probably alive only physically, not morally, and not spiritually. This book was such a thrill to read, despite its pessimism, and is so well written, so direct, so powerful, that I can't remember one that impressed me so much since "The Gulag Archipelago", long ago. Its pessimism doesn't overpower. It has the quality of detachedness, of being able to see the trees through the thick wood, of not getting entangled fruitlessly in discussions.
The hunger for power of the judges is exposed. The organized church, faithless, soulless, and politicized, is put to shame. The British political class are there: destroying the leftovers of what was a great country, for the votes of the mob & the irate (a lot of sound & fury). The media, but specially the BBC, is exposed for its biased policy against one religion and in favor of another (the BBC is an issue that deserves a separate book).
And it all comes down to one issue: Israel. It is not even the US, or capitalism vs socialism; it is not America; it is not even a clash of civilizations as some intellectuals would have us believe. The isthmus test is Israel. Why is it so? Read, and find out for yourself. (the Bible has a lot to say about that too).
May 21, 2013
This is definitely a book with a wallop. The author is pro-Israel and soft-pedals the war in Iraq. Is not the war in Iraq a source of both anti-Americanism and anti-British sentiment?
Nevertheless – when she does not stray off-topic (Israel) there are a lot of good issues raised. Liberals, pundits , Left (and Right) –wingers need to seriously understand that religious fanaticism (in the name of Islam, Allah) is behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, the London transit bombings, the Madrid railway station bombings and most recently (in this book) ,the attempted suicide bombing of the Glasgow airport. As the author states there is NO negotiation with these people – there is no middle ground to walk on. The English (and the West) have been too slow to recognize this and have fallen to appeasement. Why have Imams who preach hatred of America not convicted of a hate crime? Why is it when Imams preach for the adoption of sharia law that they are not properly rebuked by legal authorities? England is like the dual state of Saudi Arabia in trying to assuage its Islamic fundamentalists.
When we are so open to immigration – we must realize we have left people into our country who use “freedom of religion” to preach intolerance of gender equality, gay people and who generally despise Western values. As Winston Churchill pointed out in the 1930’s (in speaking of another aggressive state) we have reached a stage where we are adjusting our policies to placate a group that despises us because we feel they can be reconciled.
Ms. Phillips does lose some ground when she relishes the “good old days” of the Church of England. Going back to Bible studies is not the way to go. Also a “multi-culture society” is dynamic and exciting – “mono-culture” is boring.
My favourite passage from page 60: “There are wonderful aspects of British and European thought that should never be compromised by religious intolerance”.
Nevertheless – when she does not stray off-topic (Israel) there are a lot of good issues raised. Liberals, pundits , Left (and Right) –wingers need to seriously understand that religious fanaticism (in the name of Islam, Allah) is behind the terrorist attacks of September 11, the London transit bombings, the Madrid railway station bombings and most recently (in this book) ,the attempted suicide bombing of the Glasgow airport. As the author states there is NO negotiation with these people – there is no middle ground to walk on. The English (and the West) have been too slow to recognize this and have fallen to appeasement. Why have Imams who preach hatred of America not convicted of a hate crime? Why is it when Imams preach for the adoption of sharia law that they are not properly rebuked by legal authorities? England is like the dual state of Saudi Arabia in trying to assuage its Islamic fundamentalists.
When we are so open to immigration – we must realize we have left people into our country who use “freedom of religion” to preach intolerance of gender equality, gay people and who generally despise Western values. As Winston Churchill pointed out in the 1930’s (in speaking of another aggressive state) we have reached a stage where we are adjusting our policies to placate a group that despises us because we feel they can be reconciled.
Ms. Phillips does lose some ground when she relishes the “good old days” of the Church of England. Going back to Bible studies is not the way to go. Also a “multi-culture society” is dynamic and exciting – “mono-culture” is boring.
My favourite passage from page 60: “There are wonderful aspects of British and European thought that should never be compromised by religious intolerance”.
April 3, 2019
This is an incredible, daring, and honest book about Islamofascism and how our (largely leftwing) politicians have been pandering to it for years, the media brainwashing of the public, and the problems it has caused in our society (particularly in England) now, after ten years of nobody taking any notice of the warnings. This book is a stark, bleak and honest warning about the damage that's being done to Europe, British culture and heritage, and national identity and the erosion of free speech and our constitution.
