I read the Quran every day: Tony Blair

[~Red Devil~]

I read the Quran every day: Tony Blair

I read the Koran every day says former prime minister Tony Blair who claims it keeps him 'faith literate' He was notoriously reluctant to discuss religion while Prime Minister, with his chief spin doctor Alastair Campbell famously commenting: ‘We don’t do God.’ But since leaving Downing Street in 2007, Tony Blair has become increasingly open about the importance of religion. Mr Blair, who converted to Catholicism months after leaving Number 10, has now spoken of how he reads the Koran every day. Reading the Islamic religion’s holy book - considered by Muslims to be the exact words of God - ensured he remained ‘faith-literate’, the former Labour leader said. In an interview with the Observer magazine, published yesterday he said: ‘To be faith-literate is crucial in a globalised world, I believe. ‘I read the Qur’an [Koran] every day. Partly to understand some of the things happening in the world, but mainly just because it is immensely instructive.’ Mr Blair believes that a knowledge of the faith informs his current role as Middle East envoy for the Quartet of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia. The former PM’s work, which has cost British taxpayers more than £2million, aims to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr Blair has previously praised the Muslim faith as ‘beautiful’ and said the Prophet Mohammed had been ‘an enormously civilizing force’. In 2006 he said the Koran was a ‘reforming book, it is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance’. But Mr Blair has also faced the devastation wreaked by violent jihadists who interpret the Koran as a call to arms. He was Prime Minister when the July 7 suicide bombers attacked London in 2005, murdering 52 innocent people. Not only does reading the Koran support his peace envoy role, it also gives him something in common with sister-in-law Lauren Booth. Journalist Miss Booth - Cherie Blair’s half sister - raised eyebrows after announcing last October that she had converted to Islam after what she described as a ‘holy experience’ during a visit to a shrine in Iran. Mr Blair also used the Observer interview to dismiss claims he was on a Christian ‘crusade’ when taking Britain into the highly divisive war in Iraq. His former constituency agent John Burton said two years ago that Mr Blair ‘believed strongly at the time, that intervention in Kosovo, Sierra Leone – Iraq too – was all part of the Christian battle; good should triumph over evil, making lives better.’ But the ex-Premier said: ‘People still ask me if military decisions in Iraq or Afghanistan were based on some kind of divine instruction. It’s rubbish. ‘Of course not. Just as I couldn’t go into a corner and pray to ask God what the minimum wage should be.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1P95GeFB6

[Britstani]

They know Islam better than most muslims, but dont be fooled by these kind of stories, he has no love for Islam believe me.

[Amoeba]

Blair always struck me as a fantastically intelligent, sensitive man. He was the best PM we had in living history. He looked invincible and his legacy assured until he allowed himself to be railroaded by a complete buffoon across the pond. He had no choice but everything post 9-11 makes him look like a untrustworthy lying fool. Maybe he still has time to change his legacy, but seems that the lure of money and power is just too great for him.

What makes you, also breaks you. Blair was willing to forgo his party's principles to move them to the centre and make them electable. However in the end it was this which brought him down.

[Justcrazy]

May Allah ( swt) guide him to the right path.

[Waq]

Originally Posted by Amoeba Blair always struck me as a fantastically intelligent, sensitive man. He was the best PM we had in living history. He looked invincible and his legacy assured until he allowed himself to be railroaded by a complete buffoon across the pond. He had no choice but everything post 9-11 makes him look like a untrustworthy lying fool. Maybe he still has time to change his legacy, but seems that the lure of money and power is just too great for him. What makes you, also breaks you. Blair was willing to forgo his party's principles to move them to the centre and make them electable. However in the end it was this which brought him down.

Nicely put about Blair. John Major, Gordon Brown are not spoken about in the same way and neither is David Cameron likely to be. His legacy as you put it is his own choosing. Shame he did not choose the righteous path.

Going back to the topic of him reading the Quran. This does not surprise me. My father is an undeducated man but has been convinced for decades that western leaders study the Quran as they fear it. Without this veering towards a conspiracy theory, it all comes down to whether you believe Israeli support is purely because of money or is it also because Islam is an enemy?

[kingkash786]

People should bear in mind that all politicians are liars just because he says so does not mean he does it after all the stuff he said was all generic lip service can he actually give any personal ayahs that appealed to him?

secondly he doesn't know Arabic ( guessing since I have never heard him speak it) he can never have access to the full Qu'ran as the Qu'ran repeatedly states that it has been revealed clearly in Arabic only ( a important point for all muslims as very few of us today can speak classical arabic I would at this point like to cal for a Ummah wide drive to learn arabic as was done in Somalia which resulted in a 100% literacy in regards to Arabic and would like to see such a movement in Pakistan as this would make it harder for nut-jobs like the TTP to trick innocent naive muslims into becoming suicide bombers by twisting specific ayahs of the Qu'ran).

