UK pub with sign saying fuck off to muslims

[Munch]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wetherspoons-customer-disgusted-by-offensive-anti-muslim-poster-pub-1516639

A customer at a local Wetherspoon's pub was horrified to find an anti-Muslim poster displayed on the notice board telling Muslims to "get the f*** out of our countries." The offensive A4 sized poster featured an image of Lord Kitchener, synonymous with the British Army recruitment poster from the First World War. It claims to be the work of The Infidel Brotherhood.

It read: "MUSLIMS. Are you unhappy with our countries? Are you offended by our culture? Would you prefer to live under sharia law? Then we have a simple solution for you. Get the f**k out of our countries and go back to the monstrous s**tholes you came from. You can live under Muslim rule there and enjoy it as much as you like.!

A regular patron to The Moon on the Square in Feltham, Middlesex, who asked to remain anonymous, visited the pub on August 20 at 1pm and immediately noticed the racist poster. He said he was "disgusted".

The 28-year-old said: "I was absolutely disturbed to see this vile poster on display in my local pub, let alone in the biggest pub chain in the UK. I only popped in for lunch which a friend from work who happened to be a Muslim, but we were so upset by it we were forced to leave.

"Just as we sat down inside the pub, I noticed the sign a few tables away from us. My friend, who is a Muslim, didn't say anything but I could see he was highly uncomfortable. We only had thirty minutes for lunch, but were both so angry that we got up and left before having our sandwiches," he explained.

"It is disgraceful that J.D. Wetherspoon pubs are allowing this anti-Muslim propaganda to be displayed - I'd hate for any Muslim to think all British people are racists because of this." The customer added: 'I'll never go back to one of their pubs ever again. They should have employees making sure racist propaganda like this will not be tolerated in this country.'

According the Mail Online a spokesperson for the pub chain apologised for the poster, claiming that its was displayed without the knowledge of staff and was quickly removed. In a statement they said: "A poster was displayed on the notice board at The Moon on the Square, by a customer at the pub, without the knowledge of the pub staff. As soon as this came to light, staff immediately removed the discriminatory material.

"The customer notice board, which is regularly checked and monitored by staff, has now been completely cleared of all material, whatever the content. The Moon on the Square is a community pub, proud of its diverse customer base, and has always been fully committed to operating in a non-discriminatory way."

Many innocent Muslims have reported being the target of reprisals in the wake of terrorist attacks by militant group Islamic State. Several Muslim religious sites were attacked across France after the murderous siege of the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. This week, 81-year-old Muslim grandfather Mushin Ahmed died after being savagely beaten on his way to pray at a mosque.

This has had some mixed reaction to it.

On the one hand, It could be percieved as racist against all Muslims as the heading would make it seem like its against them.

On the other hand, I would argue that maybe this was more aimed as extremists in the uk, who can't just be moderate in the uk, they have to bring over Sharia law to the uk and bring the violent ways taught in places like syria and iran with them. Those unwilling to adapt to living in a moderate society, then yes, in those cases I agree with the sign.

[GrinningYMIR]

Some see all moderates as extremists, others say no moderates exist.

Some people go to different nations to find a new life, others try to make the new nation into a new version of the old and make its culture into theirs, who is right and who is wrong is irrelevant, it is the way of things.

I'm an atheist, I hate all religions, and I hate people who try to subvert the culture of one nation and make it into a religious one to be abhorrent, whether they are foreign or domestic. This could be taken many ways, flat out racism, islamophobia, xenophobia, or camel back breaking against the muslims in the UK, some of who actively try to make it into an Islamic state.

Fuck that

[Baruch]

A smart government would invite all desirable immigrants in,  but carefully vett each one.  They need a sponsor already able to support them, and proof that they are desirable.  This takes care of some family reunion problems, and avoids letting in the riffraff.

[aitm]

If the language was "cleaned up" would you object then? The message itself I have no problem with, I actually have no problem with the language either as it is specifically directed at those who would want sharia law and in that case, fuck them.

[CrucifyCindy]

Well the sign is not saying "NO MUSLIMS, NO DOGS, NO IRISH", it is basically a political message not a discriminatory one. Whoever posted it is not saying you are not welcome in the pub or country but rather informing those who do not like living in a pluralistic society to leave it if they do not like it. Which is a message i would love to give to Fundie Christians in my own country.

[Munch]

I just think this kind of thing is, or at least should just be aimed at fuckers like Anjem Choudary

[Johan]

Yeah count me among those who doesn't really understand why this is so offensive. I mean yeah, its written by an idiot who is drawing a few conclusions/making some assumptions from ignorance and that would probably make me embarrassed for my fellow countrymen. But offended?

If I got offended every time a fellow American proudly displayed how ignorant they are, I'd spend every waking moment being offended.

[jonb]

What I notice, it was inside a pub, how many devout or extreme muslims are going to see it there?
So whoever put it up and it would not have been Wetherspoon's  did not see the target audience for the poster as being islamic.
I think it is a pretty fair guess it is designed so that drinkers in the pub see it and think that is fair enough and it drives a little more of a wedge between them and the muslim outside the pub.

My personal view is that the way immigration is happening at the moment in Europe is going to produce great problems, and I don't see anyone with answers. It would be nice to think we could all overcome our cultural differences, but in practice what I see around me in London are lots of these little wedges happening all over the place, and very few people willing to confront them.

[Mike Cl]

Yeah count me among those who doesn't really understand why this is so offensive. I mean yeah, its written by an idiot who is drawing a few conclusions/making some assumptions from ignorance and that would probably make me embarrassed for my fellow countrymen. But offended?

