Bartholomew's Notes

Back in January, I noted that Nadine Dorries MP had made a complaint to the police about Tim Ireland, a blogger whose critical and satirical scrutiny of her activities she wished to discourage and discredit. According to Bedfordshire on Sunday:

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: “Officers from Bedfordshire police are currently looking into a complaint of stalking/harassment in May 2010.

“Officers are in the process of talking to both parties involved to determine whether any actual offences of harassment or stalking have been committed and if any further action needs to be taken.

“Inquiries are currently ongoing.”

Dorries now crows:

Today I had a meeting with Bedfordshire Police. They informed me that under caution and recorded on tape at Guldford Police station, Tim Ireland, of bloggerheads, has been issued with a warning under section two of the harassment act.

Naturally, she doesn’t go into details: she’d like to leave the impression that Tim has been guilty of some sort of threat or inappropriate intrusion into private matters. What the May 2010 complaint actually refers to, though, is Tim’s presence at a hustings event in the village of Flitwick, and his broadcasting of the event over the internet. The incident itself, as Tim recorded it at the time, can be seen below.

One might wonder why, since this was May 2010, no hint of police interest reached the public – or Tim – until January 2011. According to the police, Dorries made her complaint in July 2010, but a couple of factors might explain why there was no follow-up for more than six months.

First, Dorries had on a number of occasions claimed that she had made complaints about Tim to police in Bedfordshire and London, although she declined to provide reference numbers or other specific details. Requests made by Tim under freedom of information and data protection legislation drew a blank. She eventually had to make a complaint for real, or look absurd.

Second, Dorries was last year investigated by Parliament over her expenses: she was accused of having lied about the location of her main residence in order to claim a second home rent allowance. Some of the evidence against her came from statements on her blog, in which she gave the impression of living in Woburn, in her constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. Dorries explained the discrepancy away by admitting that information on her blog is mostly untrue; even the right-wing Daily Mail was incredulous:

Amazingly, she told Standards Commissioner John Lyon: ‘My blog is 70 per cent fiction and 30 per cent fact’.

‘It is written as a tool to enable my constituents to know me better and to reassure them of my commitment to Mid Bedfordshire. I rely heavily on poetic licence.’

This explanation elicited howls of derision, and so Dorries shamelessly changed her story:

Last night Miss Dorries said the police had advised her to ‘disguise’ her movements on her blog.

Dorries has also been facing scrutiny over tens of thousands of pounds made to a company called Marketing Management Midlands Ltd, run by a friend named Lynne Elson, for “professional services”; this includes £10,000 for what appears to have been no more than  two-page Word document in which Dorries explains her activism against abortion. This particular payment was investigated by the police, who recently decided there was “insufficient evidence” to proceed to a prosecution.

Tim highlighted some other payments on his blog, using documents submitted by Marketing Management Midlands to Companies House and open to public scrutiny; Elson complained that this was “intrusion”, and she told Bedfordshire on Sunday that she had consequently reported Tim to police in Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire. This was also a convenient smokescreen to explain why she and Dorries have now terminated their professional relationship.

The “warning” given to Tim over the Flitwick incident now provides some superficial evidence for Dorries’ narrative, although anyone with a modicum of sense can work out what’s really going on. Tim explains on his blog:

…she was thrown a bone that offers only some reassurance that I have agreed not to act in a way that I have never acted before, and that’s all. I doubt that Dorries actually needs this reassurance, especially when she so clearly intends to use it to continue her attempts to smear me (because nothing makes more sense than poking your alleged stalker with a stick).

At one stage, I was given advice from police about the wisdom of attending any future events with the intention of trying to get close to Nadine Dorries, but it would be wrong to assume or imply that I ever held such creepy intentions the first place, and it would be dishonest to pretend that the investigation closed with police establishing any inappropriate behaviour on my part; this conversation that Dorries clings to took place before I was able to produce evidence supporting my contention that (a) I had been invited to a public meeting, and (b) secured permission to both film *and* broadcast, and it should be appreciated in that context…

Police may have had more cause to speak to me about inappropriate behaviour if I had behaved in a way that was inappropriate. As it was, the conversation/point focused a lot on how my past/future actions might be construed by some...

Since this investigation began, Dorries has been repeatedly leaking incorrect and distorted versions of privileged information in an attempt to politicise it. The antics included an entirely false claim that I was arrested that Dorries (the source if not the author) has yet to explain or apologise for. 

…[P]revious to this complaint, Nadine Dorries claimed a police investigation was already in progress. At Flitwick, she specifically declared that I was already a notorious stalker (i.e. with a string of victims and a ‘police aware’ sticker on my forehead). When challenged to back this hysterical if not calculated cycle of bullshit with evidence, instead of producing a crime reference number as she promised to, Dorries sought to generate one.

