Thursday 10 February 2011

Is There Something Missing From This Story?

A drunken reveller has been fined more than £700 after pleading guilty to racially abusing a petrol station attendant.
Oh? Details are, well, sketchy:
… when Mr Ullah refused to serve him, Reilly began shaking and banging the shop’s door.
He then insulted Mr Ullah’s mother and said she had “big boobs and big bum”.
Not sure that that qualifies as racial abuse. Anything else?
Still the BP employee refused to serve him so Reilly, who admitted to having a Muslim girlfriend, turned his attentions to Mr Ullah’s religion.
He said: “Ooh Allah, ooh Allah. Allah sees you selling cigarettes and alcohol. Allah sees you and Allah’s angry with you.”
Not sure that does, either. Religious abuse, maybe, but that’s not what he’s charged with, is it?

Still, the state has its money, so that’s all that matters:
Reilly was fined £580 but must also pay courts costs of £85, a victim surcharge of £15 and compensation to Mr Ullah of £50.
Odd. Very odd.

6 comments:

Edwin Greenwood said...

"Reilly, who admitted to having a Muslim girlfriend,..."

Tendentious choice of verb.

"Allah sees you selling cigarettes and alcohol. Allah sees you and Allah’s angry with you."

Hardly even religious abuse, more an attempt to engage in a reasoned, if somewhat colloquial, critique of Mr Ullah's piety, surely.

Woman on a Raft said...

Maybe it's blasphemy? Mr Reilly seems to have taken it upon himself to speak with the authority of Allah. It seems unlikely they are that well acquainted.

But I didn't think we had that on the criminal books any more and even when we did it, didn't extend to Allah.

Popups_ Cockups said...

Perfect example of political correctness reached tipping point, all groups gay rights feminism, religious tolerance are socially equal, that now its turned in on it self, its following exactly same path as muslim extremism,{taliban}pc is on that path, individualism becomes right wing, difference of opinion is right wing, masculine, is right wing swearing, right wing, thats where we are, our media, justice system are all there so that now accusations of right wing is directed at any who fight for freedom, working class, sexually active women, straight gay, political parties, are watered down, so being an atheist is right wing, so we have passed equality and fast approaching a state, film 1984. hold on fast bumpy ride into an authoritarian state.

Anonymous said...

Allah... Ullah... you can see why I'm confused here.

JuliaM said...

"Tendentious choice of verb."

It did jar a bit, didn't it?

"But I didn't think we had that on the criminal books any more and even when we did it, didn't extend to Allah."

Isn't that 'problem' Labour's new religious law was supposed to rectify?

"Perfect example of political correctness reached tipping point..."

The sooner it all tips over, the better.

David Gillies said...

Re blasphemy: you can't blaspheme against a religion in which you do not believe. That's why the Pakistani laws that ensnare Christians (and, a fortiori, atheists) are so wicked. Iconoclasm in the face of such humourless scolding becomes a virtue. The best defence against Islam (absent a really spectacular salvo of W-88 warheads) is relentless and unbridled mockery.