Roshan M Salih: Editor of ‘British Muslim news site’ supports stoning adulterers to death
The UK media is always keen to wheel out so-called ‘moderate Muslim’ talking heads to opine on behalf of ‘the community’. However, they seem remarkably inept when it comes to asking some very simple questions that would give the game up immediately.
This brings me to Roshan M Salih, the editor of soft-Islamist website ‘5Pillars’, or a ‘British Muslim news site’ as he would call it. Roshan describes himself as a ‘journalist’ and has enjoyed airtime on numerous mainstream TV and radio platforms—including the BBC.
The following tweet of his caught my eye:
‘What really annoys me is how many Muslims are embarrassed to defend #Sharia law because they are embarrassed about some of the harsh punishments. How can you be embarrassed by Allah's law you total sell outs!! Start being proud of your amazing religion!’
This invites some obvious follow-up questions from anyone that has been paying attention to the problem of Islamism in the UK. Under ‘Sharia law’ it is deemed an appropriate punishment to throw rocks at the face of those found guilty of ‘adultery’ until they refrain from their adulterous ways. And breathing.
I put the question to Roshan as to whether this is the sort of thing one feels they could be ‘proud of’:
Rather than attempt to answer the question directly, Roshan responds by posting a link to a 10 minute YouTube sermon on the topic of ‘stoning to death’ in Islam, which you can watch here. But in order to preserve a ten minutes you would never get back, I’ll provide you with the gist.
Basically, we are assured that the punishment of stoning people to death is only really meant as a deterrent. This is because it is so difficult to meet the requirements necessary for a conviction—namely that four witnesses are required (Qur'an 24:4-5). Therefore, due to this ridiculously high burden of proof, we are told this form of punishment is almost never carried out in Islamic countries. Well, unless—as the quirky bearded chap points out—the adulterer ‘confesses’, then by all means, get your rocks off.
Of course, it’s due to this form of obfuscation about ‘deterrents’ that I specifically included the parameter of ‘all Sharia conditions being met’ in my initial question. Which I point out in a follow-up question:
To Roshan’s credit, I’m used to a few more steps in the Islamist cha-cha-cha before they move in for the kiss, but I guess I must have charmed him:
‘Yes, of course I support all sharia positions if conditions are met without exception. This includes all "harsh" punishments’.
This is as unambiguous as it is sinister. The editor of ‘5Pillars’ and go-to telly Muslim supports stoning people to death for adultery. It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that various other ‘harsh punishments’ include executing homosexuals and apostates.
I publish this here not because I need to vent any shock or outrage. No, this sort of thing has become tediously, depressingly common amongst so-called ‘moderate’ British telly Muslims. I highlight it here simply as a matter of record because no one we rely on to ask the proper questions can be bothered.
Perhaps next time you see a media outlet, or journalist playing nice with Roshan on the TV or Twitter, you can send them a link to this blog. Maybe then they will consider mentioning it the next time he sees a studio light. Failing to ask about something so obviously revealing of a character would be like inviting on David Icke and not asking about the lizard people. Always ask about the lizard people.
Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.