Douglas Murray interviewer Roger Scruton
En del af interviewet handler om Ray Honeyford, som Scruton forsvarede for 30 Ă„r siden. Det Ăždelagde hans universitetskarriere.
The philosopher and novelist was right about immigration and education, 30 years too soon.
Having been made something of a pariah for recognising these truths early, does he feel any sense of vindication? He laughs slightly. âI donât feel as though I need it. Itâs the way the world is. If you say something in advance â if you describe a problem as it arises, people always turn on you because they donât want to hear about it. But when itâs too late to do anything, they will then turn around and say that you were right. Thatâs human nature.â
Despite being fĂȘted and honoured across eastern Europe for his work with dissidents behind the Iron Curtain, and despite his worldwide renown as a philosopher, Scruton is still without honour in his own land. Does this upset him? âWe live in a time when honours and praise go only to people on the left, essentially because they seem harmless. And what makes them seem harmless is precisely that theyâre uttering all the things that have caused so much harm.â Only one honour really got to him. âNothing upset me more than the award of Companion of Honour to Eric Hobsbawm in reward for a lifetime of unswerving loyalty to the Soviet Union.â
But Scruton is not a regret-filled man. He seems content, even happy, in his âScrutopiaâ. As we wrap up his wife is bringing their son home with some schoolfriends. The horses and cows need checking, and the chickens need to go down for the night. âTouching creatures,â he notes as they follow him to their home, clucking and chirruping. ‘The truth is hard’: an interview with Roger Scruton
Wilders er en unik taler! Og han har helt ret, nÄr han siger, at islam IKKE kan reformeres! Jeg stiller mig derfor uforstÄende over for fx Hirsi Ali, som mener, at islam kan reformeres. Man kan ikke reformere og Êndre en okkult stÞrrelse, og koranen er jo ikke blot en kogebog. Islam kan kun forbydes, og det bÞr man starte med i Europa.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali leder jo bare med lys og lygte efter et eller andet, der kan ĂŠndre den nuvĂŠrende situation. Om hun tror islam kan reformeres, aner jeg ikke. Men mon ikke alle vinkler skal prĂžves?
Det hun siger er at Mecca-versene mÄ kunne gÞre det ud for et nyt islam, for dem som altsÄ VIL tro pÄ det. Men inderst inde tror jeg ikke hun selv giver det mange chancer. Dertil er den sociale kontrol og risikoen for et totalt kollaps alt for stor.