YP Letters: Parallel lives that foster divisions

IN his article (The Yorkshire Post, October 25) Qari Asim, a Leeds imam, comments on anti-Muslim prejudice which can lead “to a polarised society”.

Whilst no-one can surely agree with hate crime of any sort, it was a pity that Mr Asim did not outline what the Muslim community needs to do itself to gain more acceptance in society.

It still seems that too many Muslims are happy to live in a parallel society rather than making much more effort to integrate.

To do this, it would surely help to speak English virtually all the time, not dress as though they were still living in a foreign land, and forego some of the Third World habits that are still readily apparent.

Indeed, it would be nice to hear Yorkshire accents from our British-born Muslim friends but, more often than not, they have heavy Asian accents. Does this not tell us that too little is still being done on the integration front?

From: Alan Perrow, Bannister Walk, Cowling.

IMAM Qari Asim wrote: “Articles talking about sex grooming as a ‘Muslim problem’ either conflate an isolated incident with the religion of the perpetrator or offer a skewed portrayal of Muslims.”

It is not a ‘skewed portrayal of Muslims’ to remember Rochdale grooming, it is not a ‘skewed portrayal’ to remember Rotherham or Peterborough, or Bristol or Aylesbury, and these are not ‘isolated incidents’.

Muslims are approximately five per cent of the UK population – but 90 per cent of those convicted for grooming gang crimes.

The simple truth is that sexual grooming of children is predominantly by Muslims, and we do not improve matters by simply ignoring facts – facts are not racist. We should face those facts, learn from them, and work on improving matters properly, not merely deny their truth.

Israel inspires envy in some

From: Michael Ross, Weeton Lane, Harewood.

ISRAEL, like any other country, is not perfect nor immune to criticism but it inspires many people throughout the world by its great achievements over 70 years as a young Jewish nation, in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, water treatment, information technology, and start-ups etc, achieved under the most hostile conditions imposed upon it by all its neighbours.

Of course because of those achievements it inspires in others only ignorance, envy and blind hatred. By referring to Israel as a terrorist-inspiring country (The Yorkshire Post, October 24), John Swift clearly defines his position.

Give us power to tackle litter

From: Coun Martin Tett, Local Government Association’s Environment spokesman.

THE LGA has long called for councils to have greater powers to tackle litter, which is a blight on the communities we serve, and these measures are a hugely positive step in the right direction.

Councils being able to issue increased fines to litter louts, who show no consideration for the community they live in, will send a strong message to those who think their laziness is more important than the environment in which they live.

Allowing councils to fine the owners of vehicles which litter is thrown from, rather than expecting councils to prove who exactly in the vehicle had thrown litter, is also something that the LGA has long called for. It is great that from April, councils will be able to get tough with the anti-social minority who think our roads are a repository for rubbish.

We now need to see more detail in the forthcoming Government guidance. Whilst recognising that any action must be proportionate, it must also be robust to deter abuse of the local environment.

It is frequently the more deprived communities that suffer most from litter louting and where the demand for more enforcement is loudly heard. Local authorities are keen to get on with the job of tackling anti-social litter louts, and delivering local environments that our residents can be proud of.

Save farmers from pressure

From: Paul Brown, Bents Green Road, Sheffield.

FINANCIAL institutions apply pressure to the supermarkets to increase profits, the supermarkets in turn apply pressure to farmers and other suppliers to reduce prices or else risk losing their business.

No protection is given to our food suppliers to defend them against unfair business practices by the companies they supply. This is one of the causes of the current problem with chicken meat and it is exactly the same problem which was at the root of the cost-cutting measures that resulted in the ‘mad cow’ disease outbreak.

These sort of food safety scares will continue to happen until producers are protected from being so intensely pressurized by large retailers. This is the only way that food safety will be at the top of the agenda as a higher priority item than supermarket profits.

Reconciling school views

From: Neil Richardson, Kirkheaton.

GP Taylor’s commentary on school holidays (The Yorkshire Post, October 25) asks teachers to modify the government’s ‘one-size-fits-all-curriculum’ to provide more relevant experience in classrooms.

But with employers, parents, and busy teachers presumably holding a variety of viewpoints, exactly how do we not only find such relevance but also persuade government experts to partially release their hold on the curriculum?