'What Muslims Want' on Channel 4 last night

I have to unburden myself. I watched this programme, as did my parents. All three of us were shocked by the views expressed. Here's my take on it:

• If you live in a country, you respect its laws and culture. If you don't like the Government or its policies, you use your vote. If you don't like it, you can leave. There is no excuse for killing people - Islam does NOT sanction such behaviour. We live in a secular democracy - enjoy it!
• I can handle Islamic people wearing headscarves, but the full hijab? I find it odd that they choose to hide behind the garb but are happy to coexist and interact with people who are unveiled. People are scared of what they can't see, so hijab wearers should not be totally surprised by the negative reaction
• Many of the programme participants expressed negative views wrt British culture, and clearly relished the right to voice them, so why are they so intolerant of criticism of the dress, culture or religion? Don't all the holy books exhort one to turn the other cheek?
• Many of these people are wishing for a system of governance that doesn't exist anywhere - it's not an Islamic state they seek, its more of a place where noone can disagree or challenge them - a place where tolerance and respect are not required (a society unchallenged doesn't develop). If they want that, they can go live within the theocracy of Iran, the benevolent dictatorship of Egypt or Saudi Arabia (nice rights for women)
• Many of them appeared intolerant to freedom of speech, homosexuality - what are they scared of? Homosexuality is alive and well in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and spans all religions - live and let live
• Sharia law hasn't worked well in any country using it, e.g. Saudi Arabia. In others, like Pakistan, Sharia coexists uneasily with a parallel legal system (jurisprudence), causing havoc
• The Muslims expressing extreme views took the Koran's text literally (death by stoning for adulterers), and didn't moderate to allow for the passage of time (all holy books sound insane if you take them literally)
• They weren't the brightest of people - when many of them expressed views, you could tell from the hesitation in their voice that they weren't entirely sure of the provenance of what they articulated. They certainly didn't understand the key teachings, philosophies and pillars of Islam. Perhaps they're insecure and seek refuge in religious dogma to avoid making the difficult decisions that characterise a live fully lived
• One key point: I am unsure as to whether these people can tell the difference between religious practise and community culture, e.g. aspects of Tribal culture on the Pak-Afghan border (like kissing a tribal elders feet) are counter to Islamic teaching

My beef with the programme:

• It did not cover the full spectrum of views from Muslims (like, errr, me) who are not in the ghettoes but integrated
• Neither I, or my Muslim relatives & acquaintances were contacted for the survey (not sure why that is - there may be a good reason for this)

Interesting comparisons that I would like to have been made:

• The rise in Islamic separatism (perhaps too strong a word) compared against the rise of the Christian right in the USA (are there parallels?)
• The attitudes of these participants compared with those of their UK-settled parents

A useful programme, but also a missed opportunity.