One of the world's greatest purveyors of the notion of Political Correctness has been caught telling an ethnically-incorrect joke? Hang 'im, I say:
London Mayor Ken Livingstone faces controversy today after it emerged he made a joke about Muslims in a magazine interview."Blimey! Did I say that?"
Mr Livingstone was asked by a journalist to tell a joke and responded with a story that name-checked Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie, Yasser Arafat and Shia Muslims in general.
According to today's Evening Standard, Mr Livingstone made the joke during his first mayoral campaign in 2000 in an interview for the now-defunct magazine The Face.
Journalist Alex Needham asked him: "Can you tell us a joke?" The then independent candidate responded with a gag in decidedly dubious taste.
"Salman Rushdie was on a train and it pulled into a station," said the future mayor.
"He saw Yasser Arafat and his entourage of bodyguards and was so overcome with the emotion of seeing his great hero, he raced to embrace him.
"But the bodyguards weren't very well versed in modern literature and had no idea who he was.
"So they shot him dead, thus proving the value of that old adage: never go for a Shi'ite while the train is in the station."
In more public moments, Mr Livingstone has gone to considerable lengths to court the Muslim community.
Yeesh, Red Ken—if you're gonna tell a whopper, you could at least make it funny. (h/t camerakid4000)
In related news, the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided that the Anglican Church will be going shari'a. Sooner, rather than later.
Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4's World at One that the UK has to "face up to the fact" that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.
Dr Williams argues that adopting some aspects of Sharia law would help maintain social cohesion.
For example, Muslims could choose to have marital disputes or financial matters dealt with in a Sharia court.
He says Muslims should not have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty".
In an exclusive interview with BBC correspondent Christopher Landau, ahead of a lecture to lawyers in London later on Monday, Dr Williams argues this relies on Sharia law being better understood. At the moment, he says "sensational reporting of opinion polls" clouds the issue.
He stresses that "nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that's sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states; states; the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women as well".
But Dr Williams says the argument that "there's one law for everybody... I think that's a bit of a danger".
Rowan, you might want to check on how well that whole "social cohesion" thing worked out for the Bosnians. Nice to see the Beeb cheer him dutifully on, though.
See-Also: Dhimmi Watch, Jawa Report, Hot Air, One Lone Voice, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, Last of the Few, CAMERA Snapshots (no relation), Sweetness & Light, Lionheart, dogfightatbankstown, Tim Blair, Al Salibiyyah, Aussie Dave, Pat Dollard, Brussels Journal, The Friar, Babalu.
Heh, I noticed that busywolf has kicked a joke into ye olde Comments section. You know what that means—Bring 'em if you've got 'em!
Mega Followup Alert: Be prepared to bring a half-pound of duh, folks. And more here. I'm sure the Telegraph is shocked, I tell ya!
Comments:
#2 Cletus 07-Feb-2008
the archbishop of canterbury needs the shit kicked out of him
If muslims ever get to live by their own laws in my country, then I'll start living by my own laws, which say that killing muslims and their dhimmi helpers is permissible
If muslims ever get to live by their own laws in my country, then I'll start living by my own laws, which say that killing muslims and their dhimmi helpers is permissible
#3 saint 07-Feb-2008
And to prove Livingstone went to considerable lengths to prove his ignorance and stupidity: Arafat was a Sunni.
- Just like the muslims: either sunni or shi'ite.