It is also a shocking indictment of how our politicians have colluded with islamist terrorists over the years and are still doing so, and not just colluded but in most cases been completely ignorant of the dangers or caught in a cycle of victim-culture brainwashing.
If you care about what is happening to London, and not just London in England, but the rest of Europe (Germany, Sweden, Belgium in particular now) I urge you to read this book. But forget about all the silly liberal media buzzwords you hear on the news, and read this book with an open mind!!
I shelved this under Dystopia!
It is also a shocking indictment of how our politicians have colluded with islamist terrorists over the years and are still doing so, and not just colluded but in most cases been completely ignorant of the dangers or caught in a cycle of victim-culture brainwashing.
If you care about what is happening to London, and not just London in England, but the rest of Europe (Germany, Sweden, Belgium in particular now) I urge you to read this book. But forget about all the silly liberal media buzzwords you hear on the news, and read this book with an open mind!!
I shelved this under Dystopia!
June 17, 2008
Really interesting book about how the UK looked the other way at radical islam domestically in an implicit agreement that no violence would happen in the UK. touches on the idea of the aggressor claiming to be a victim. The chapter on the acceptance of the rapid anti-semitism in the Middle East and leaking into lefty discussions of Israel is really disturbing and interesting. I also enjoyed the chapter on recent christian theology recanting the idea of jews as god's chosen people and how that has fostered anti-semitism in the UK church, which now is suggesting Sharia law in Britain as a legal option. How nice of them. naturally I haven't been to the UK in years but if this book is accurate it's pretty mind blowing. If nothing else it will make you think - whether you agree with her or not.
October 12, 2007
I found this book morally repugnant. I'm not going to elaborate.
August 7, 2011
Tremendous lessons here for America's future.
April 11, 2014
Muslim Immigration
The author describes how Great Britain, and London in particular, have become a haven for Muslim immigrants, including jihadists. Laws protecting those seeking asylum from religious and political persecution in their home countries have been used by immigration advocates to prevent the deportation of economic migrants and terrorists.
Great Britain As a Haven for Jihadists
• The Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, established in 1993, opposes the Saudi monarchy, because it is not sufficiently Islamist
• Mohammed al-Massari, a Saudi Arabian dissident who helped set up al-Qaeda’s office in London
• The Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, whose British branch was founded in 1986 by Syrian-born Omar Bakri Mohammed, promotes the restoration of the Muslim caliphate
• The Wahhabi organization Al-Muntada al-Islami Trust of West London that promotes violence against Christians in Nigeria
• The Deobandi offshoot Tablighi Jamaat, whose European headquarters is in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, and which also has a branch in the United States that is a source of recruits for al-Qaeda
• London-based Tunisian politician Rashid al-Ghannushi, a Jewish conspiracy theorist
• Muslim Association of Britain (founded by Kamal el-Helbawy, member of the Muslim Brotherhood)
• Abu Hamza (al-Masri), former imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque, who helped plan terrorist and kidnapping attacks on British targets in Yemen by the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
• The Salafist Abu Qatada (al-Filistini) of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) of Algeria
Prince Charles
Prince Charles is a patron of the Centre for Islamic Studies of Oxford and a proponent of building the Finsbury Park mosque in London. He believes that Great Britain has much to learn from the religion of Islam. He has often traveled to Arab countries, but has never even once visited Israel.
The European Union and the Human Rights Act of 1998
The defenders of the Muslim invasion of Britain are also weakening traditional British common law, replacing it with directives from unelected bureaucrats of the European Union. The British Human Rights Act of 1998 implements the European Convention on Human Rights. Many British judges have expanded the application of human rights law so that antisocial behavior is now protected.
Fear of Being Labeled Racist
The British Left has made the police afraid to use force against Black criminals, for fear of being called racist. This hobbling of the police was then expanded to protect law-breaking Muslims. In fact, the police often feel compelled to protect the rights of offended minorities to assault people who speak critically of minorities. The police even punish their own for uttering Islamophobic remarks.