Dorries also threatened Tim with the police after he sought to establish details concerning an anti-abortion organisation which she had promoted in Parliament.

UPATE: On Tim’s request, the police have issued him with a written statement:

I write to inform you that the harassment complaint made against you by Nadine Dorries, MP, on 12th July 2010 is now concluded.

This was in relation to you attending the Flitwick Hall Hustings, Bedfordshire on 4th May 2010, knowing that Nadine Dorries was in attendance. As advised, others could construe this type of behaviour as harassment or stalking. There is no action against you concerning this matter, apart from the verbal warning given by me to you during the Voluntary Interview in January 2011.

Nadine Dorries has been informed of this result.

The above Non Crime Report has been generated today, Monday 16th May 2011, as the paperwork for this complaint now needs to be referenced and filed.

As Tim explains, the “filing” is taking place at his request. Further:

There is the risk of quote-mining that concerns me, but I can say with confidence that the warning mentioned in this letter amounts only to the officer’s duty under law to advise me of the potential consequences of being in the same room as Dorries at a further event in light of the fact that a complaint was made about the first. I can also say without fear of contradicting the police or distorting their position that it is not a judgement on my conduct at that event or in any other respect, because it is not a warning about any past behaviour, much less any pattern of behaviour. Police do not themselves regard my actions to date to be harassment or stalking, but they would not be doing their jobs if they did not advise me of the risks of being in Dorries presence once a formal complaint has been made, because it is from the moment that a second event takes place that the law might apply.

It seems to me that any reasonable person will now see from the police statement that Dorries’ post on the subject was grossly and viciously misleading.

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Back in 2009, I wrote about a meeting between members of the self-proclaimed Israeli “Sanhedrin” and Adnan Oktar, the Turkish creationist who writes under the name “Harun Yahya”. Otkar is a prolific author of religious books, although he is most famous for his Atlas of Creation, which declares that “Darwinism and materialism”, rather than extremist religion, is responsible for contemporary terrorism. The book was sent to thousands of scientists, including Richard Dawkins (who gave his assessment here).

Oktar’s purpose in meeting the Sanhedrin members, along with Rabbi Menachem Froman (who is not himself a member), was to form an alliance against the theory of evolution and to discuss peace. There has now been a follow-up event; the Jerusalem Post reports:

A delegation from Israel comprised of rabbis, sheikhs and a priest resolved in Istanbul on Thursday to form an interfaith convention – along with their Turkish hosts – that will arbitrate disputes in the Middle East and Muslim world to counter religious extremism and promote peace.

The Israeli group arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday at the beckoning of Adnan Oktar, known also as Harun Yahya, a philosopher and theologian with a large following in the Muslim world. The delegation was led by Deputy Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee, Ayoob Kara.

Also taking part in it were Holon’s Chief Rabbi Avraham Yosef, who is the son of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and part of the Chief Rabbinical Council; Rabbi Avraham Sherman of the Supreme Rabbinic Court; Chief Rabbi of Ohr Yehuda and Sha’ar Hanegev, Zion Cohen; Secretary of the Shas party, Rabbi Zvi Jacobson; the Vatican’s representative to the Middle East, Fr. Giries Mansoer; and Druse Sheikh, Yusuf Hirbawi.

An assistant to Oktar named Seda Aral has placed some photos and a few details on Facebook. Also listed as having attended are Rabbi Yeshayahu HaKohen Hollander (“leading justice of the Sanhedrin Rabbinic Court and the Jerusalem Court for B’nai Noah”[1]); Rabbi Ben Abrahamson (“consultant for Sanhedrin Rabbinic Court on Islamic matters”); Sheikh Atef Greeanawi (“leader in the Negev Bedouin , and adviser to the Prime Minister Netanyahu for Bedouin community in Israel”); Mr. Salman Hino (“chairman of the Druze mayors in Israel”); and Mr. Fredi Malek (“head of the unit between the administration and minority communities in municipal in Israel”)

The previous meeting, in 2009, caught the imagination of Joel Richardson, who is today famous as Glenn Beck’s “End-Times Prophet”. Richardson is the author of a book (endorsed by Robert Spencer) about how the Muslim world will come under the control of a Muslim Anti-Christ, but he’s also congenial (he’s left a few comments on this blog) and he was happy to interview the man who may be facilitating this development:

JOEL RICHARDSON: Final question: I was also fascinated to learn that you have been in dialogue with the Sanhedrin Rabbis of Jerusalem, of Israel. That you have been in contact with Rabbi Menachem Froman. And that you have a very warm relationship with these Rabbis and that they seem to be endorsing and comm[e]nding your call for a Turkish led Islamic union. Could you tell us a little bit about that? I was also interested to learn just before I came that this very influential Rabbi Menachem Froman had spoken with George Mitchel the Middle East envoy from the Obama administration and that he had personally appealed to Mr. Mitchel to utilize you as a significant peace negotiator for the Middle East. Would you be willing to share a few of those things?

