Call me an Islamophobe then

His Imperial Majesty notes that one of the new Swedish government's appointees has been causing some scandal amongst the Muslims.

Her suggestion that all girls should undergo compulsory checks for genital mutilation (otherwise known as female circumcision) led to controversy. Sabuni was also attacked by Muslim groups for proposing a ban on headscarves for girls under 15 and the introduction of a specific mention of honour crimes in the criminal code.

Possibly she is going a little too far, but I applaud her sentiment, to be honest. As regular readers will know, your humble Devil is not a fan of female circumcision and believes honour killings to be a deeply unpleasant cultural more. So, the Swedish Muslims' reaction?

Muslim commentator and author Kurdo Baksi slammed Sabuni’s appointment:

“I am very disappointed that a person whom I consider to be an Islamaphobe has been appointed integration minister. It is a very poor start to a centre-right government’s integration policy,” he said.

Ah. Well, since Misha has put it so well, let us quote him.

So let’s see if we understand this Turbaned Tumblefuck’s argument:

If you’re against genital mutilation of little girls, if you’re against forcing minors to set themselves apart from their peers through mandatory dress codes, and if you’re against “honor” killings, then you’re an “Islamophobe?”

At least he’s being refreshingly honest in stating what the “peaceful and tolerant” religion of Islam is all about.

Color His Imperial Majesty “Islamophobic” as well, then. Even though we’d much prefer a more appropriate word for it, but we don’t know the Greek for “hatred”, “disgust” or “scorn”, so we’ll have to stick with “-phobe” for now.

Let's face it, one can't fault His Majesty's robust language although I'd like to see a bit more deployment of the old Anglo-Saxon really: so let me spell it out.

I am not a cultural relativist. I think that the practise of female circumcision, which involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris to avoid "inappropriate stimulation" is an absolutely barbaric practice (there are, at least, some medical grounds for male circumcision) that should not be tolerated. It is also indicative of Islam's wider attitude to women which is, frankly, unacceptable.

This is also true of "honour" killings (and though it is not always women that are murdered, it usually is) which are a disgusting attempt to excuse murder for the most petty of reasons. Your possession—your wife, your daughter, your sister—does something that you do not like, that may even impugn your ability, and you kill them; throw them away, like a toy that has wilfully broken on you.

These practices are indefensible in any civilised society. They should be condemned and anyone who does not agree with that is going to have a very serious problem, as far as I am concerned.