The Difference Between the Jihadists and the Irish Republican Army
The author makes the interesting point that the jihadists differ from the IRA in the respect that the IRA seeks only a unified Ireland, and not to convert Britain to Roman Catholicism.
The author describes how Great Britain, and London in particular, have become a haven for Muslim immigrants, including jihadists. Laws protecting those seeking asylum from religious and political persecution in their home countries have been used by immigration advocates to prevent the deportation of economic migrants and terrorists.
Great Britain As a Haven for Jihadists
• The Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, established in 1993, opposes the Saudi monarchy, because it is not sufficiently Islamist
• Mohammed al-Massari, a Saudi Arabian dissident who helped set up al-Qaeda’s office in London
• The Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, whose British branch was founded in 1986 by Syrian-born Omar Bakri Mohammed, promotes the restoration of the Muslim caliphate
• The Wahhabi organization Al-Muntada al-Islami Trust of West London that promotes violence against Christians in Nigeria
• The Deobandi offshoot Tablighi Jamaat, whose European headquarters is in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, and which also has a branch in the United States that is a source of recruits for al-Qaeda
• London-based Tunisian politician Rashid al-Ghannushi, a Jewish conspiracy theorist
• Muslim Association of Britain (founded by Kamal el-Helbawy, member of the Muslim Brotherhood)
• Abu Hamza (al-Masri), former imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque, who helped plan terrorist and kidnapping attacks on British targets in Yemen by the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
• The Salafist Abu Qatada (al-Filistini) of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) of Algeria
Prince Charles
Prince Charles is a patron of the Centre for Islamic Studies of Oxford and a proponent of building the Finsbury Park mosque in London. He believes that Great Britain has much to learn from the religion of Islam. He has often traveled to Arab countries, but has never even once visited Israel.
The European Union and the Human Rights Act of 1998
The defenders of the Muslim invasion of Britain are also weakening traditional British common law, replacing it with directives from unelected bureaucrats of the European Union. The British Human Rights Act of 1998 implements the European Convention on Human Rights. Many British judges have expanded the application of human rights law so that antisocial behavior is now protected.
Fear of Being Labeled Racist
The British Left has made the police afraid to use force against Black criminals, for fear of being called racist. This hobbling of the police was then expanded to protect law-breaking Muslims. In fact, the police often feel compelled to protect the rights of offended minorities to assault people who speak critically of minorities. The police even punish their own for uttering Islamophobic remarks.
The Difference Between the Jihadists and the Irish Republican Army
The author makes the interesting point that the jihadists differ from the IRA in the respect that the IRA seeks only a unified Ireland, and not to convert Britain to Roman Catholicism.
June 7, 2021
I had previously read "Making David Into Goliath" about the efforts by Middle Eastern countries, primarily Arab and Muslim along with liberal supporters worldwide, to change the narrative about Jews being the underdogs as they were seen to be during and after WWII as they immigrated to Palestine. Over many years of repetition of this message they have convinced a significant number of people and countries that the Palestinian Muslims and Muslims in general are the underdogs with the Jews being the new Nazis They preach as well the denial of the Holocaust and that the Israelis are indiscriminately killing Arab civilians, women, and children while the Muslim suicide bombings and murders of innocent Israeli Jews are considered as justified actions by freedom fighters. In Londonistan, author Melanie Phillips takes on this narrative and explains how this change in thinking has ushered in a new era where in many western countries with a growing Muslim minority population see their own laws and social benefits systems being used against the host countries. And in the case of Great Britain it has become the European hub of Islamist extremism for over a decade. Because of restrictions on police and British intelligence that have been put in place over many years, planning of attacks, including the July 2005 London subway bombings went completely undetected. By pressuring politicians, Britain's Muslim leaders have pushed through legislative changes that sound benign but intimidate the population into not criticizing Islam lest they be labeled Islamophobic, arrested, and even sent to prison. Radical speeches by visiting Muslim clerics in the mosques have contributed a growing number of young Muslims and converts who see it as their religious duty to destroy western civilization from within, even those who were born there. They also use the organization in Britain to finance, recruit, and train followers for attacks in the United States and around the world. The author argues that their ultimate goal is to spread Islam in an attempt to make a worldwide caliphate. Many politicians, particularly on the left support this in order to pander to the Muslim vote especially if they have a significant number of them as their constituents. Looking around within the United States there are many signs that we may not be that far behind Britain as we see anti-Semitic protests, boycotts, and shouting down of anyone who tries to speak in favor of Israel, particularly in our universities that used to be bastions of free speech. The book cites many examples and provides factual information to support he arguments as she tries to sound an alarm before it is too late and British history and culture is no more.
