In case you’re not Muslim today
This from deep within the archive of the Völkischer Beobachter newspaper, 1937; article translated from the original German…
Two men were removed from a train yesterday on the grounds that fellow passengers feared they were terrorists. The pair, thought to be in their 20s and of Semitic appearance, were removed from the train route to Hamburg from Dresden, after passengers became suspicious of their behaviour.
In the early hours of Wednesday a number of passengers on 08:37 Express left the carriages, refusing to travel unless the two men were removed, causing a three-hour delay.
Passengers are reported to have become suspicious after the men were overheard apparently speaking Yiddish and seen repeatedly checking their watches, although this has not been confirmed by the transit company.
Okay, okay. Comparisons between the UK now and pre-WWII Germany are trite and largely inappropriate. But this kind of irrational public prejudice is exactly what happened in Europe sixty years ago, and it suddenly gives me a hint about what many Muslims must be feeling today.
