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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Invitation to Dr.Daniel Pipes debate with London Mayor Ken Livingstone January 20th 2006

Invitation to Dr.Daniel Pipes debate with London Mayor Ken Livingstone January 20th 2006

December 21, 2006

MIM: Dr.Daniel Pipe's invitation to his readers to join him at the London debate.

Dear Reader:

Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, England, has invited me to debate him on Saturday, January 20, 2007, 10-12 a.m., at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London. This event will be the centerpiece of a conference organized by the Greater London Authority, the city's government, titled "A World Civilization or a Clash of Civilizations."

For more details on the conference, see http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/clash-conf.jsp.

To sign up for (free) tickets, go to http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/clash-form.jsp.

I would be delighted if you can attend.

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Pipes

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Daniel Pipes To Debate London Mayor Livingstone - Clash Between The Civil And The Uncivilized

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=rabinowitz121506.htm

By Beila Rabinowitz

December 15, 2006 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Known as "Red" Ken for his leftwing extremism, the London Mayor has invited Dr. Daniel Pipes to debate him at a conference billed as - "A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations?"

The event is scheduled to take place on January 20th at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Center. The unusual confrontation is sponsored by the Mayor's office and is taxpayer funded. (1)

According the event brochure Livingstone envisions London as "a multicultural city...creating a new concept of world civilization that corresponds with a globalised world."

Dr. Pipes views the fault lines of the current conflict "not so much a clash of civilizations as a clash of civilizations v.s. barbarism." (2)

Livingstone, with his track record of ad hominem, anti-Semitic and physical attacks, appears to be engaging in a colossal act of hubris, hoping to best Dr. Pipes' dispassionate intellectualism with his own brand of ideologically bound, vocal excess.

This is not to diminish Livingstone's rhetorical skills which have been honed throughout his political career.

Last year Livingstone caused an uproar when he responded to a Jewish reporter's question by telling him "you are acting like a concentration camp guard..." He successfully turned back calls for him to resign in the wake of this outburst on the grounds that he made the remarks while leaving a private party.( 3)

In 2002 he was accused of pushing a man off a balcony and "manhandling" a pregnant woman, fleeing the scene before police arrived

According to the victim's account of the balcony toss, "Ken...was going ballistic...we were trying...to restrain him...the last memory I have is of Ken lunging toward me...I came to briefly in the ambulance..."

Despite accusations of having lied about the incident in a nine page statement he delivered before the 25 member London Assembly (a mayoral monitoring body) Livingstone ultimately emerged unscathed. (4)

In 2004 Livingstone stoked controversy when he invited radical Islamist cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to London. A photograph shows him gazing adoringly at the sheik - who is known for issuing a fatwa sanctioning female suicide bombers and explaining why Muslims must wage jihad against the West. (5a)

When presented with the evidence of Al-Qaradawi's support of terrorism, Livingstone blasted the information "as coming from the Mossad." (5b)

Instead, the Mayor's office issued an official 50 page report portraying Al-Qaradawi as a moderate and defending his visit.(6)

Nothing demonstrates Red Ken's identification with radical Islam as well as his response to the London bombings which he blamed on the foreign policy of the UK, saving his outrage for the fact that the targets had been workers instead of "Prime Ministers and presidents." (7)

Livingstone's ability to blend support of Islamism into his own socialist ideology has earned him the adoration of his radical Muslim constituents. As evidence of this consider that at an "ask the Mayor" Q&A event last March an audience member who identified himself as a "member of the Central Mosque at Wembley" gushed:

"I follow prophet Mohammed and then follow of Ken Livingstone, the most socialist person on this planet..." (8)

His remarks were greeted by applause.

The January debate should therefore prove raucous if not informative. Dr. Pipe's, whose scholarship on the Middle East is internationally renown should prove a difficult opponent for Livingstone, whose style of argumentation is limited by rigid Marxist constructs and strewn with personal invective. All of which might suggest that considering the London Mayor's wake of excess, the event may simply descend into bad political theatre.

Notes:

(1) http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/clash-conf.jsp

(2) http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2601

(3)

(4)http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-01/11/article05.shtml

(5a)

BBC NEWS | England | London | Mayor justifies cleric's welcome

(5b)

PDF]

MAYOR LIVINGSTONE AND SHEIKH QARADAWI

(6)

Qaradawi report 2

Greater London Authority - Press Release

(7)

(8)

http://www.london.gov.uk/stateoflondon/docs/sold-06-plenary-transcript.rtf AUDIENCE MEMBER 9: I am secretary general of Central Mosque Wembley. And I am talking about our neighbour Nisha Patel, my question is why did police come after the murder and not before the murder. My house was knocked at 2 o'clock in the morning and police asking me have I seen anything going on. So, I am suggesting to Ken Livingstone that there should be police before a crime is committed and not chasing after the crime. That was a pid:901waste of public money afterwards. I follow prophet Mohammed and then follower of Ken Livingstone, the most socialist person on this planet. {Applause}.

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MIM: Conference announcement

http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/events/jan-07.jsp

Conference: Clash of Civilisations

Date: 20th
Location: Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, SW1
Summary: This one-day conference will examine the idea that people's cultural and religious identity will be the main source of future world conflicts. Speakers include Mayor Ken Livingstone and Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, an American think-tank that promotes US interests in the Middle East. Read more about the conference: A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations. http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/clash-conf.jsp

Conference: A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations

20 January 2007

The controversial ‘clash of civilisations' theory is the subject of a special one-day conference organised by the GLA on Saturday 20 January. The conference, called ‘A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations', examines the idea that people's cultural and religious identity will be the main source of future world conflicts. This theory has been used by some commentators to push forward the highly contentious idea that conflict between the West and the Islamic world is inevitable. But this is a conclusion that many people strongly disagree with and the conference will dissect this point and establish whether it is any way valid. Scholars and policymakers will discuss the impact recent international events have had on London's communities and look at issues such as religious tolerance, human rights, diversity and British multiculturalism. Speakers include Mayor Ken Livingstone and Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, an American think-tank that promotes US interests in the Middle East. Admission to the conference is free, but you must register in advance - complete the online registration form, or call 020 7983 4838 or email [email protected]. The conference will take place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, London SW1. Nearest Tube: Westminster. Find out how to get there by public transport using Transport for London's Journey Planner (opens in new window).

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