October 8, 2010
Frightening. Melanie Phillips has an openly stated agenda and doesn't really pretend to seek balance. But after a couple of decades of PC mentality in which this sort of book would have been labelled as 'phobic' it is a necessary counterpoint. A wake up call to those who have abandoned the foundations of western liberal democracy.
June 5, 2012
Racist hatred and alarmingly narrow minded. Perhaps I should make it a mission to inform as many people as possible that this cannot be taken as a legitimate discourse on political theory in Britain or anywhere else
February 17, 2021
The English journalist Melanie Phillips denounces here a baffling paradox: while Great Britain vowed to fight radical Islam (to the point of, at the time, allying itself morally and militarily with the USA in their war against terrorism) it nevertheless was a welcoming haven for radical Islamists and terrorists themselves.
Among a population averaging 2 millions Muslims (in a country which counted about 60 millions people) 16,000 were suspected to belong to terrorist groups; 3,000 had been through Al-Qaeda paramilitary training camps; a few organisations among the most diverse and hateful had their siege in Britain where they were legal (even though some, like the Hib ut-Tahir, were forbidden in Arabic countries); and, from Abu Qatada to Omar Bakri Mohammed, or Mohammed al-Massari to Abu Hamza (of whom the Mosque in Finsbury Park was the infamous symbol of the whole problem back then) preachers of hate against the Western world in the name of a religious fanaticism had been welcomed on British soil for more than a decade, having thus a considerable impact upon some of the most vulnerable members of the Muslim demographic (e.g. youth, prisoners...). Why? How come?
Melanie Phillips delves here at the heart of the problem by showing that, if radical Islam managed to spread itself, it was mostly because British society, sick, had made disastrous cultural and societal choices; choices which led to a weakening of its dearest values, to the point of making them vulnerable when pitted against some of its worst enemies. In a meticulous analysis, detailed, she exposes the various factors which, combined, had transformed a country which had been a cradle to freedom into a 'Londonistan'.
First, she tackles the rise of cultural relativism, rooted in postmodern philosophies having invaded Leftist mentalities (this book was published during the decade that saw New Labour triumphing) and which had encouraged multiculturalism. Multiculturalism, a threat to social cohesion by locking whole populations into communitarianism (which many had tried to escape!) had indeed reinforced feelings of alienation and exclusion which were growing among many, in particular the younger generation descendants of immigrants. Radical Islamists, in fact, would play upon such feelings to their best, they who benefited from a Human Rights culture which had been so twisted it had become absolutely and dangerously absurd.
This is her second point: bonkers legislations. Tony Blair's was well known indeed for having flooded the country with questionable laws (especially when it comes to civil liberties). One of the most counter-productive among them turned out to be the 1998 Human Right Act itself, which not only transformed Britain into a welcoming land for fanatical asylum seekers (many condemned in their home countries for terrorism) but, also, fed a whole victimisation culture, where everything and its contrary became suddenly protected by the law in the name of liberty... even liberticide ideologies and behaviours! Worse than a completely betrayal of a whole historical and cultural heritage when it comes to a certain vision of the law, in a country where cultural relativism had encouraged guilt about colonialism and Imperialism such situation in fact reached a point where the simple fact to denounce alien beliefs, even if such beliefs were cruel and barbaric, came to be labelled as 'racist', or, as was the case here, 'Islamophobic' (fanatics had a field day with that one!). In other word, a whole morale had been hijacked by whose purporting to defend liberties.