Thirdly just because he reads it doesn't mean it has any effect remember the hypocrites used to listen to the Qu'ran directly from rasoolallah S.A.W and still have no effect on them

[Amoeba]

Originally Posted by Waq Nicely put about Blair. John Major, Gordon Brown are not spoken about in the same way and neither is David Cameron likely to be. His legacy as you put it is his own choosing. Shame he did not choose the righteous path. Going back to the topic of him reading the Quran. This does not surprise me. My father is an undeducated man but has been convinced for decades that western leaders study the Quran as they fear it. Without this veering towards a conspiracy theory, it all comes down to whether you believe Israeli support is purely because of money or is it also because Islam is an enemy?

Whether you fear it or embrace it I think most politicans would look to read the Quran as another political philosophy. Just like I imagine most Tory politicians have probably read Karl Marx it doesn't mean that they agree with it but you have to understand your enemy to a degree.

The difference with Blair, and Brown as well, is that they are genuinely religious. Blair was always the most sensitive leader we have known in the last 30 years to muslims and muslim causes. Yes in part because he needed their continued staunch support but also because he had a deep interest in Abrahamic faiths & their commonality. A vain man he may have genuinely believed that he could be the man who would bring peace to the middle east..

Of course post 9/11 he publicly shifted horses and nothing after stepping down seems to suggest any remorse, which is an enormous shame to his credibility, if not to his bank balance.

[KingKhanWC]

Tony Bliar is a war criminal. People easily excuse him because he had no choice blah blah blah,of course he had a choice, 1 million people marched against the Iraq war but Bliar ignored them and instead lied in parliament about Saddam's so called WMD's. I hope he has read the Quran so he understands the punishments which will come his way unless he repents before death.

[Tapori]

Blair always struck me as a fantastically intelligent, sensitive man. He was the best PM we had in living history. He looked invincible and his legacy assured until he allowed himself to be railroaded by a complete buffoon across the pond. He had no choice but everything post 9-11 makes him look like a untrustworthy lying fool. Maybe he still has time to change his legacy, but seems that the lure of money and power is just too great for him. What makes you, also breaks you. Blair was willing to forgo his party's principles to move them to the centre and make them electable. However in the end it was this which brought him down.

Indeed.

He took Labour to the centre and shifted politics to such a degree that it forced the Tories to elect Blair II in David Cameron; (1:06 - This is Satire seeped in Truth)


You only have to see how Cameron is routinely chided by Right wingers in his party asking why he doesn't go far enough.



Adam Curtis in "The Trap" and in "The Centrury of The Self" (on youtube) hits the nail on the head as to why Blair so rabidly embraced The American Democrats electoral strategy as well continuing Thatcher-lite policies whilst investing too in Health and Education.

Blairs problem was that those tactics he ushered in left him constantly pandering to Daily Mail Bandwagons because focus groups and the like became so important - And Blairs faith in "The numbers"

And focus groups of Middle Classes left social policies that neglected the underclass/low paid workers that were stuck where they were as a result of failed Torie experiments with the UK Economy (Replacing Manufacturing wholesale with a ridiculous reliance on Service Sector Jobs; Look at Germany - Good Balance of Income)


War - Blair for all his domestic achievements will, unfortunately, be remembered as Bush's ***** and the man responsible for over a million Iraqi deaths; He feels he made the best decision for the world at the time - He was wrong and yet he still maintains it was right.

-

What many rabid reactionaries on here might like to consider is that for all of the Western Europes faults, they at least attempted to establish a Social Welfare state; Which is more Islamic in concept and ideology than most Muslims like to admit.

Blair Reading the Quran is testament to its powerful oratory on Life; Benjamin Franklin (? Thomas Jefferson maybe?) regularly read it too.

If only Blair had taken more heed of the Quran, maybe he could have not taken this great country to war for the US's sake, and maybe he could have retained some semblance of more Left leaning policies.

I just wish Ed Milliband was the Blairite and Not his brother; But Ed for all his faults just seems more a natural Red Labour leader that doesn't alienate people (They might not notice him; But they don't hate him)

Have you read David Millibands Acceptance speech had he won? Its quite remarkable.

[UmarAkmals-fan]

the quran clearly says the enemys of islam know islam more then most muslim know ..dont be fooled

[Tapori]

..dont be fooled

Oh indeed.

But we are fooled, because we ignore overarching Philosophy and forget what made Muslims ahead of the game.

