Lord Pearson asks Muslims to 'address the violence in the Koran'

The Guardian covers the latest outburst by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, former leader of UKIP.

In a debate in the House of Lords this week over the findings of the Intelligence and Security Committee report on the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, Lord Pearson said:

“My Lords, are the Government aware that Fusilier Rigby’s murderers quoted 22 verses of the Koran to justify their atrocity? Therefore, is the Prime Minister accurate or helpful when he describes it as a betrayal of Islam? Since the vast majority of Muslims are our peace-loving friends, should we not encourage them to address the violence in the Koran—and, indeed, in the life and the example of Muhammad?”

It is not the first time Lord Pearson has sought to hold Islam and the Prophet responsible for the violence committed by individual Muslims for whatever purpose. In a debate in the Lords last year, Lord Pearson contested the Prime Minister’s statement on the morrow of Drummer Lee Rigby’s murder arguing that the PM was wrong to suggest that “There is nothing in Islam that justifies acts of terror.”

At the time, Lord Pearson said, “…as Muhammad went through life, he became steadily more of a conquering warrior, and the messages that he received and what he said and did became progressively more bellicose and violent…I fear that the dark side is moving strongly within Islam.”

Baroness Stowell of Beeston responding to Lord Pearon’s remark stated “My Lords, British Muslims want strong counterterrorism measures in this country so that everybody in this country who shares British values, whatever their faith, is safe. That is basically all I need to say to the noble Lord.”

The Guardian quotes Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East, who said: “These are lies. Trying to say this comes from some text in the Qur’an or there is some justification in the religion – it isn’t there. To suggest that Muslims should be apologising and somehow having to take responsibility for the actions of a handful of people is absolutely diabolical. This is nonsensical rubbish.”

Lord Pearson when leader of UKIP placed banning the burqa and niqab among the party’s priorities, something his successor Nigel Farage has retracted from party policy. He was also one of the two peers who invited Dutch Islamophobe Geert Wilders to speak at the House of Lords in 2009 (the other being Baroness Caroline Cox). His other intervention included the claim that Muslims are ‘breeding ten times faster than us.’