Such an attitude, coupled with a striking ignorance of the true nature of radical Islam (it's a twisted theological version of Islam, certainly not a political or economical tool for the 'oppressed' to fight against the capitalistic system perceived as being embodied by the Western world) contributed nothing but to pour more oil on the fire. This gross misunderstanding of what is a religious trend had led, indeed, to some excusing, ort at least legitimating, what fanatics were preaching -a denunciation of the Western world (read: capitalism) whereas what is at stake are in fact humanist values (which are not the sole prerogative of the West, contrary to what fanatics would have us believe).
'Londonistan', then, was a typical case in point: here was the product of a dangerous cocktail where cultural relativism, multiculturalism, a perverse view of Human Rights and a victimisation culture, added to irresponsible immigration policies (again: asylum granted to hate preachers and terrorists) and an ignorance of what constitutes a complex religious phenomenon all contributed to build the picture of a society which, ironically, became weak in front of very assertive enemies. It was ironic indeed, because the obsessions of such fanatics interestingly became ours, from an anti-Americanism to the Palestinian question, reflecting thus how some, by their mindset, became the useful idiots of a dangerous trend (e.g. a certain Left having the same interest as radical Islamists, which it victimised, even though for radically differing reasons).
Now, this book, of course, is not without flaws. For instance, Melanie Phillips sees in postmodernism the logical end product of the Dechristianization of the West, and, so, she encourages a re-affirmation of Judeo-Christian values as unifying factor (I personally disagree; to me postmodernism is just a philosophical trend born within the far-Left, and, you don't need to be a Christian to reject such absurdities -some Leftists themselves had been, in fact, condemning such trend, not least for having hijacked what was then New Labour!). But, having said that, here's a brilliant book because it shows how relativism is nothing but defeatism, and defeatism is the worse enemy a civilization can face. Civilizations indeed rarely collapse because of outside enemies; they collapse from decay within. Britain vs radical Islam was a lesson to take. Beyond the UK indeed, here was a wake up call reminding us that, if the West fail to be proud of the values which had shaped it, and which it had exported to the point of them backfiring against it (contributing, for example, to the collapse from the slave trade to colonial Imperialism) then the West will be up for grab.
A punchy yet very relevant read.
Among a population averaging 2 millions Muslims (in a country which counted about 60 millions people) 16,000 were suspected to belong to terrorist groups; 3,000 had been through Al-Qaeda paramilitary training camps; a few organisations among the most diverse and hateful had their siege in Britain where they were legal (even though some, like the Hib ut-Tahir, were forbidden in Arabic countries); and, from Abu Qatada to Omar Bakri Mohammed, or Mohammed al-Massari to Abu Hamza (of whom the Mosque in Finsbury Park was the infamous symbol of the whole problem back then) preachers of hate against the Western world in the name of a religious fanaticism had been welcomed on British soil for more than a decade, having thus a considerable impact upon some of the most vulnerable members of the Muslim demographic (e.g. youth, prisoners...). Why? How come?
Melanie Phillips delves here at the heart of the problem by showing that, if radical Islam managed to spread itself, it was mostly because British society, sick, had made disastrous cultural and societal choices; choices which led to a weakening of its dearest values, to the point of making them vulnerable when pitted against some of its worst enemies. In a meticulous analysis, detailed, she exposes the various factors which, combined, had transformed a country which had been a cradle to freedom into a 'Londonistan'.
First, she tackles the rise of cultural relativism, rooted in postmodern philosophies having invaded Leftist mentalities (this book was published during the decade that saw New Labour triumphing) and which had encouraged multiculturalism. Multiculturalism, a threat to social cohesion by locking whole populations into communitarianism (which many had tried to escape!) had indeed reinforced feelings of alienation and exclusion which were growing among many, in particular the younger generation descendants of immigrants. Radical Islamists, in fact, would play upon such feelings to their best, they who benefited from a Human Rights culture which had been so twisted it had become absolutely and dangerously absurd.
This is her second point: bonkers legislations. Tony Blair's was well known indeed for having flooded the country with questionable laws (especially when it comes to civil liberties). One of the most counter-productive among them turned out to be the 1998 Human Right Act itself, which not only transformed Britain into a welcoming land for fanatical asylum seekers (many condemned in their home countries for terrorism) but, also, fed a whole victimisation culture, where everything and its contrary became suddenly protected by the law in the name of liberty... even liberticide ideologies and behaviours! Worse than a completely betrayal of a whole historical and cultural heritage when it comes to a certain vision of the law, in a country where cultural relativism had encouraged guilt about colonialism and Imperialism such situation in fact reached a point where the simple fact to denounce alien beliefs, even if such beliefs were cruel and barbaric, came to be labelled as 'racist', or, as was the case here, 'Islamophobic' (fanatics had a field day with that one!). In other word, a whole morale had been hijacked by whose purporting to defend liberties.
