I read with interest the letter of Fr Fleming (‘Nibbling away at values’) in regard to Sheikh Satardien’s articles on the great Islamic debate. I was intrigued to find out more, as Satardien’s article represents a battle for the soul of Islam; that is, radicals playing the game of moderation and worried when a real moderate attempts to show the inconsistencies of their connections. Also, the article was not dealing with the religion of Islam, which by definition Satardien believes in, but with Islamism, the distorted version that brings the name the religion of Islam into disrepute. This is no different to cultist versions of all religions.
And who, it should be asked, is this Fr Fleming? He is a hospital chaplain in Dun Laoghaire who resides in Blackrock College. I phoned him and discovered that he was a former Holy Ghost missionary in Gambia, which is over 90 per cent Muslim. I asked him what his connection was with the Clonskeagh mosque, and he told me he was studying Arabic under the Secretary General of the Muslim Council. Was he aware of the connections of Clonskeagh with the leading Muslim brotherhood figure, Yusuf al Qaradawi (apparent from Clonskeagh’s website) who openly favours suicide bombings, particularly against Israelis? When I asked him if he had studied the website, he terminated the conversation.
Moreover, Fr Fleming’s Arabic instructor, Ali Selim, is on record as saying that whenever Muslims are a majority in Ireland, Sharia should be imposed (Sunday Independent, September 24, 2006.) However, unlike Selim, Sheikh Satardien does not propose Shariah law for Ireland. His solution to radical Islam is a genuinely moderate Islam. Surely everyone in this country, including the media and the government, have a vested interest in seeing him succeed?
Moreover, Fr Fleming’s Arabic instructor, Ali Selim, is on record as saying that whenever Muslims are a majority in Ireland, Sharia should be imposed (Sunday Independent, September 24, 2006.) However, unlike Selim, Sheikh Satardien does not propose Shariah law for Ireland. His solution to radical Islam is a genuinely moderate Islam. Surely everyone in this country, including the media and the government, have a vested interest in seeing him succeed?