The West learnt; in the Dark Ages They hated science that wasn't religiously sanctioned (Bechaara Galileo tried to tell them the world revolved around the Sun)

Muslims in the 800-1200 AD had no real problem investigating Science because it reaffirmed the verses of the Quran. They didn't constantly Navel-Gaze (Unless performing Caesarians). The innovated.

Until today where Muslims, even in the Educated West, focus more on:

If I do this and then I do this and then I do this does that mean that this will anger God?

Can I do this experiment oh Imam of the one of the many sects; Or maybe that Imam can tell me... etc etc.


How many Muslims have developed a recent world leading Technology used today?
How many Muslim Scientists regularly make breakthroughs in their field to benefit mankind?
How many Muslims regularly debate and try to find new Philosophical arguments to go toe-to-toe with intellectual heavyweights like Dawkins and Hawkings?

I blame the Ottomans for Power-Hungry policies that led to an entire generations being denied Philosophical/Intellectual Education to the masses;
At least Saudi/Qatar/UAE Gulf states are investing in World leading Educational facilities to develop the future.

Islam meanwhile, has become a means to sedate the masses. whilst the elites in power use its wisdom for their own advantage.

Muslims continue to Bicker about this length of cloth whilst people starve in the street as they hand over bribes to stop Authorites tormenting them.
Muslims justify appalling murders and rapes based on honor and Philosophy that is the complete antithesis of the teachings of the Quran.

Muslims stifle debate on issues that they need to discuss; For fear of being labelled "Kaafirs"


Know thyself.

There are too many Zakir Naiks (I appreciate his work; not knocking him)

Too many "Ulemaa" that haven't even a basic knowledge of Science of Indeed the intricacies of its Philosophy, let alone Muslim heritages of Philosophical debate. (I am knocking these guys; See hardly any women!)

Not enough Al-Kindis...

Its like Liverpool being left behind by Manchester United; If You don't innovate then you Stagnate.

[ace4rmspace]

^ Hmmm ... thought provoking.

[Markhor]

This man is incredibly loathsome.

He was similar to Harold Wilson,who liked to play off his Northern,I'm just one of you image, in a way as he brought the PR and 'image-conscious' politician to a whole new level.

The Labour Whitewash of the Hutton Inquiry,one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history and Alistair Campbell,an equally loathsome figure sums New Labour up.They will go to any lengths to cover their tracks.

The party banged on for 13 years about the '18 years of 'Fatcha and the Tory government' and now accuse the coalition government for doing the same ! Swings and roundabouts.

Blair has no qualms working for some Korean oil company or make after-dinner speeches.Or earn millions as a Middle East envoy.Don't start World War Three whilst your at it Tony.Bye-bye Mandelson.Bye Campbell.No more Liebour spin doctors.No more Blunkett,one of the most corrupt politicians to have graced the country.

No more Yvette Cooper who is wife of Ed Balls.Coincidentally both had Cabinet positions. No more Dwarf Hazel Blears.

No more Jacqui Smith,go watch one of your husbands X-rated videos,paid for by the taxpayer.

The Callaghan government left the country in ruins in 1979 and Labour have left behind another economic mess yet again in 2010.

Immigration spiralled out of control - there is a famous Paxman interview with Blair where the King of PR failed to answer a question about the number of illegal immigrants.

The gap between the rich and the poor increased during the time of the Labour government,who despite warnings from various economists and Vince Cable,continued to frivolously spend and fritter away at our country's finances.Gordon Brown must share the blame for this.He was one of the most incompetent Prime Ministers this country ever had.

We now are left with a massively bloated public sector where many areas,particularly in the North are dependent on the public sector.

We had Labour's policy of trying to get just about everybody into University,making a degree pointless.

Youth unemployment and unemployment was highest than it had been for the last 15 years under the Labour government.

Iraq turned out to be the biggest disaster since Suez.

Labour also increased the 'Benefit Britain' culture which still to this day,see huge levels of dependency on state handouts.

Borrowing spiralled out of control.

Now Labour have the nerve to criticise the coalition spending cuts when it was their own Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling who even said that THEY would have to make deeper cuts than Thatcher !

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8587877.stm

Who can forget the attempts to cover up the expenses scandal ? Or cash for honours ?

Alex Ferguson got a knighthood because he was one of the biggest Labour party financial donors.

Alan Sugar paid for his peerage.

Of course,the Tory sleaze and the Europe backbiting of the 1990s with the likes of Hamilton,Aitken and Archer were also hideous but the Labour party left no stone unturned to cover their tracks and tried to restrict the media from reporting their corruption.

