1 min read
I was listening to Sunday on Radio 4 on, erm, Sunday, when I was pulled up short by a remark from someone from the Coexistence Trust. Talking about extremism, in the context of Muslim terror, she said the trust works to combat extremism on both sides.
Eh? I'd be fascinated if she could supply us with details of the Jewish terrorists now threatening us and claiming to act in the name of the Torah. Maybe the Coexistence Trust knows something unknown to the rest of the world. Do share.
Then just now a press release just popped into my inbox from the very same Coexistence Trust:
The
Coexistence Trust will be taking part in the NUS National Demonstration
on Wednesday 10th November (which is expected to draw thousands of students) in
response to concerns raised by FOSIS and UJS that the impact of
government proposals will limit access to higher education and impact the
poorest students the hardest.
FOSIS have
expressed concerns that interest on loans run contrary Islamic law and will
deter Muslim students who are averse to interest (riba) due to their Islamic
faith. UJS have expressed concerns that Jewish students could be ‘priced out’ of
higher education.
There's more of the same risible stuff. Leave aside the question of why a group supposedly promoting religious harmony should feel it necessary to go on a march against tuition fees. Just focus on the spurious rationale for what is in reality a transparent piece of bandwagon jumping:
FOSIS have
expressed concerns that interest on loans run contrary Islamic law and will
deter Muslim students who are averse to interest
That sentence is troubling in so many ways, not least the citing of FOSIS, an organisation which is behind so much of the problems on campus. But the idea that the arrangements for funding universities should be altered to take account of sharia law is simply jaw-dropping.
Co-existence! On whose terms?