Telegraph leader writer praises anti-Muslim think-tank

ENGAGE has written to Damian Thompson, author of Holy Smoke on Telegraph blogs concerning his blog entry on 19 Dec, ‘Any Muslim killed fighting Israel goes to paradise, says MPAC spokesman’.

ENGAGE questioned Thompson’s praise of the Centre for Social Cohesion which he labelled as being, ‘in my opinion the most formidable of the think-tanks monitoring Islamic extremism’.

ENGAGE wrote:

‘It is not the first time you have expressed such admiration for the CfSC and its director, Douglas Murray. Previous entries on your blog include ‘Turning students into Islamofascists’, (Holy Smoke, 27 July 2008) and ‘Libraries stocking Islamic hate books’, (Telegraph blogs, 6 September 2007), in which you state:

‘It is people of his [Murray’s] generation who recognise the major threat to social cohesion in this country: Islam.’’

‘I wonder whether you are familiar with the comments made by Douglas Murray in his Pym Fortuyn lecture in 2006 in which he stated: ‘The point here is that the whole deal under which Muslims live in our societies must change….Conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board: Europe must look like a less attractive proposition.’’

‘Strange that you, Mr Thompson, as a Catholic and someone no doubt familiar with Britain’s history of religious intolerance should endorse and promote the work of one who would revisit such intolerance on another religious minority group in Britain. Unless, of course, you share Mr Murray’s ignorant and bigoted views about Muslims.’

Damian Thompson is leader writer at the Daily Telegraph and editor in chief of the Catholic Herald.