eater than the first. The fictional men who turn against their fellow Britons draw their ire from their experience of Western society, not from their isolation from it.
“Reveals exactly why this terrorism was home-grown”…“draw their ire from their experience of Western society”. And that’s it? I’m not sure quite what her claim is here, but it seems like another variation on that old theme: somewhere, somehow, it just has to be our fault. If it’s not Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Palestine – none of which would seem to be sufficient to drive the passionate hatred that inspires British-born men to massacre their fellow citizens – then maybe it’s the all-pervasive racism and general nastiness that supposedly characterises life in contemporary Britain. After all, it’s a portrait of Britain that we’ve all been made all too familiar with. But even that doesn’t explain it if we’re to believe the truth of Hanif Kureishi’s story – and it certainly ties in with what we know about those attracted to jihadism, like Hassan Butt, who have all the opportunities available to young well-educated people in this country. No, now it seems that we’re too nice, too accommodating. We believe in nothing – well, apart from tolerance, freedom, the whole enlightenment package, but, you know, that doesn’t really count.
Too tolerant, too intolerant: it’s so difficult to get the balance just right.
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