Also Labour infighting has reached Shakespeare levels.We had Tony Blair and Gordon Brown holding this country to ransom.

Now they are still at it again ! This time with the Miliband brothers.

They deserved to be booted out at the last elections and deserve to be out of government for a generation after what they have done to this country.We are the sick man of Europe once again.

[Tapori]

there is a famous Paxman interview with Blair where the King of PR failed to answer a question about the number of illegal immigrants.

TBF, by the very nature of illegal immigrants its hard to know how many;

I disagree on a whole host of your points but, i would like to know where you stand on Cameron being Blair's Right of centre heir aping him at every turn.

Though your Blair vs Paxman reminds me of this:



and skip to 2: 44 on this next one, for probably the most surreal Paxman-Blair moment (This one isn't satire)



Tony Blair: "Noooe; I Don't"

[Markhor]

Well it is true that Cameron is 'the heir to Blair'.He was a PR adviser under John Major's term.Unfortunately politics in Britain has shifted towards the image of the personality,rather than good old substance politics.To be fair to Gordon Brown,he tried to focus less on PR and more on the substance side of politics but failed.His advisers told him to smile more but instead ended up looking like Josef Fritzl's mad uncle.Edward Heath tried to bring that back and deeply resented the PR of Harold Wilson.

But let's not forget Labour were as right-wing as the Conservatives during their time in office,and continued many of Thatcher's economic policies.They were fairly pro-free market too,one of the reasons that contributed towards the economic crisis,the failure to regulate the banks who lent money to the wrong people.

Labour are summed up here

[Fawad]

Good to know Blair reads the Quran, now he won't be surprised when he gets thrown into the hell fire on the Day of Judgement.

[Quick Single]

Originally Posted by Fawad Good to know Blair reads the Quran, now he won't be surprised when he gets thrown into the hell fire on the Day of Judgement.

That's for the Almighty Allah (SWT) to decide brother, not me or you.

[Fawad]

Originally Posted by Quick Single That's for the Almighty Allah (SWT) to decide brother, not me or you.

Allah (SWT) himself says in the Quran that unbelievers will be punished in hell.

[chacha kashmiri]

[Toony™®]

Originally Posted by Fawad Allah (SWT) himself says in the Quran that unbelievers will be punished in hell.

He comes from one of the people of the book ..so technically he is a believer like you and I...

so again it is down to Allah(swt) to decide...

unfortunately US in this era are a uncontrollable demanding child-bully who get what they want or they will make you suffer...

[the SHA]

Pretty sure Hitler read the Torah too...

[Tapori]

Arab Money should be played at every Manchester City Home Game... Thanks Chacha G.

[James]

Originally Posted by Amoeba Blair always struck me as a fantastically intelligent, sensitive man. He was the best PM we had in living history. He looked invincible and his legacy assured until he allowed himself to be railroaded by a complete buffoon across the pond. He had no choice but everything post 9-11 makes him look like a untrustworthy lying fool. Maybe he still has time to change his legacy, but seems that the lure of money and power is just too great for him. What makes you, also breaks you. Blair was willing to forgo his party's principles to move them to the centre and make them electable. However in the end it was this which brought him down.

Great post. Also a Blair fan and proud of it.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Whippy Great post. Also a Blair fan and proud of it.

I voted for him three times and would have voted for him again had he stayed around.

I would not have helped Bush invade Iraq. I would have carried on with sanctions to contain Saddam, instead of invading and assuming that the country would spontaneously default to democracy. Also I would have controlled immigration to the UK better, bringing in people with useful skills.

[James]

Saddam should have been dealt with properly after the First Gulf War, when the window was open and public opinion would have been less unfavourable. More recent Western politicians have paid the price for this key mistake of their predecessors.

[Amoeba]

Originally Posted by chacha kashmiri

This is the first time I've heard this and could only take about a minute of it to be honest. Not really aware of the work of Mr Ryhmes but this has to be one the most odious piece of pap I've ever had the displeasure to listen to.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Whippy Saddam should have been dealt with properly after the First Gulf War, when the window was open and public opinion would have been less unfavourable.

The UN Resolution of the time was to drive him out of Kuwait, not to remove him from power.

[shaheer]

masahaalh may allah swt guide him to the right path and inshallahhe also like his sister in law become a mualim this is a really pleasent info

[Robert]

Originally Posted by shaheer masahaalh may allah swt guide him to the right path and inshallahhe also like his sister in law become a mualim this is a really pleasent info

I think that some Christians revert because they find the Qu'ran more internally consistent than the Bible.

[Striver]

Originally Posted by Robert I think that some Christians revert because they find the Qu'ran more internally consistent than the Bible.

good to know.