ADNAN OKTAR: …Of course the Rabbis love me, that is the truth. They do love me a lot. They regard me as a good Muslim, as a good Muslim leader. But I do not regard myself as a future leader of the region in that sense, not as a Muslim leader with such a mission….In other words, I will never accept any political role, but if spiritual support or service is needed I will happily provide it. That is the purpose of my life, and I will do it even if they do not want me. However they love me and I love them back, to say the truth I have a profound affection for them. We have also Christian brothers here and I love them, too. There are Orthodox and Catholics and Evangelicals, and we sometimes dine together, and I love them very deeply. They are entrusted to us by Allah, so there is no reason for us not to love them. Of course we will love them.

At the time, I pointed out that this alliance was somewhat strange given the existence of a Holocaust-denialist book in Oktar’s name entitled Holocaust Deception. However, I then received correspondence from Otkar’s vigilant lawyer explaining that this book had been created in error by a research assistant: the assistant was supposed to have prepared materials for a book on how the theory of evolution had caused the Holocaust, but he had misinterpreted his task. The correct book was published as Holocaust Violence. The covers of the two books are very similar, and there is some overlap of content. Chapter One of Holocaust Deception is entitled “The Untold Story of the Nazi-Zionist Collaboration”, while Chapter One of Holocaust Violence is “The Untold Story of the Nazi-Radical Zionist Collaboration”; most of the sub-headings are the same, although “Zionism” has throughout become “Radical Zionism”, and some other sections are the same. Presumably that’s all fine with Shas and the “Sanhedrin”.

Footnote

[1] The “B’nai Noah” refers to the Noahide Movement, non-Jews who wish to follow ethical precepts for Gentiles given in the Bible; it mostly attracts ex-Christians, and its most famous member was the late pseudo-archaeologist Vendyl Jones. Jones was also a member of the “Sanhedrin”, which was proclaimed in 2005 and praised by apocalyptic-paperback author Hal Lindsey as “extremely relevant to students of Bible prophecy”.  Since its creation, I’ve noted that the group has declared that police who provide security for gay rights marches in Israel are criminals, and that Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh – who signed adminstrative orders hindering right-wing extremists in the West Bank – is a traitor. It has also denounced the Israeli Supreme Court as “anti-Jewish”, demanding “an alternative legal system based on Jewish sources”. One early priority was a call for monarchy, with Rabbi Yosef Dayan – known for having performed a “death curse” against Ariel Sharon – as lead candidate for the job.

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The Rapid City Journal has a review of Walid Shoebat’s recent participation in a Homeland Security Conference in South Dakota. Shoebat, as I’ve blogged previously, claims that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim working to advance terrorist goals, and that the Bible predicts the coming of a Muslim anti-Christ. However, it seems that at this event he preferred to emphasise the general threat of Muslims: as a ex-Muslim, he knows how evil and dangerous Muslims are, and he has inside knowledge of Muslim infiltration:

“You’ve been infiltrated at all levels,” Shoebat said. “Are all Muslims who interpret for the U.S. military terrorists? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean you play Russian roulette.”

…Shoebat cited excerpts from the Quran, which is the Muslim holy book, that justified violence against non-Muslims and particularly Jews. These excerpts, he said, showed that Islam itself was inherently violent.

“If you meet the unbelievers, then smite off their necks,'” Shoebat quoted the Quran, a translation of the fourth verse of chapter 47.

“What part of ‘smite off their necks’ do you Americans not understand?” he asked.

He rejected what he called the “myth” that “the Muslim world is divided in two – moderate Islam and extremist Islam.”

Apparently, he sprinkled some “fluent Arabic for quotations” into his talk, but what kind of expertise is this supposed to be? Everyone knows that there are violent passages in the Koran, and anyone can easily find lists of such material on the internet. Devoid of context, and in the hands of man driven primarily by hatred of Muslims (in particular, it seems likely, his abusive late father), how is this useful for police and law-enforcement work?

That’s not a question troubling the official who invited him:

Jim Carpenter, director of homeland security for South Dakota, said Shoebat was invited back this year because last year’s speech was among the most popular among the law enforcement, fire, medical and other personnel at the conference.

“The critiques and evaluations that came back highly recommended that he come back again,” Carpenter said. “We acted on those, and that’s why he came back.”

