outrage over new bank charges

[natalie]

Is it an account with the "best rates" though? I would have thought its an account that is specific to their needs. so I dont understand why it would offend you.

 

Does it offend you that butchers sell halal or kosher food?

[royboy68]

Hi Nat. I deliberately didnt say it was the best account, my point is why bring religion into it. If its an account that offers no interest but higher charges then why not name it something like no interest account. As for your point about butchers, no im not offended that they sell halal or kosher meat, i would be though if i was told that I had to accept an inferior meat unless i bought one of those.

[royboy68]

Just one other point on the subject of meats. Assuming you eat Indian foods at times, have you ever been offered the choice of either halal or english prepaired meat in your kebab. I know of an English establishment that was warned that it had to offer Halal meat as part of its menu.

[natalie]

I dont think the account is claiming to be the best account. Its just saying that it fits in with the needs of that particular religion.

 

This is the bit I dont understand, why is it bothering people? Why does it matter if Muslims have this account available to them. It doesnt affect me, it doesnt stop me from going about my business. Chances are they are paying for it in one way or another. Lets remember this is the banks we are talking about, they dont give anything away for nothing.

 

There seems to be this very worrying attitude "If I cant have it neither can anyone else" even if "it" is something neither needed nor particularly wanted.

 

If the Muslim community has managed to get the banks to develop an account that makes it easier for them to go about their business and control their money in a way that sits easily with their social and religious beliefs then great! That is a good thing.

 

Just because I dont share their beliefs doesnt mean I think they shouldnt be able to live by them.

[royboy68]

Im not arguing about what the account is about just the name of it if thats what its called. Why bring religion into it. It could quite easily be called a different name. The mere fact that its called a Muslim account is going to court controversy just the same if an account was called a christian account would bring all the political correct crowd out of the closet. We keep getting told we cant do this or that as it may offend a different group. Well maybe someone should use the same reasoning over this.

[Desperate Daniella]

Talking of halal meat, a friend of mine was in prison recently and was told that all the meat was halal because the muslim prisoners insisted on it and the prison couldn't organize halal and non-halal meat, so it all has to be halal. He ate the Vegetarian option for the eight weeks that he was in there.

 

How is that fair? What if your personal opinion is that it is kinder to stun animals before slaughtering them, rather than just slitting their throats?

 

DD

[natalie]

Why should it be called something different? Its an account set up to accomodate the needs of Muslims by adhering to Islamic tradition. Why pretend its something else? Although there is no need for a Christian account there are various other products available..... in fact anything Christmas or Easter related.

 

As for the issue of being told you cant do something because it may offend a different group, all propaganda again imo. The whole no more baa baa black sheep or 3 little pigs is a load of tosh! There might have been one or two people who lack any common sense that got their knickers in a twist, and the media jumped on it and made it into something its not to make the average white person feel hard done by and create racial tension.

[royboy68]

I would agree with you there Daniella. I do sympathise with different cultures but surely my culture should be catered for as well. I would love to have the option to live in a more affluent country where I dont need to prove why I want to be there and their citizens support me all the way. I would of course only demand to keep the best of my customs and laws and disregard the rest. A clasic example would be to go to Saudi and demand that I can drink beer as its part of my custom and their laws dont apply to me as im a British Christian.

[natalie]

What prison was he in Daniella? I think he may have been misinformed. If anything its the other way round, in fact on 1st September Maria Eagle said

"If any prisoner has any doubt about the credibility of the Halal menu option offered, despite the introduction of these standards, there is always an option to choose a vegetarian or vegan option as an alternative."

 

When asked about the procurement of Halal meat.

[royboy68]

Nat, my point is why even bother to bring religion or culture into it. Its a business transaction and as such should be kept completely seperate. The mere fact that any mention of religion will bring the scare mongers out rightly or wrongly. Lets keep things simple and multi cultural if thats what we are claiming we are.

[natalie]

I'm sorry, I didnt realise the name of a bank account was legislation.

 

It is against the law to drink beer in Saudi. A Muslim person in this country would have to adhere to the laws the same as everyone else.

[royboy68]

The Saudi reference was tongue in cheek Nat. We are a multi cultural society and as such i would not advocate having financial transactions termed as being british or christian as im suggesting that naming a transaction as Muslim is wrong. We seem to be getting carried away with how we treat imigrants/assylum seekers/muslims/jews/asians and the rest. We are all one and should have no need to put any tags on anything.

Could you clarify the prison position you quoted from Maria Eagle. It reads to me that if you are in prison and dont agree to eating Halal meat then you have no options other than vegetarian or vegan.

[natalie]

No its saying that if you are in prison and are Muslim, and you are concerned about the credibility of the halal meat, then the vegetarian option is available.

 

You can find it here

 

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 01 Sep 2009 (pt 0002)

[natalie]

And I agree we are multi-cultural... not non-cultural. Just because there are lots of different cultures doesnt mean they have to be hidden away and pretend they dont exist.

[Desperate Daniella]

It's okay, Royboy. I realized you weren't actually planning a fun-filled holiday to Saudi so you could get totally drunk and stagger around the streets saying you could do what you like because you are English.

 

I can't remember which prison, Natalie. I have just tried to call my friend but he is on voicemail. It was in South East London or Kent somewhere. He was absolutely furious. Apart from prisons we do know of schools which only offer halal meat to children if they have a large number of Muslim children, but that's not right either.

 

I have a number of Muslim friends and they don't demand halal meat in restaurants, or even buy it, they enjoy their wine like the rest of us, and the girls wouldn't dream of wearing hijabs and the men would be horrified at the thought too. In fact as they have lived here all their lives and grew up thinking of themselves as totally British they are absolutely horrified at the influx of 'new' Muslims demanding all sorts of different rights because they feel that they will be lumped together with them.

[MsWeatherwax]

..... and that all young people wearing hoodies arent all muggers with knives

 

My daughter has a "My Chemical Romance" hoodie, which according to popular belief means she mugs people and then sits upstairs in a corner plotting to blow up her school and writing angsty poetry.

 

The joy of stereotyping, eh?