Powell and immigration

Submitted by halldor (United Kingdom), May 11, 2004 at 12:29

I'm doubtful about the idea that Enoch Powell was "predicting" Islamic immigration in his "Rivers of Blood" speech of 1968. That speech, with its explicit references to "Negroes" and "colour", was widely perceived as racist at the time, was for good reason interpreted as being directed at the United Kingdom's African Caribbean community, caused racial tension over three decades, and is still quoted in the hand-outs of the National Front. The full text of the speech can be read at:

http://www.charlesmartelsociety.org/toq/vol1no1/ep-rivers.html

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".