If I got offended every time a fellow American proudly displayed how ignorant they are, I'd spend every waking moment being offended.

I find that just plain offensive!!  Well, actually, I agree with your point and aitm's.  Clean up the language and I have no problem with the content. 

[Shiranu]

If people were saying this about people of my culture ( and less than 40 years or so they did say the exact same shit)... Yeah, I would be offended. So I don't see any reason to not be offended by the exact same thing, just targeted at someone else.

Fuck xenophobia.

[aitm]

If people were saying this about people of my culture ( and less than 40 years or so they did say the exact same shit)... Yeah, I would be offended. So I don't see any reason to not be offended by the exact same thing, just targeted at someone else.

Fuck xenophobia.

well, we're YOUR people offended by the new country?
were they offended by the new culture?
did they ask for or demand the host country accept "your" laws?
If so, then yeah, they should be told to fuck off as well, but obviously in a nicer way.
The point is quite obvious and rather telling, when you move into someone else house, don't demand they change for you.

[CrucifyCindy]

I was so upset reading this thread I couldn't eat my sandwich!

[Hydra009]

I was so upset reading this thread I couldn't eat my sandwich!

Don't you mean that you were forced to not eat your sandwich?  :P

[Shiranu]

well, we're YOUR people offended by the new country?
were they offended by the new culture?
did they ask for or demand the host country accept "your" laws?
If so, then yeah, they should be told to fuck off as well, but obviously in a nicer way.
The point is quite obvious and rather telling, when you move into someone else house, don't demand they change for you.

According to xenophobes like someone who would found the "Infidels against Islam"? Yeah, he would probably say the same thing if he grew up in that time. There were very small sections of my culture that refused to follow the law, that didn't follow the same religion, that were offended by the new culture. But that small section did not represent all of us, just as it doesn't represent Muslims... and just as it is with Muslims, the rest of us condemned them for it... all the while being told that we were criminals and should go back to our "shitholes" as we got exploited and prejudiced against.

"My people" had entire sections of major cities (now we call it "Little Italy") where people only interacted with those of the same community, who refused to speak English, and practiced a different religion than everyone else. We had our "own laws" (many Italian immigrants were proponents of socialism and communism thanks to the terrible working conditions they endured at capitalists who exploited them left and right) and wanted to "change American forever, for the worse!"... the whole "Red Scare", that lead to people like Sacco and Vanzetti to have bullshit trials and executed for, basically, being Italian in America.

We had "radicals", mafiosi, who wanted to completely subvert the law and enforce their own through extortion and murder. We were portrayed as ultra-violent (terrorists). More than 2/3rds of film portrayed us as criminals and mobsters (how many movies portray the Muslim as a good, or even neutral, character?). There was the Immigration Act of 1924, which basically was, "OMG THESE FOREIGNERS, NOT POINTING FINGERS (*WHISPER* ITS THE ITALIANS! *WHISPER*) ARE DESTROYING OUR WAY OF LIFE! WE HAVE TO CLOSE THE BORDDDDERS!!!".

So yes... that was the popular opinion of my people, that we wanted to destroy your culture and way of life and change your political systems and we were violent terrorists (er, gangsters) and so on. And to a lesser extent my German ancestors and to a similar extent my Irish ancestors had to deal with the exact same bullshit. And yet it was a super small percentage, just like the percentage of Muslims in the U.S. or U.K. who could give half a fuck about breaking the law or "converting you to Sharia". It's a bullshit boogieman, and the fact that we haven't learned from it is really depressing.

But it's whatever I suppose to allow this bullshit, it's just innocent Italians being lynched across the South, or Muslims being attacked on subways and having their Mosques vandalized and shot at. What's the big deal, let it slide... it's not like he is intentionally trying to spark the fire with his rhetoric! He only means the bad ones, and EVERYONE knows that, right?

Edit: Oh my god, I almost forgot to post these gems...

1. Few of their children in the country learn English ... The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages ... Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious.

-Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father, on German immigration to Pennsylvania, 1750s

7. Not a day passes but families are ruthlessly turned out to make room for foreign invaders. The rates are burdened with the education of thousands of foreign children.

- William Evans Gordon, British nativist, 1905

8. The people of this country are too tolerant. There’s no other country in the world where they’d allow it... After all we built up this country and then we allow a lot of foreigners, the scum of Europe, the offscourings of Polish ghettos to come and run it for us.

â€" John Dos Passos, early 20th century novelist, on U.S. immigration policy

10. Now, what do we find in all our large cities? Entire sections containing a population incapable of understanding our institutions, with no comprehension of our national ideals, and for the most part incapable of speaking the English language. Foreign language information service gives evidence that many southern Europeans resent as an unjust discrimination the quota laws and represent America as showing race hatred and unmindful of its mission to the world. The reverse is true. America’s first duty is to those already within her own shores.

- Representative Grant Hudson, 1924

Same shit, different day. The world is coming to an end, the immigrants are going to destroy our way of life!

[Hydra009]

It read: "MUSLIMS. Are you unhappy with our countries? Are you offended by our culture? Would you prefer to live under sharia law? Then we have a simple solution for you. Get the f**k out of our countries and go back to the monstrous s**tholes you came from. You can live under Muslim rule there and enjoy it as much as you like.!

This assumes that the reader is a Muslim who prefers sharia law to secular law.  Somewhat presumptuous.  And (although this might be more of a US problem than a UK problem) it's more than just muslims who favor theocratic rule.  I'd rather go with a general statement that theocrats should gtfo than target a specific group.