Carpenter was formerly director of the state Office of Highway Safety, and he took up his current position in April 2010. It is unlikely that he knows much about Islam or terrorism, or how to evaluate the worth of self-purported experts in the subject – although one might have reasonably expected a bit more general discernment.

Further:

Lt. James Johns of the Rapid City Police Department watched Shoebat talk Wednesday. He said it was “a good opportunity for us here in Rapid City to see some of the things that are going on out there.”

“Obviously, Mr. Shoebat has his personal views on things. That doesn’t mean that everybody in the room shares the same views or same ideas,” Johns said. “His information is out there. We process it and develop our own critical thinking.”

So why not just get a speaker who isn’t a raving ideologue? For instance, this write up of a talk given last November by someone named Michael Knapp to a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in Michigan gives the impression that it was a much more intelligent and informative event. There are plenty of real experts who can be consulted on the subject of Islam and terrorism, working at locations such as the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism.

The history of law enforcement agencies developing “critical thinking” after exposure to pseudo-experts is not encouraging: some of us remember how police and social workers in the USA and UK became caught up in a hysteria over “Satanic Ritual Abuse” in the 1980s and early 1990s. Not only were the lives of innocent people destroyed: actual sexual abuse occurring in various institutions was largely overlooked.

Meanwhile, Shoebat’s blog is complaining that critical coverage of his visit to South Dakota has been orchestrated by CAIR in collaboration with CNN:

…CNN sent two investigative journalists Kathleen Johnston and Drew Griffin to cover the conference from Atlanta GA which is a long way to travel to visit a small conference in a state with such low population.

The only conclusion is that the journalists or others at CNN were tipped off to this event by CAIR and jumped to their rescue. CAIR’s obvious strategy is to discredit people like Walid Shoebat so that the truth does not get to the American people.

…The journalists only tried to focus on the money Shoebat was paid, the finances of the charitable foundation, the advisory board members, and the credibility of Shoebat’s story but never asked about the issues that Shoebat was invited to the conference to speak about. Shoebat offered to provide proof of his story but up until now, CNN has not contacted him in order to get it.

It appeared that the whole purpose of the trip from Atlanta by CNN was to come to the rescue of CAIR. CNN’s presence was clearly intended to smear Shoebat. The question needing to be asked is how involved was CAIR in that attempt. It will be very revealing once the report is shown on their network.

Shoebat claims to have planted a bomb for the PLO in the 1970s, and to have worked with the Muslim Brotherhood when he came to the USA. But even if this story is true (and some doubts have been raised), this no more makes him an expert than robbing a bank makes one a criminologist.

One doesn’t have to take CAIR’s objections to Shoebat on trust: any sensible adult must hear alarm bells when confronted with statements such as “it is very clear that Barack Hussein Obama is definitely a Muslim” and “I would wish that the whole Muslim world would listen to Mr Bakri and fight by the sword literally. This way the nukes will take care of the whole problem once and for all”.

UPDATE: Shoebat’s boilerplate anti-Islam rantings were apparently worth $5,000, plus expenses:

A speaker at a Homeland Security conference in Rapid City whose remarks about Muslims sparked controversy earlier this month was paid $5,000 plus expenses for his appearance.

The Rapid City Journal originally requested the fee amount immediately after the May 11 event, but Alexa White, assistant coordinator of Rapid City-Pennington County Emergency Management, denied the request. The Journal subsequently filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act with White, who released the fee information May 19.

…The money for the honorariums came from the federal Department of Homeland Security.

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CORRECTION: It seems that, contrary to the Daily Mail report, Rev Moon did not himself attend the meeting in Parliament, although Mrs Moon and family members were present. Rev Moon instead spoke at the Hilton Metropole. Details in update below.

From the Independent:

This week the Unification Church leader flew into Britain with his son as part of a three-week tour of Europe. It is only the second trip that the preacher has made to the UK since a Home Office ban on his entry was lifted in 2005.

At the church’s headquarters off Lancaster Gate in London there is a flurry of activity as congregants prepare for the new arrivals. The Reverend Moon is staying at a nearby hotel, preparing for a speech and Mrs Moon is visiting the House of Commons at the invitation of David Anderson MP and Labour peer Lord King…

According to Richard Kay in the Daily Mail,

Sun Myung Moon, the head of the Unification Church, will be in the heart of the Palace of Westminster, thanks to his sponsor, Labour MP Dave Anderson, who has booked committee room No?14 for a conference on world peace.

Anderson “has booked committee room No 14 for a conference on world peace”.

