In an August 27, 2009 article, Kuwaiti Columnist Dala' Al-Mufti discussed London's Edgware Road, which is populated mostly by Arabs. Dala' complained that muggers, prostitutes, and juvenile delinquents predominate in the street, along with religious Muslims in gloomy black garb who try to recruit non-Muslims to Islam. She stated that the Muslims of Edgware road have given the Arabs and Islam a bad name.
Following are excerpts:
"Where Should I Start - And to Which of the Shameful Acts That Take Placed There Should I Refer?"
"In a conversation with a friend about Arabs in the Land of Fog [i.e., Britain], we spoke of Edgware Road in London. He said, 'Why don't you write about [it]?' I replied, 'What exactly should I write?' to which he retorted, '[Write] about all the scandals our fellow [Arabs] are causing there.' 'What's new about that?' I asked. 'There isn't a soul who has not seen what is happening there, or has not read or heard about it, and nobody is interested. The only ones who will be interested are those who will attack me and get angry about [journalists] who visit this street with the aim of airing our dirty laundry in the press.' He said, 'Don't write about Arabs from any particular country. Write a general [report, and those implicated will know that you are referring to them].'
"I asked myself: where should I start, and to which of the shameful acts that take placed there should I refer? To the coffee shops that have been taken over by men to the extent that an honest woman cannot sit there? To the licentious behavior of some of our young men and women, who seem to have forsaken their upbringing along with their countries of origin, and who now wander the streets in an immodest manner?... To the illegal Arab immigrants who specialize in cheating and defrauding their own countrymen? Or to the Arab whores who find their [customers] in the streets, with the help of their pimps, in less than half an hour?
"Should I write about the men who come out in their pajamas (as though the street belongs to their daddies)? Or about the women who walk the street in the evenings, dragging their feet, their arms laden with a ton of packages, who think that London is nothing but [one big] market? I am not talking about Arabs from any particular country, because here [in London] we are all 'easterners.'"
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"What Really Pissed Me Off Was the Outward Appearance of the [Devout Muslims, who Seem to Think] that a Black, Ugly and Somber Appearance Is Mandatory in Islam"
"In order to report right from the center of events, like military correspondents do, I decided to tour the street. It was a sunny day in London, but in Edgware Road a different color prevailed. [The street] was flooded with dozens of men and women dressed from head to toe in black, who were handing out little fliers and booklets and soliciting handouts from passersby. The men were covered in black jelabiya s and skullcaps, and the women in black Afghan-style 'abayas that [cover the head and body] leaving only two slits for the eyes. All of them looked glum, as though some disaster had befallen them. I stopped to investigate, and discovered that this group was calling [non-Muslims] to join Islam.
"As everyone knows, Edgware Road is London's Arab street, most of [its inhabitants] being Muslims from the Gulf or from [other parts of] Asia. So if they really wanted to draw non-Muslims closer to Islam, it would have made more sense to pick some other street in the city [that is not Muslim]. This caused me to reach a certain opinion about this group, which I will keep to myself.
"But what really pissed me off was the outward appearance of the members of this 'organization,' [who seem to think] that a black, ugly and somber appearance is mandatory in Islam. How do they expect to attract people [to join the religion] when they look so depressing, like [mourners] at a funeral? How do these women think to convince some foreign woman to prefer Islam and its virtues [over her own faith], when they have turned [themselves] into black tents? How can a man with a brooding and sullen face convince some [non-Muslim] that Islam is a lenient religion, a religion of tolerance and peace?"
"To Complete My 'Joyful' [Experience] as an Arab in London, Some Arab Snatched my Purse"
"To complete my 'joyful' [experience] as an Arab in London, some Arab snatched my purse (and I refrain from mentioning his country of origin so as to avoid being reprimanded by its embassy). His partner, whose task was to distract me by treating me to a concert of curses so that his friend could rob us, was caught.
"At that point he stood there and begged [us] for mercy, saying: 'Shame on you! I am an Arab and a Muslim [just like you].' "I felt like slapping him and saying: 'You are the one who should be ashamed. You and others like you blacken the face of Arabs and Islam, and give [us] a bad name.
"But the British policeman prevented me [from doing so]..." [1]
Endnote:
[1] Al-Qabas (Kuwait), August 27, 2009.