Such an attitude, coupled with a striking ignorance of the true nature of radical Islam (it's a twisted theological version of Islam, certainly not a political or economical tool for the 'oppressed' to fight against the capitalistic system perceived as being embodied by the Western world) contributed nothing but to pour more oil on the fire. This gross misunderstanding of what is a religious trend had led, indeed, to some excusing, ort at least legitimating, what fanatics were preaching -a denunciation of the Western world (read: capitalism) whereas what is at stake are in fact humanist values (which are not the sole prerogative of the West, contrary to what fanatics would have us believe).
'Londonistan', then, was a typical case in point: here was the product of a dangerous cocktail where cultural relativism, multiculturalism, a perverse view of Human Rights and a victimisation culture, added to irresponsible immigration policies (again: asylum granted to hate preachers and terrorists) and an ignorance of what constitutes a complex religious phenomenon all contributed to build the picture of a society which, ironically, became weak in front of very assertive enemies. It was ironic indeed, because the obsessions of such fanatics interestingly became ours, from an anti-Americanism to the Palestinian question, reflecting thus how some, by their mindset, became the useful idiots of a dangerous trend (e.g. a certain Left having the same interest as radical Islamists, which it victimised, even though for radically differing reasons).
Now, this book, of course, is not without flaws. For instance, Melanie Phillips sees in postmodernism the logical end product of the Dechristianization of the West, and, so, she encourages a re-affirmation of Judeo-Christian values as unifying factor (I personally disagree; to me postmodernism is just a philosophical trend born within the far-Left, and, you don't need to be a Christian to reject such absurdities -some Leftists themselves had been, in fact, condemning such trend, not least for having hijacked what was then New Labour!). But, having said that, here's a brilliant book because it shows how relativism is nothing but defeatism, and defeatism is the worse enemy a civilization can face. Civilizations indeed rarely collapse because of outside enemies; they collapse from decay within. Britain vs radical Islam was a lesson to take. Beyond the UK indeed, here was a wake up call reminding us that, if the West fail to be proud of the values which had shaped it, and which it had exported to the point of them backfiring against it (contributing, for example, to the collapse from the slave trade to colonial Imperialism) then the West will be up for grab.
A punchy yet very relevant read.
June 5, 2013
An important, but flawed book.
It is a well-researched and well-written polemic. It's a tad on the long side, and does not vary in its purpose when, perhaps, a little variation would have made it a more complex and engaging read. But it serves the purpose it was written for.
While I think the author does a good job of making a strong case that there are radical, militant, destructive elements that do wish to change Great Britain and maybe even the rest of the western world into something contrary to our western values of equality and freedom, the author makes some unsupported stretches when she links radical, militant strains of Islam with atheists and those who believe in marriage equality.
Frankly put, she writes that atheists and homosexuals are part of the degradation of the culture and society of the UK, but unlike the rigorous research and support she uses to back up her claims on militant Islam, she gives no supporting evidence to this preposterous claim.
I could also give the author some leeway in her unwavering support of Israel due to her own Jewish background, but her flimsy claim that the essentially western values of equality and freedom, which includes the freedom to not be religious and to marry someone of the same sex if you so choose, is both unsupported and likely unsupportable. But also take into account that I am an atheist, so maybe my view is biased by my background as well.
In any case, I think this book is a highly important read for anyone interested in the future of the ever-changing nation of Great Britain. It is not a light read, but it is engaging and enlightening. And I also credit the author for her bravery in discussing what is a taboo subject, but one that cries out for exploration. So much on this subject is left in the realm of either the unsaid or the unspeakable. She fearlessly, but also without hatred or hostility, wades into these murky waters and tries to bring some clarity to one side of the subject.