Anderson and King have both facilitated Moon-linked events in Parliament before: in January 2010 King hosted a “Genocide Awareness and Holocaust Commemoration” in a House of Lords Committee Room for Rev Moon’s Universal Peace Federation (UPF), and in 2008 a committee room was used for a “Plenary Session of the International Leadership Conference”, which complemented a Unification Church-backed Global Peace Festival in London’s Docklands. The session was opened Anderson and involved Moon’s son Hyun-Jin Moon, known as Preston Moon; attendees included Amjad Al Majid (a Jordanian MP), Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (a former president of Sierra Leone, where Moon has increasing influence), Anton Rop (a former Prime Minister of Slovenia), Ida Betty Odinga (Chair of the League of Kenya Women Voters and wife of Raila Odinga), and Marcus Braybrooke (World Congress of Faiths). The Georgian Times added the detail that “Dalila Khorava, the Minister of Healthcare of autonomous republic of Abkhazia” was also planning to attend.

Anderson and King were also involved in an event in London the year before:

Dr Hyun Jin Preston Moon, son of the Korean religious leader, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, last night addressed a packed audience at an event at Imperial College, London.

…MP Dave Anderson, himself a former trade unionist, implored people to stand up for what they believe and suggested that such a melting pot of participants would ultimately be instrumental in bringing about a more harmonious world.

…Following a welcome from Lord King of West Bromwich, the 43-year-old Dr. Moon Junior, who spoke English with an American accent, described the festival’s origins as being the result of a young country boy who many years ago had prayed for such unity whilst on a Korean mountainside.

“And that country boy was my father, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon,” he said.

Anderson is also part of an international circuit of speakers at events organised by the UPF: in 2008 he took part in a Global Peace Festival in Kenya.

In 2010, King presented “Ambassador for Peace” award certificates, signed by Rev Moon, to a number of individuals, including the Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake; in 2008 Brake also took part in the 2008 London Global Peace Festival, although he told the Guardian that he didn’t “see eye to eye” with the church’s views and that taking part would give him “an opportunity to challenge what Rev Moon advocates”. By accepting a certificate signed by Rev Moon two years later, one might almost be tempted to wonder whether a senior Lib Dem politician might not have consistent political principles.

Preston Moon stepped down from leadership of the UPF late in 2009, and this time Rev Moon has come to London with another son, Hyung Jin (also known as Sean Moon); Preston’s disputes with his family were noted by the Washington Post last September.

So what will happen when Rev Moon enters the Parliamentary committee room? Back in 2004, US Senators who went to see him at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington DC famously found themselves taking part in a bizarre coronation ceremony in which Moon, wearing maroon regal robes, was crowned “King of Peace”. Probably, though, he’ll just give a speech. What could go wrong?

UPDATE: The Universal Peace Federation website reports:

The third day began with a special event in the Houses of Parliament. Mother Moon was the honored guest of Lord Tarsem King of West Bromwich, who led a tour of the impressive public rooms and the Chamber where the Queen opens Parliament and the members of the House of Lords meet to debate legislation.

By 10:45 am they entered the largest Committee Room in the House of Commons, overlooking the Thames, for a gathering organized by Member of Parliament Dave Anderson, who has supported the work of UPF from the Middle East Peace Initiative to proposals to launch a low-cost housing project. In his speech he reported how pressure had been brought to bear on him to try and prevent the meeting:

“I will be very clear, because there have been attempts in the past 24 hours to attack the UPF for what they are trying to do here. I am not, never have been and probably never will be a member of the UPF. I don’t support its political or religious philosophy or believe that the only way of peace is through God, but what I do believe is that it will be one way for some people to support peace, and I believe that that is good thing. I believe that if other people with responsibility in the press and the media and other parts of this country were at least to say what is true, to reach out to people, find and build peace through dialogue, through listening to people and not through attacking people, that this would be only for the good. I believe that is the responsibility of people who genuinely want to find a light for the future. You all know as well as I do the tensions that are in the world today, the only answer is when people of good faith come together and start to find the way forward.”

Next spoke Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, who has responsibility in government for “the whole agenda of community cohesion, in other words faith communities in the UK, working together to identify common ground, and common purpose, and get an understanding of where they stand on different issues, and perhaps dispelling some of the myths that exist around the different religions.” Hence the reason for his presence at the meeting to support the work that UPF is doing through interracial and interfaith dialogue. He wished UPF well for its further development, to make sure that we have stronger working relationships between the faiths, at a time that this is so much needed nationally and internationally.

A welcome address was also given by Lord King, the Patron of UPF in the UK and the first representative of the Sikh faith to become a member of the House of Lords:

“Father Moon has worked all his life to create peaceful situations. The sooner we realize and take advantage of the teaching of the Rev. Moon, the better off we will be. Dr. Moon is very special, and I think he has a unique vision in the world to influence for good what is happening. If the slogan One Family under God really takes off, we will avoid the difficulties that we are going through now.”

At the Hilton, meanwhile:

A water ceremony was conducted by representatives of the faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Each spoke (or chanted) to share their understanding of the importance of water in their respective traditions, in particular its symbolism of healing and cleansing, a goal shared by all the faith traditions, as was expressed symbolically by each pouring water into a common large vessel.

Participants included Mr. Edwin Shuker, Vice-President of the World Sephardic [Jewish] Congress, who has attended a UPF International Leadership Conference in Seoul, and Anton Rop. There was also “a young male duet from the Lovin’ Life Ministries of Rev. In Jin Moon”:

They performed a new song entitled “Sailing Ships,” followed by a classic romantic ballad from the 1970s entitled “She,” exquisitely performed in a more modern setting.

The entertainment also included Rev Moon demonstrating “his dexterity catching sweets in his own mouth and downing a cup of tea in a single sip”.

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Unity at Ministry of Truth has the remarkable story of 10Yetis, a PR firm which regularly announces the results of surveys on behalf of clients, with the hope of getting the clients’ names in the media:

Looking down the list of press releases, I feel that we should be eternally grateful to this company for the fascinating sociological they provide into the nature of modern British society. Without their sterling efforts, how else would we find out that half of all women believe they perform better at work when they dress ‘sexily’, or that the most accident prone people in Britain live in Dundee, let alone that the most pampered women in Britain are in Birmingham while Essex girls are apparently the cheapest dates – mmm, I have my doubts about that one.

Of course, complaining about tabloids using this kind of thing as the basis for some cheap and easy copy is probably futile, but one can reasonably expect a bit better from the BBC:

More than half of parents do not think sex education should be taught to children in school from a young age, a survey suggests.

Of 1,700 parents of UK 5-11 year olds surveyed by the BabyChild website, 59% said they disagreed with the practice.

The most common reason given was that it is “inappropriate to teach children about sex”.

The survey comes after a Bill calling for girls to be “taught to say no” passed its first reading in parliament.

In this case, “BabyChild” isn’t a client of 10Yetis – it’s actually another business run by Andy Barr, who co-owns 10Yetis (Barr also provided a soundbite for the Daily Mail on What It All Means). The Bill  – brought forward by Nadine Dorries MP – was discussed in Parliament a few days ago, and the survey provided the hook for Babychild to get some free publicity on the coat-tails of the subsequent media discussion.

Tim Ireland asked to see the actual survey at the weekend, and was sent a two-page document which breaks down the results for each question. However, there is no methodology, and the number of “respondents” is equal to the number the BBC says was “surveyed” – in other words, non-respondents are not factored in, which suggests the sample was self-selected from the internet (most likely via the site SurveyMonkey). Unity explains:

…their sample methodology is best described as ‘anyone who can be arsed to fill in an online poll’, which I think neatly explains why the company isn’t a member of the Market Research Society and isn’t, therefore, required to muck around with of the awkward stuff, such as using representative samples and compiling demographic data of survey respondents, that other, reputable pollsters have to undertake.

The survey results are, to say the least, short on demographic information. We’re told only that 1732 people completed the survey, all of whom are parents of children aged between 5 and 11, and that last fact alone explains why the survey came down so strongly against sex education in schools.

The first question the survey asks is ‘Do you agree with the fact that sex education is often taught to children in schools, even from a young age?’, leaving respondents to figure out for themselves what ‘sex education’ actually means.

The Market Research Society (or MRS) is, according to its website

the world’s largest association serving all those with professional equity in provision or use of market, social and opinion research, and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy.

…As ‘the voice of market research’, MRS defends and promotes research in its advocacy and representational efforts.

…Through its media relations and public affairs activities, MRS aims to create the widest possible understanding of the process and value of market, social and opinion research, and to achieve the most favourable climate of opinion and legislative environment for research.

It seems to me that determining whether a private company is a member of the MRS should be first point of enquiry for any journalist reporting on polls and surveys from such a source.

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The AP reports:

Malaysia’s government sought to defuse new religious tensions Monday following allegations that church leaders were conspiring to make Christianity the official religion in this Muslim-majority country.

…The allegation by two anonymous political bloggers about a plot by Christian leaders received little attention until the country’s leading Malay-language newspaper reported it on its front page Saturday under the headline “Malaysia a Christian nation?”

The Malaysian Insider and the  Straits Times have further details: the two bloggers (marahku.blogspot.com and bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com) touted a “a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the [Democratic Action Party] opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang on Wednesday”. In fact, the event was related to a seminar called Unashamedly Ethical, on how Christians should respond to corruption, and the the dinner was held “to honour several pastors from Sarawak” who were taking part. Jeff Ooi of the DAP was present “in recognition of the DAP team who had visited them while in Sarawak for the state election”. The photo in fact showed a normal prayer session.

One of the bloggers also highlighted a chain SMS message doing the rounds which accuses the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition of being an “anti-Christ agent”, and accused the DAP of authoring it – however, no-one knows where it has come from, and the DAP denies any knowledge.

The newspaper, Utusan, is owned by the United Malays National Organisation, which is part of the BN. The UMNO apparently sees political advantage in the idea that Christians (who make up around 10% of the population, and are mostly of Chinese ethnicity) are plotting to take over the country:

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said these allegations were serious, and that he was awaiting a report about the Penang meeting. “If certain races resorted to raising issues in an excessive manner, it will invite reactions from other races,” he said.

Hardline nationalists and Islamists agree:

Ultra Malay group Perkasa insisted today that the post of prime minister is reserved only for a Malay-Muslim.

Independent constitutional experts have argued that there are no provisions that state the premier must be a Malay-Muslim, but Perkasa women’s wing Youth chief Zaira Jaafar argued otherwise.

She said the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers was enshrined in the Federal Constitution, so the post (of prime minister) must be filled by a figure from the majority race.

Meanwhile:

Islam is under siege in Malaysia because aggressive Christians are determined to convert Muslims who are nonchalant about their faith, Islamist groups alleged yesterday.

The Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam (Pembela) accused Christians of strategising an elaborate plan to ensure that more and more Muslims leave the faith, which is illegal in Malaysia.

Pembela president Dr Yusri Mohamad said the Christian’s demands over the “Allah” issue as well as the Alkitab row proved that they wanted to convince Muslims to embrace Christianity and abandon Islam.

“Pembela” is also the name of an Indonesian group translated as “Islamic Defenders Front”; presumably the two are connected. Last summer, I blogged on how the Islamic Defenders Front was using rumours based on misinterpreted images to whip up anti-Christian hate in Jakarta.

As ever, one should remember that although the accusation of conspiring against Islam is false, if Muslims wish to “embrace Christianity and abandon Islam” or to complain about constitutional matters they should be free to do so.

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From the Daily Mail, a few days ago:

Radical Muslims are already calling the site of Osama bin Laden’s ocean burial the ‘Martyr’s Sea’, according to one of Britain’s leading Islamic scholars.

…Abdal Hakim Murad, Muslim Chaplain at Cambridge University, claimed yesterday that the move could backfire on the Americans.

…Speaking on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme, he said it was ‘disappointing’ that bin Laden wasn’t taken into custody.

‘By tipping him into the sea, the Americans may have created a kind of shrine. Some radicals are already calling the Arabian Sea the Martyr’s Sea,’ he said.

…’Given Muslim ideas of holiness diffusing over large areas it is possible that a pilgrimage will develop as radicals stand on beaches contemplating the virtues of their dead hero,’ he added.

Murad’s claim featured in Thought for the Day, a religion slot which appears during the Today programme but which is not part of it. It has now been reported widely, including in foreign-language media.

Unfortunately, however, nobody appears to have thought it might be important to ask Murad about the provenance of his information – from a profile here, he’s an expert on “the religious life of the early Ottoman Empire” and has an interest in “scholarly Arabic editions of the major Hadith collections”. How come he’s spotted this “Martyr’s Sea” concept, rather than someone working on contemporary Salafism or a related field? Is it something he was told by someone living in the Middle East? Did he read it in an Arabic media source, perhaps? I would like to know who exactly these “radicals” are and where exactly they have called the Arabian Sea “the Martyr’s Sea”.

Also, what is meant by “Muslim ideas of holiness diffusing over large areas”? It’s true that some forms of Islam – like some forms of Judaism and Christianity – venerate the tombs of saints, but in what sense does that holiness “diffuse over large areas”? Is there a comparable example anyone can point to? And how would such ideas apply to Sunni extremists, who abhor shrines anyway?

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Bene Diction notes Geert Wilders’ upcoming “Warning to America” tour, which will see the Dutch politician address audiences in Canada and Tennessee. Wilders will be on tour with Ezra Levant (whom I blogged here), Rabbi Jonathan Hausman, and Sam Solomon, author of The Mosque Exposed (I blogged on Solomon here – he’s based in the UK and has close links with Christian Concern); in Tennessee, Wilders will also be joined by Bill Warner of Political Islam. The tour in Canada is being organised by the International Free Press Society Canada and Canada Christian College, while the Tennessee leg is being arranged by the Tennessee Freedom Coalition.

