"Yes, I am for dead white male culture. It's pretty damn good," Rhys-Davies

WALES, January 20 (IslamOnline.net) – A Welsh Hollywood movie star was castigated Monday, January 19, by his local community, Muslims and non-Muslims, for his "racist and ill-informed" statements he made about Islam.

John Rhys-Davies, a lead actor in the blockbuster Lord Of The Rings, drew flack after he warned of a "demographic catastrophe" in Europe by 2020 that around 50 percent of the children under 18 in Holland, for instance, will be of Muslim descent, according to the national website of Wales Sunday.  

"I condemn these comments as being racist and ill-informed," said Adam Price, the MP for Rhys-Davies' former home town, Ammanford.

"It is obvious that this man who now lives in the lap of luxury in Hollywood is out of touch with realities of the nature of present day European society.

"His attack on Muslims and comments about the threat that they pose to Western society shows his ignorance of world events and the true teachings of Islam," he added.

He told the website that the people of Ammanford "will feel very let down by a man with such close connections to the town".

In an interview with American journalists from World magazine, Rhys-Davies made his racial warnings noting that "we dare not bring up because we are so cagey about not offending people racially. And rightly we should be. But there is a cultural thing as well".

His remarks were used by the far right British National Party (BNP) in a leaflet to campaign for support among cinema-goers, the website said.

The party reproduced some of his comments on their website, where they ask people to print them off and distribute them at showings of Lord Of The Rings.

Apology

Mohammad Javed, the chairman of the Muslim Society for Wales, wanted an apology from the 59-year-old actor.

"We want an apology. This could stir up racial hatred in society. It's ignorance, he should learn more about Islam and the religions before he makes these comments," he told the website.

Chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (AWEMA) Naz Malik said the actor was making too much ado about nothing.

"I do not know why he has said these things. If 50 per cent of people in Holland under 18 are Muslims in 16 years time, so what? In Britain the fastest growing race is mixed race, people of dual heritage. It is a cause for great celebration that our cultures are mixed.

"We live in a global society - we celebrate what is good in cultures and challenge what is bad in civilizations. Does he ever listen to any music other than European? Does he eat Indian food? Does he ever appreciate art other than that from Europe?" He asked.

"I feel sorry for this actor because he must feel very insecure about his future. I feel sorry for his close mindedness."

Tolkien Society, an international chairty group named after the author of well-known and best-loved book in the late 20th century The Lord of the Rings, also criticized Rhys-Davies.

"The Tolkien Society is not a politically-aligned organization and we do not in any way condone the use of his works to support messages of racial hate, just as Tolkien himself objected strongly to the use of Northern Myth by the Nazis," said the society's publicity officer, Ian Collier.

"There is documentary evidence that Tolkien did not agree with these views and we are saddened to see this kind of misrepresentation occurring."

Adamant

The actor, however, stood by his views, claiming that "Western Christianized Europe has values and experience that is worth defending".

"I believe in racial equality not racial discrimination. All I was commenting on was that there are cultural changes taking place in Europe that I consider to be unacceptable," he told the website.

"I don't think that Western society is opposed to Islamic society at all. I think a very important part of Islamic society is opposed to Western society. It is time that ordinary Muslims stood up to be counted," he believed.

But he could not help conceal his fanaticism about the "white male culture".

"Yes, I am for dead white male culture. It's pretty damn good, pretty damn marvelous, pretty wonderful. That's not to exclude other cultures, but it's not to diminish mine.

"Do not brand me a racist because I am most certainly not," he said.

His remarks are the latest, in effect, in a series of mud-slinging against Muslims and Arabs.

Radio commentator Paul Harvey, the most listened-to radio personality in the United States, claimed in December that Islam "encourages killing".

In October, William Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, had claimed that Muslims’ God "was an idol," and that "our spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus".