Genocide in Iraq - Silence is hardly a good choice

When, in September, 2005 a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting Mohammed and offended many Muslims there were violent protests and needless deaths around the world. The cartoonist was the subject of death threats.

Muslim outrage was widespread and often expressed with a vehemence and intent alien to western sensibilities. Cultures clashed in very challenging ways; the idea of religious freedom and the right to free speech, cornerstones of our democracies, were in direct conflict. Eventually moderation, if not unquestioning tolerance, prevailed. The debate around religious tolerance and shared responsibilities moved on. This acceptance saw huge changes in the make up of this society come about without conflict, a considerable enough achievement in a country where bigotry is hardly unknown.

Against that background the apparent silence of Islam’s leaders in the West on the genocide in northern Iraq is a cause for some concern. Especially as the brutality so graphically illustrates what the extreme minority calling for a caliphate under sharia law in Britain actually hope for.

That Israel’s recent destruction of Gaza was so roundly condemned but with little enough condemnation of the role of Hamas in the carnage adds to those feelings. Surely moderate Islam finds the convert-or-die ultimatum at least as offensive as those cartoons from nearly a decade ago? In the face of this question silence hardly seems an option.