Playing the victim

Hat tip to The Spectator for this video clip, "BBC mayoral debate: Sadiq and Zac try to set the record straight over ?Extremism? Allegations".

In the clip a student from Notting Hill complains that her Muslim friends often felt uncomfortable in public when in Islamic dress. She asked the candidates how they could help tackle such prejudice in the city.

Understandably candidates seeking votes do not want to alienating voters so Muslims in Islamic dress are identified as victims of prejudice without question.

A comparison:

Source: Daily Sabah/AA Photo

Diyanet Center of America, a Turkish-funded complex containing culture centers and one of the largest mosques in the United States, was inaugurated on Saturday by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who defined the site as a place to serve American Muslims and spread Islam’s message of love and compassion - DAILY SABAH

FromGatestone Institute: "Turkey Builds Mega-Mosque in U.S., Blocks Churches in Turkey":

• As yet another enormous mosque has opened in the U.S. (funded by the Turkish government), Christians in Turkey are waiting for the day when Turkish state authorities will allow them freely to build or use their churches and safely pray inside them.

• In Turkey, some churches have been converted to stables or used as storehouses. Others have been completely destroyed. Sales of churches on the internet are a common practice.

• Meanwhile, Turkish President Erdogan said during the opening ceremony of the Maryland mosque that the center was important at a time of an "unfortunate rise in intolerance towards Muslims in the United States and the world."

• How would Muslims feel if mosques in Mecca were put up for sale on the internet, turned into stables, or razed to the ground? How would they feel if a Muslim child were beaten in the classroom by his teacher for not saying "Jesus is my Lord and Savior?" How would they feel if they continually received violent threats or insults for just attempting peacefully to worship in their mosques?

It is too easy to play the victim.