Say It Ain’t No-Go, Bobby!

It is common knowledge that in various parts of Europe–France is notorious in this regard–there are Muslim enclaves where the writ of the law does not necessarily run. In these “no go” zones, police and fire protection are iffy or nonexistent, and Sharia law is often enforced on a de facto basis. Until today, it hadn’t occurred to me that there was any dispute about this. If you want to see chapter and verse on European no go zones, just read this encyclopedic review by the invaluable Gatestone Institute.

And yet, despite all of the evidence and countless news reports, leftists have suddenly begun to deny that no go zones exist. The mayor of Paris has absurdly threatened to sue Fox News for referring to no go zones in Paris or its suburbs. A more serious incident occurred in England, where a CNN reporter ambushed Bobby Jindal, who gave a speech in which he referred to the problem of Islamic radicalism and mentioned no go zones.

That led to this Associated Press story by Philip Elliott, which can only be explained as a sign that it is open season on potential Republican presidential contenders:

In a speech prepared for delivery at a British think tank, Jindal said some immigrants are seeking “to colonize Western countries, because setting up your own enclave and demanding recognition of a no-go zone are exactly that.” He also said Muslim leaders must condemn the people who commit terrorism in the name of faith as “murderers who are going to hell.”

No problem so far. But what follows is an absurd defamation of Jindal:

The claims on “no-go zones” are similar to those a Fox News guest made last week about places where non-Muslims were not welcome in parts of the United Kingdom such as Birmingham, and “Muslim religious police” enforce faith-based laws.

Steven Emerson, an American author who often is asked about terror networks, told Fox News that in Britain “there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.”

Prime Minister David Cameron responded by calling Emerson a “complete idiot.”

Emerson later apologized and said his comments “were totally in error.” Fox News also issued apologies for broadcasting the comments.

Back when we had actual reporters and editors, this kind of thing didn’t happen. The claim that Jindal’s innocuous and obviously true statement that there are no go zones in Western countries is “similar to” Steven Emerson’s statement that the entire city of Birmingham is a no go zone is absurd. One statement is true, the other is false. (Although, to be fair, it may well be that there are areas of Birmingham that qualify as no go zones.) The AP reporter continues:

Jindal, however, used similar rhetoric during a speech, warning of “no-go zones” in London and other Western cities.

This is frankly idiotic. Jindal didn’t “use similar rhetoric,” he asserted an entirely different factual proposition. Are there no standards whatsoever at the Associated Press? The reporter takes one more shot:

Asked for evidence of “no-go zones,” Jindal pointed to a weekend article in The Daily Mail, a London tabloid, that said killings, sexual abuse of minors and female genital mutilation are believed to go unreported to local police in some areas. The article did not give specific religious groups or towns.

Sure, there are lots of groups in Great Britain who practice female genital mutilation! And if the AP reporter, Philip Elliott, hasn’t heard about it, there was a huge news story in Britain relating to the horrifying sexual abuse of minors, over a period of years, that went unreported. Amazingly enough, the abuse was perpetrated by Muslims, whether the Daily Mail mentioned it or not.

What Bobby Jindal said was obviously true. It is remarkable that the left-wing press is trying to deny that areas of de facto sharia exist in various European cities.

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