Well, praise where it's due. Perhaps contrary to my expectations, the Iranian Press TV gave me a very fair shake at today's recording. I thought I'd share a couple of observations.
Admittedly, our host (not the regular host Andrew Gilligan) was just trying to be provocative. But he said to me:
"Alex, how can you oppose Sharia in the UK - it's just like wanting to close down all the curry houses!"
Ahem. No, it's not. Judging by the sagacious nods this remark attracted from many in the audience, I evidently failed to make properly the point that when I, as a white Briton, devotedly have my curry at least once weekly as I do, I am in a very small way taking part in a demonstration of the success of our multiracial society, and in turn in welcoming me to their establishment so are the vendors of said curry. Contrariwise, a section of society hiving itself off, away from the rest, in an attempt to live by an exclusive set of rules that apply only to its own members (voluntarily, one hopes, but sometimes fears not), demonstrates the failure of multiculturalism, which leads to segregation and ghettoes. Like the late, lamented Pim Fortuyn, I am all for multiracialism, but I'm convinced that multiculturalism has failed.
Secondly and finally, I believe in universal rights and wrongs. Because of this perhaps naive belief, because of my belief that the persecution of women or homosexuals or the cutting off of hands or the stoning of adulterers or the beating of recalcitrant wives or the valuing of a woman's evidence as half that of a man are all wrong, I was accused by Troy the Teacher in the audience of being arrogant and intolerant. Which is a shame, because he seemed like such a nice guy. And I had no concerns at all about the children entrusted to his custody, at all. After all, if Timmy hits Mandy during break time, it's only his cultural affirmation of his own unique values, isn't it? Plus, there were three boys that saw it and support him, and only five girls saw it and support Mandy, so the evidence is on Timmy's side...