It is a well-researched and well-written polemic. It's a tad on the long side, and does not vary in its purpose when, perhaps, a little variation would have made it a more complex and engaging read. But it serves the purpose it was written for.
While I think the author does a good job of making a strong case that there are radical, militant, destructive elements that do wish to change Great Britain and maybe even the rest of the western world into something contrary to our western values of equality and freedom, the author makes some unsupported stretches when she links radical, militant strains of Islam with atheists and those who believe in marriage equality.
Frankly put, she writes that atheists and homosexuals are part of the degradation of the culture and society of the UK, but unlike the rigorous research and support she uses to back up her claims on militant Islam, she gives no supporting evidence to this preposterous claim.
I could also give the author some leeway in her unwavering support of Israel due to her own Jewish background, but her flimsy claim that the essentially western values of equality and freedom, which includes the freedom to not be religious and to marry someone of the same sex if you so choose, is both unsupported and likely unsupportable. But also take into account that I am an atheist, so maybe my view is biased by my background as well.
In any case, I think this book is a highly important read for anyone interested in the future of the ever-changing nation of Great Britain. It is not a light read, but it is engaging and enlightening. And I also credit the author for her bravery in discussing what is a taboo subject, but one that cries out for exploration. So much on this subject is left in the realm of either the unsaid or the unspeakable. She fearlessly, but also without hatred or hostility, wades into these murky waters and tries to bring some clarity to one side of the subject.
April 30, 2013
I'm a little late to the game on this one, I know. But if anything we need the insights of this book more today than when it was written in 2006.
The book chronicles the Islamization of London (and really England) and uncovers the ideology that allowed it to happen. In fact, perhaps the greatest contribution of the book is not its unveiling of the radical ideology that produces terrorism, but of the similarly extreme ideology that refuses to call terrorism what it is.
Make no mistake, this book is not right-wing bombast against Islam and liberal politicians. On the contrary it is an intelligent and well-informed exposition of why Western Civilization is caving before Islam. Read, think, and heed.
The book chronicles the Islamization of London (and really England) and uncovers the ideology that allowed it to happen. In fact, perhaps the greatest contribution of the book is not its unveiling of the radical ideology that produces terrorism, but of the similarly extreme ideology that refuses to call terrorism what it is.
Make no mistake, this book is not right-wing bombast against Islam and liberal politicians. On the contrary it is an intelligent and well-informed exposition of why Western Civilization is caving before Islam. Read, think, and heed.
November 19, 2015
A must read.
I have been lived in London since 2004, and couldn’t agree more with the thesis exposed in Londonistan. Britain is the main centre of militant Islam. The causes: vacuum left by the collapse of Christianity and traditional national values, Britain loss of confidence in its own identity, values, constitution and institutions, the politically correct inertia of London establishment that dares not confront religious extremists (preachers of hate, such as Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, were allowed to spout violent anti-western messages for years).
It has been 10 years since Melanie Philips Londonistan was published ans still she suffer the same vilification than 10 years ago.
Nemo profeta in patria.
I have been lived in London since 2004, and couldn’t agree more with the thesis exposed in Londonistan. Britain is the main centre of militant Islam. The causes: vacuum left by the collapse of Christianity and traditional national values, Britain loss of confidence in its own identity, values, constitution and institutions, the politically correct inertia of London establishment that dares not confront religious extremists (preachers of hate, such as Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, were allowed to spout violent anti-western messages for years).
It has been 10 years since Melanie Philips Londonistan was published ans still she suffer the same vilification than 10 years ago.
Nemo profeta in patria.
Read
November 20, 2014A brilliant, but concise, overview of the damage that has been done to England in the name of public "outreach" to Islam and a suffocating political correctness which has come to define the UK for the past five decades. As someone who lives in the United States, I can relate to most of the unwelcome changes that Melanie Phillips-undoubtedly the best columnist still working for The Spectator-describes in her chronicle of Great Britain's gradual decline into a half sharia/half post-Enlightenment social democracy.
Philips does a great job exposing the perfidy of the entrenched elites, especially the New Labor regime that ushered in a era of mass, non-European immigration from predominately Muslim regions like Pakistan, Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf. The thoughts of Archbishop George Carey are alone make this book worth reading.
