Bending Over Forward

Modern, liberal democracies are bending over backwards these days to ensure that everyone is equally cherished by the state, so long as they can be neatly divided into class, ethnicity, religion and place of origin bins. The “shameful legacy of empire” having replaced the white man’s burden.

Some are even bending over forward:

Avon and Somerset Constabulary has begun to equip its female officers with a uniform issue hijab to wear when they enter a mosque.

The £13 headscarves are embroidered with the West Country force’s name and logo, and come in two colours — black for police officers and blue for community support officers. A spokeswoman insisted that they were not intended purely to cater for Muslim cultural sensibilities but were multi-faith…

The scarves were however developed in a joint project with the Aklima Initiative, which focuses on working Muslim women, and the Mosque Initiative – both Islamic groups.

The scheme is believed to be a first for the British police…

Jackie Roberts, Assistant Chief Constable for Avon and Somerset, modelled the black headcovering for reporters yesterday, arranging its folds with the help of PCSO Nora Ndiaye, who modelled the blue version. They are among 15 women officers to have received the head coverings so far.

Ms Roberts said that the scarves were intended to respect the cultural and religious practices of local communities.

Meanwhile, here at home, an entirely different take on the religious outreach thing:

While Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pro-jihadist group which met openly near Chicago last weekend, is surprisingly candid about its desire to re-establish an Islamic Caliphate, literature available at its conference shows the group also views Christians and Jews as untrustworthy enemies of God.

More than a dozen issues of a Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) newsletter called The Shield were obtained from the conference by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. The publication repeatedly condemns interfaith “outreach initiatives” and shows HT believes in the death penalty for Muslims who leave the faith.

Exit bang, enter whimper.