Old men in long robes
/Not surprisingly The Daily Mail has been leading the pack in its objections to Sharia law and the comments of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This is the title of a piece which appeared in The mail last Friday.
A brutal beating and justice meted out in a humble back street cafe: how sharia law already operates in Britain.
What does the headline seem to suggest? That some form of justice was 'meted out' by fanatical bearded men sitting around a formica table and that this 'justice' somehow involved a brutal beating? You would be forgiven for thinking that some poor young man hobbled from the cafe thankful that he still had both his hands intact. In fact you'd be completely mistaken. In this case an argument at work resulted in a man being severely beaten and hospitalized. The perpetrator was brought before a 'court' of elders where he admitted his offence, and he and his entire family apologised to the victim and agreed to pay him compensation of £10,000.
The verdict achieved a number of things not often achieved in the standard criminal proceedings. The perpetrator readily admitted his guilt (no slippery lawyers trying to play the system), he apologised and showed genuine remorse, he and his family, were shamed in the eyes of the entire community, pressure from the community and the family makes it much less likely that the perpetrator will reoffend and finally, the victim received some meaningful compensation.
Contrast that with this story which appeared in The Mail on the very same day:
'Feral' yob who killed trucker with a concrete missile jailed for just three years
And before any moron decides to email me with something like 'Oh, I suppose you advocate the complete dismantling of the British legal system and its replacement with Sharia law and kangaroo courts do you?' may I just say in advance - FUCK OFF!
A brutal beating and justice meted out in a humble back street cafe: how sharia law already operates in Britain.
What does the headline seem to suggest? That some form of justice was 'meted out' by fanatical bearded men sitting around a formica table and that this 'justice' somehow involved a brutal beating? You would be forgiven for thinking that some poor young man hobbled from the cafe thankful that he still had both his hands intact. In fact you'd be completely mistaken. In this case an argument at work resulted in a man being severely beaten and hospitalized. The perpetrator was brought before a 'court' of elders where he admitted his offence, and he and his entire family apologised to the victim and agreed to pay him compensation of £10,000.
The verdict achieved a number of things not often achieved in the standard criminal proceedings. The perpetrator readily admitted his guilt (no slippery lawyers trying to play the system), he apologised and showed genuine remorse, he and his family, were shamed in the eyes of the entire community, pressure from the community and the family makes it much less likely that the perpetrator will reoffend and finally, the victim received some meaningful compensation.
Contrast that with this story which appeared in The Mail on the very same day:
'Feral' yob who killed trucker with a concrete missile jailed for just three years
Remorse? Compensation? Shame? Family involvement? Rehabilitation? Community opprobrium? Do me a favour!His face a picture of defiance as he gestures obscenely outside court today while smoking a cannabis joint, this is the feral yob who killed a lorry driver by dropping a 44lb breeze block off a bridge.
Dean Ingram, 15, was named by order of a judge yesterday as he was locked up for three years and four months after admittin manslaughter...Even after the late night spree of "aimless anti-social behaviour" which culminated in the death of Laurence McCourt, 68, when the breeze block smashed through his windscreen, Ingram laughed about the tragedy as he tried to chat up some girls, Northampton Crown Court heard...
On that night, July 27 last year, Ingram and two friends had stolen bicycles before arriving at the Doddington road bridge over the A45 dual carriageway near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, at about 3.30am. Prosecutor Nicholas Dean QC described the youths as 'feral'. He said one, Jamie Winter, also 15, urinated off the bridge then threw a breeze block on to the hard shoulder, leading Ingram to insult him for not aiming it at the road.Winter then fetched another breeze block. Ingram took control and pushed it from the safety barrier on to the road at the moment Mr McCourt's lorry was passing underneath.
Mr McCourt, originally from Northern Ireland, was known as Len. Henever married and lived alone in Sandwell, West Midlands. Last nighthis family described him in a statement as "a quiet, peaceful and veryprivate man" who had continued to work part-time as a lorry driver after retiring.
And before any moron decides to email me with something like 'Oh, I suppose you advocate the complete dismantling of the British legal system and its replacement with Sharia law and kangaroo courts do you?' may I just say in advance - FUCK OFF!
