Tony
Blair's Shiite Sister-in-Law: Supportive Of The Iranian
Regime Than The People Of Iran Themselves?
01 November 2010By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
At a time when the Iranians were waiting for a respite
from their political and economic distress, Lauren
[Booth] has appeared to declare her conversion to
Islam. She is the sister of Cherie Blair, wife of
former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Iran's arch
enemy. Lauren announced her conversion to Islam
following a visit to the holy Iranian city of Qom.
After less than six weeks of learning about Islam, she
has become a spokeswoman, advocate, and philosopher in
Islamic affairs, having only read – as she herself
acknowledged – sixty pages of the Quran.
Whilst converting to Islam is a personal right that
nobody can object to, what is objectionable is that
the relative of [Tony] Blair seems to be more
supportive of the Iranian regime than the people of
Iran themselves. Perhaps she has been influenced by
her environment, as she is now working for "Press TV"
in London. Press TV, of course, is Iran's state-owned
English language global news network. Lauren Booth has
spoken of the impact of what she saw in Iran on her,
and has claimed that the people there are eager to
endure hunger and sanctions, in solidarity with the
Palestinian people! Of course, we understand that
becoming a Shiite Muslim is a personal conviction, but
we can object to Booth becoming a spokesperson for the
Iranian people, and an expert on the Middle East. Less
than 18 months ago, three million Iranians
demonstrated in against [Iranian President]
Ahmadinejad; against his policies and electoral fraud.
These demonstrators were suppressed! However now we
see Tony Blair's sister-in-law lecturing us about how
the Iranians are eager to endure sanctions, in
solidarity with the Palestinians. The suffering of the
Iranian people has nothing to do with the
Palestinians.
Tony Blair is in no position to correct his
sister-in-law for he himself embraced Catholicism just
days after he left office, whilst prior to this he was
a Protestant like the majority of the English people.
However shifting from one sect to another within
Christianity is no less problematic than changing from
Shiite to Sunni or vice-versa in Islam, for this has
its own sensitivities and social issues. So, Lauren
Booth was not the first member of the family to "break
the mould", as Tony Blair already did so by becoming a
Catholic. Whilst Cherie Blair, a prominent human
rights lawyer in Britain, has represented Muslims in
British court.
The British media reaction to Lauren Booth's
conversion to Islam ranged from astonishment to
ridicule. It is natural that the British have become
more sensitive, as they have had enough of news about
Muslim extremists, especially after British tabloid
newspapers have enjoyed printing the statements and
insults of Muslim extremists against British society.
Negative news about radical Muslims and extremists
almost fill the pages of British newspapers today,
where these figures appear inciting religious hatred
and expressing their support for Al Qaeda. These
extremists also attempt provoke the country's national
figures, for example calling on Britain's Queen to
convert to Islam, and even publicly insulting Britain,
for example one Muslim extremist famously described
Britain as being "like the inside of a toilet."
Unfortunately for Muslims, Lauren Booth – who now that
she is a Muslim has become a matter of interest – is
in no position to defend Islam, nor does she have a
respectable track record that could convince society
to believe what she is saying. She is an ordinary
woman that has become attracted to Islam thanks to her
surroundings, namely her employment at the Iranian
television station. She has become fascinated by the
activities of the worst regime in the Islamic world,
namely the Iranian regime, and has defended it and its
policies.
However, British tolerance is well known for following
the policy of not judging others. Therefore anybody
who wants to denounce Lauren Booth's conversion to
Islam is free to do so, but nobody is able to take
away her freedom to believe in whatever she likes, or
denounce her as an infidel.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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