I've known the name Jeremy Corbyn for a long time, but as my interest in the politics has never been too strong, he remained little more a name and a vague understanding he was pretty much like one of those right on Labour teachers that prowled the corridors of my comprehensive in the eighties, the type who owned a Citroen 2CV with a CND sticker on the back and always wore a red tie.
Dominating party political news at the moment is Jeremy Corbyns rising popularity in the leadership elections. His position is somewhat to the left of everyone else, even going so far as encouraging the more boisterous members of the social media's right wing punditry to joining Labour en masse to vote for him, as he's regarded as guaranteeing Tory victory.
My interest here lies in a faction of the far-left, those heavily tied up in pro-Palestine, anti-Israel, anti-racism, anti-Islamophobia causes. One of these, the "Stop The War Coalition" is a coalition of various groups at the heart of this. Founded on noble ideals and contributing to the anti-war protests around Iraq, Corbyn is a founder member and currently a board member. Stop The War grew from the anti Iraq war protests but is now focused on Palestine, Israel and other Muslim causes. I watch these guys in the awareness that their opposition to Western interests has lead them to ally with various Islamist factions, including some quite extreme, and well I don't like those guys as they are somewhat enthusiastic about obeying some of the more extreme commands regarding apostasy. The type of command that puts me in an orange jumpsuit before being uploaded to Liveleak. So, some of these left factions apply identity politics to the point where they defend their underprivileged Muslim allies in all matters, including shunning of apostates and blasphemers. All sorts of loaded phrases are used, and one that I found of particular issue was the term "native informant"
Dominating party political news at the moment is Jeremy Corbyns rising popularity in the leadership elections. His position is somewhat to the left of everyone else, even going so far as encouraging the more boisterous members of the social media's right wing punditry to joining Labour en masse to vote for him, as he's regarded as guaranteeing Tory victory.
My interest here lies in a faction of the far-left, those heavily tied up in pro-Palestine, anti-Israel, anti-racism, anti-Islamophobia causes. One of these, the "Stop The War Coalition" is a coalition of various groups at the heart of this. Founded on noble ideals and contributing to the anti-war protests around Iraq, Corbyn is a founder member and currently a board member. Stop The War grew from the anti Iraq war protests but is now focused on Palestine, Israel and other Muslim causes. I watch these guys in the awareness that their opposition to Western interests has lead them to ally with various Islamist factions, including some quite extreme, and well I don't like those guys as they are somewhat enthusiastic about obeying some of the more extreme commands regarding apostasy. The type of command that puts me in an orange jumpsuit before being uploaded to Liveleak. So, some of these left factions apply identity politics to the point where they defend their underprivileged Muslim allies in all matters, including shunning of apostates and blasphemers. All sorts of loaded phrases are used, and one that I found of particular issue was the term "native informant"
I first came across the term native informants in relation to this.
Native informants is a phrase used to describe ex-Muslims, but not as merely those who reject and campaign against their former religion, but as collaborators and traitors. The image shown? That from a talk by Deepa Kumar (shown), Max Blumenthal (remember this name) and Lindsey German, Convenor of Stop the War Coalition. It insinuates that ex-Muslims are working with Zionists and White Supremacists to attack Islam and have even styled as "New McCarthyites, a loaded phrase, and somewhat ironic seeing how they to exist to cleanse society of what they regard to be wrong. CAGE were also prominent at that conference (Bath University - IPR - Understanding Conflict) and you may know CAGE from their vocal support of ISIS beheader, Jihadi John. The conference was also organised by one of the University of Bath lecuturers, David Miller.
Many ex-Muslims, Ayran Ali Hirsi, Maryam Namazie or even moderate anti-extremists like Maajid Nawaz are attacked by these factions due to speaking out against extremist Islam. These attacks often come from supporters or even directly from the organisations and are couched in the same language of the identity politics warriors around the world. Racist. Islamophobe. Bigot. Oppressor. This is somewhat ironic as it is highly notable that the principle authors of the attacks against the two non-white, feminist, ex-Muslim women I mentioned are often middle or upper class white and non-Muslim. This will become a theme in this blog.
Max Blumenthal came to my attention due to his rabid verbal assaults on Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who I admire. He isnt just any old Blumenthal, this is the son of Hilary Clintons advisor Sidney Blumenthal, and is Washington elite. He is known for a brand of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist writing that is near indistinguishable from anti-Semitic views held by his opposites on the right.
Max spoke at an anti-Israel event at Westminster sponsored by Corbyn, also present at that event was a chap called James Thring, who is linked to David Irving and Lady Michèle Renouf, allegedly the intellectual arm of Holocaust Denial.
Outside of Corbyn's welfare and economic policies (which as a socialist I dont have too much of an issue with) his involvement in other causes is much more troubling, and its those causes and their supporters I am very much opposed to.
An opposition leader who actively works with Shia propaganda vehicles, who stands alongside extremist Islamist factions, who would support foreign interests over our own, and who actively works with activists for whom anti-Semitism is a hairline gap from their anti-Zionism is one for who it's right to be concerned.
An opposition leader who actively works with Shia propaganda vehicles, who stands alongside extremist Islamist factions, who would support foreign interests over our own, and who actively works with activists for whom anti-Semitism is a hairline gap from their anti-Zionism is one for who it's right to be concerned.