Encounter once again delivers with a thoughtful, provocative book about a subject that impacts the country at large.
Philips does a great job exposing the perfidy of the entrenched elites, especially the New Labor regime that ushered in a era of mass, non-European immigration from predominately Muslim regions like Pakistan, Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf. The thoughts of Archbishop George Carey are alone make this book worth reading.
Encounter once again delivers with a thoughtful, provocative book about a subject that impacts the country at large.
November 26, 2012
It may well me that in years to come Melanie Phillips will be considered one of the 'prophets' that sounded the alarm that very few seemed to listen to.
The author calls it as it is with plenty of research and quotes to back up her thoughts and conclusions. She certainly won't be liked my the majority but I admire her as one to understand and speak out on such an issue.
Unfortunately it is the endless quotes that make it a difficult book to get through and digest. I understand that she needs to back up what's she's saying but there's almost too much in the book that is likely to see many readers give up half way through.
I certainly think it is a topic we need to be aware of and discuss and therefore I would recommend this an important but not engaging read.
The author calls it as it is with plenty of research and quotes to back up her thoughts and conclusions. She certainly won't be liked my the majority but I admire her as one to understand and speak out on such an issue.
Unfortunately it is the endless quotes that make it a difficult book to get through and digest. I understand that she needs to back up what's she's saying but there's almost too much in the book that is likely to see many readers give up half way through.
I certainly think it is a topic we need to be aware of and discuss and therefore I would recommend this an important but not engaging read.
December 2, 2015
The author of this 2006 book does an excellent job of analyzing and critiquing events in Britain (and Western countries in general) in the last several decades in regards to their Muslim immigrant minorities. She makes an excellent case for the view that Britain has been “midwife to the monster of global jihad.” Page 48. Because the leftist world view has become the standard way of thinking for the intelligentsia and media, many of Britain’s policies have contributed to the Islamisist terrorism that has erupted around us. The very multiculturalism that has been promoted so diligently in British institutions has given minorities the wherewithal to allege racism and use this as weapon against the majority.
January 14, 2019
This is not an easy read even if you are genuinely interested in the complex spread of terrorism, and this is my biggest grouse. Although Phillips does a good job of exposing Britain’s erroneous strategy to counter terrorism, the entire tone of this book is highly critical and gives a sense of doomsday while reading. Also, Phillips unwavering support of Israel in the book robs the book of perceived objectivity. She could have toned it down a bit.
The issues cited by Phillips are relevant and many of her observations on prevalent British culture can be easily observed in reality. Political correctness has meant that people avoid talking about sensitive topics of faith-based terrorism and how it alienated communities and degraded the status of women.
The issues cited by Phillips are relevant and many of her observations on prevalent British culture can be easily observed in reality. Political correctness has meant that people avoid talking about sensitive topics of faith-based terrorism and how it alienated communities and degraded the status of women.
May 6, 2013
Reading this left a very bad taste in my mouth. I'm giving it 3 stars because it is well written and well argued. I found much of the content alarming and I don't doubt that there is an element of truth in it. What I find frightening is how persuasive her arguments are and how easy it is to find yourself agreeing with her, only to quickly take a step back to remember what her politics are and that this is not a well balanced viewpoint. Extremism of any description is a threat to society and it's quite wrong to make excuses for one form whilst vilifying another. This book was an education for me but perhaps not in the way that the author intended.
January 28, 2018
What a read. To think that the west is sleep walking itself into oblivion is frightening . To keep not heeding the warning that the west must reassert its confidence in its judeo Christian values and tackle the religious motivation for terrorism is to me quite obvious but it seems not to our government. That the world knows that Londonistan is the cradle for terrorists and that the British Government does not acknowledge this is scary to say the least. To think that Anti semitism is on the rise as well, fed by will ignorance of history is also truly awful. Melanie Philips is a clear, succinct and concise writer with well researched information. A must read.
April 17, 2019
Flippen amazing book. Hard to read but definitely worth while. Certainly something that makes you think about what is happening not only around the world but also here in New Zealand given what has happen recently here in Christchurch. Would highly recommend that people read this.
January 16, 2009
Very good.
June 25, 2014
London is a shithole.
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