The National Post has a quote from Canada Christian College’s head, CharlesMcVety:

“Geert Wilders has a warning for Canada, and his warning is about a lack of free speech here and the threat of demographic jihad… We’re all for freedom of religion, but when its mission is a hostile takeover, well that’s a different story. Islam is not just a religion, it’s a political and cultural system as well and we know that Christians, Jews and Hindus don’t have the same mandate for a hostile takeover. Here in Canada there is a real, clear and present danger. And we’re not even allowed to say anything about it. That’s what Geert Wilders is going to talk about.”

McVety is a powerful figure in the Canadian Christian Right, and last summer he brought Karl Rove to a conference where Rove shared top billing with Grant Jeffrey, author of Christian fundamentalist paperbacks about how these are the Last Days.

Moving on to Madison, Wilders will find himself speaking at the Cornerstone Church. Although the church isn’t the actual organiser, it’s a strange place for a supposed libertarian to be speaking, or for a supposed “Freedom Coalition” to be holding an event; its senior pastor, Maury Davis, is known for his fulminations on the subject of homosexuality and the need for authoritarian measures. Here’s an example from 2008:

…The Bible, the book on which this nation was built, says it is wrong and sinful and condemned. Our founding fathers never considered constitutional rights to include socially destructive and morally deviant behavior. Rest assured, homosexuality was considered a perversion by our founding fathers and by most generations of Americans until recent media pollution clouded the issue. 

One person recently told me that a person cannot legislate morality. I totally disagree! Our founding fathers expected not only to create a Democratic society, but a society with morals based in the Christian religion. Recently, I heard Rosie O’Donnel confront Bill O’Reilly with the will of the founding fathers. This is the same liberal who compared fundamental Christians with radical Islamists. I wonder why Amercians do not rise up and tell Rosie that her life is out of the will of the founding fathers. The disregard for their faith is an abomination.

This may cause some embarrassment to Wilders; in March 2010 Wilders pulled out of a film premiere in Los Angeles organised by the Christian Action Network, after CAN’s anti-gay views came to the attention of Dutch media.

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In 2008, distinguished Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo published Dialogue with Nietzsche, in which he

…explores the German philosopher’s most important works and discusses his views on the Ubermensch, time, history, truth, hermeneutics, ethics, and aesthetics.

Well, I can match that, with a dialogue of my own…

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News of an upcoming conference: the South Dakota Department of Public Safety is to hold a Homeland Security Conference on 10-12 May:

Events throughout the world and incidents closer to home have underscored the unrelenting need to enhance preparedness, expand prevention efforts, and improve response capabilities to terrorist threats against our nation. The 2nd Annual South Dakota Homeland Security Conference will bring together nationally renowned experts on emerging threats, highlight cutting edge technological resources and speakers will share their expertise on these topics and more.

Our goal is to provide training and information to response agencies from all levels of government and private sector stakeholders in regard to Homeland Security issues affecting the United States and South Dakota. The conference provides a forum for government and industry to foster the partnerships necessary to protect South Dakota from the potential disasters we face.

Among the keynote speakers is none other than Walid Shoebat. This means that attendees will receive at least some of the following “training and information”:

(1) Barack Obama is a secret Muslim:

No one is called Hussein unless he is Muslim. So it is very clear that Barack Hussein Obama is definitely a Muslim… He is not called to be killed by the Muslims. Why do they support him? I haven’t heard a really serious testimony of his Christian conversion.

(2) Obama is working to advance the agenda of Islamic terrorism:

Islam could not defeat us by destroying the twin towers. But they are able to defeat us by sneaking in their man.

(3) This explains why Obama is pro-choice:

Of course, because there’s nothing better Islamists want to do than have Americans kill their own children, so it’s not a problem for him.

(4) It would be nice if we could kill all the Muslims with nuclear weapons:

I would wish that the whole Muslim world would listen to Mr Bakri and fight by the sword literally. This way the nukes will take care of the whole problem once and for all.

(5) Muslims are the same as Nazis because they like horses:

…the Nazis used horses, the German army. Horses were a very main element of transferring and transforming [sic] weapons, and soldiers, that all kinds of things like that. And the Muslims do have tons of horses.

(6) The Bible predicts the rise of a Muslim Anti-Christ.

Possibly his audience will be spared points 5 and 6, which are based on his religious teaching, but either way it is manifestly inappropriate that such an egregiously absurd and inflammatory ideologue should be endorsed by a government agency to address “government and industry”.

CORRECTION: This blog post originally included the quote “Kill them… including the children”, which has been attributed to Shoebat on a number of sites. However, on double-checking I now see that this quote is in fact someone else’s interpretation of what they considered to be the “theme” of Shoebat’s talk, as reported by Chip Berlet:

“Kill them… including the children.”

That’s how to solve the threat of militant Muslims?

This quote is from what one official involved in homeland security said was the theme of a speech by Walid Shoebat at an anti-terrorism training in Las Vegas in October 2010.

Apologies.

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