Nadine Dorries is moaning about being called a fundementalist. If she allows herself to be the tool of such people as Andrea Williams of the fundementalist organisation Lawyers Christian Fellowship, she must not be surprised at such accusations.
Last night I caught up on the Despatches programme about the increasing influence of fundementalist Christians in the UK. It was really scary stuff. Williams was working very closely with Dorries on her amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill – to the extent of being closely involved in its writing. When Williams tried to recruit Norman Tebbit to table the amendment, she had whipped out a pre-written one. I’ve always despised Tebbit’s politics but I have to admit he’s nobody’s fool. He smiled, nodded, took the pre-written amendment – and did nothing.
Dorries needs to take similar care who she gets into bed with. Her face when confronted with Williams’ Islamophobia was a sight to behold. Williams was the organiser of a conference called “Understanding Islam” which seems almost guaranteed to stir up animosity in Muslims. Williams described Islam as a “false religion and said that “any rejection of God is the work of the enemy, Satan.” See here. Presumably this means she also regards Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and atheists as the spawn of Satan also.
The fundies reasons for their hostility to Islam are rather ironic. They point out that radical Islam is intolerant of views other than their own, they seek to convert unbelievers, want society structured according to their beliefs and believe that all who do not share their views are doomed to go to Hell. Just like Christian fundementalists but they can’t see it.
These are the kind of people Dorries is allied to – people who want to ratchet up religious tensions in an already perilous world. As an MP in a major political party that is likely to form the Government after the next General Election she she should realise the dangers in giving the impression that the British State is actively hostile to other cultures within and without. Back in the day, Stalinists used to refer to their fellow travellers as “useful idiots”. Nadine Dorries is performing this role for the fundementalists.
Tags: abortion, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Nadine Dorries
Letting Off Steam 
May 22, 2008 at 9:48 pm |
How very disturbing. I must try and catch the re-run (I’m assuming that there will be one in some form or another). Yet again, it is rather sad to have the negligible nature of her research exposed, where is the due diligence to take the time for a quick Google of the people with whom she was aligning herself. One knows it wasn’t because she was busy studying the actual UCL and Trent study…
May 22, 2008 at 11:45 pm |
I’m an ex-Muslim, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the pot and the kettle in both camps of Christian and Muslim fundies love to call each other black. And honestly, stupid as it may sound, in a way I’m glad; the more energy they use going after each other, the safer the rest of us are. Imagine if they teamed up? A new dark ages would be right around the corner. I feel bad only for moderate Muslims and Christians who get caught in the crossfire. I lived in the UK for a bit and really loved how people there seem smart and somewhat at ease with themselves in a way Americans don’t, and would hate to see the kind of anti-reason crusade begin there that we’ve been suffering from here.
May 23, 2008 at 7:11 am |
I missed the Dispatches report – has it been put on C4 site anywhere? As a politician surely she can’t be naive enough not to know she needs to be careful with whom she associates?
(btw – your link to Dorries’ website is broken, I think you have a comma instead of a fullstop in the address :))
May 23, 2008 at 7:38 am |
Thanks for the heads-up, Dr* T – fixed
May 23, 2008 at 9:06 am |
Andrea Williams trying to answer Modell’s questions was an undoubted highlight for me. Failure to disassociate herself from Williams could seriously harm Nadine’s chances at the next election, if not her political career. I’m hoping so anyway.
May 23, 2008 at 9:39 am |
They probably deserve each other. After all, the witterings of Dorries have hardly helped the cause of the 20 weeks campaign, because so much of the time she was transparently bending the truth or outright lying. More like a useless idiot really.
A good post.
December 31, 2008 at 12:34 am |
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