Welsh star in race row (LOTR's John Rhys-Davies makes anti-Muslim remarks)

IC Wales ^ | Jan 18 2004 | Lucy Ballinger

[Michael2001]

ONE of the biggest Welsh movie stars in Hollywood kicked off a race storm last night after making anti-Muslim remarks.

Outraged Islamic leaders in Wales demanded an immediate apology from Lord Of The Rings actor John Rhys-Davies, who claimed an increase in Europe's Muslim population was a "demographic catastrophe" threatening "Western civilisation".

The 59-year-old Ammanford actor's comments were originally made in an interview with American journalists from World magazine, but this week they were used by the far right British National Party in a leaflet to campaign for support among cinema-goers.

Last night Rhys-Davies stood by his views which follow Robert Kilroy-Silk's inflammatory anti-Arab column. But he criticised the BNP for hijacking his words for their own ends.

In the interview, Rhys-Davies, who plays heroic dwarf Gimli and recorded the voice of computer-animated character Treebeard in the Hollywood blockbuster, interprets Tolkien's story of good versus evil as a metaphor for modern race relations.

He said: "There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't 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.

"By 2020, 50 per cent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent.

"I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilisation. That does have a real resonance with me."

The 6ft tall actor, who wore facial prosthetics and performed on his knees to portray the 4ft 2in dwarf in Lord Of The Rings, even says he is aware that his beliefs could end his career, which has seen him star in the Indiana Jones films and James Bond movie The Living Daylights.

"I am for dead, (traditional) white male culture," said Rhys-Davies, who divides his time between his homes in Los Angeles and the Isle of Man.

"Many do not understand how precarious Western civilisation is and what a joy it is.

"From it, we get real democracy. From it, we get the sort of intellectual tolerance that allows me to propound something that may be completely alien to you.

"I'm burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it's painful. But I think there are some questions that demand honest answers."

The BNP 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.

BNP leader Nick Griffin last night defended using Rhys-Davies' words for their Stand, Men Of The West leaflet, which he claimed was popular with film-goers in the Valleys.

"He is not a racist in terms of race hate and nor are we," he said.

"We just feel his views dovetail with our message as the comments in the interview quoted reflect our opinions too."

Rhys-Davies said it was "distressing to find yourself on a BNP leaflet", adding: "But on reflection, these people can't really do any great harm unless you allow them to."

The actor's over-the-top views were criticised by Tolkien Society publicity officer Ian Collier.

He said: "The Tolkien Society is not a politically-aligned organisation 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.

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

The views were greeted with contempt by the MP for Rhys-Davies' former home town, Ammanford.

"I condemn these comments as being racist and ill-informed," said Adam Price, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr.

"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.

"Ammanford people will feel very let down by a man with such close connections to the town."

Last night Mohammed Javed, chairman of the Muslim Society for Wales, said: "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.

"They are based on his ignorance and nothing else."

Chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema) Naz Malik agreed.

He said: "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 civilisations.

"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?

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

Wales Friends of Searchlight's Ian Titherington accused the BNP of hijacking the actor's comments.

He said: "Tolkien's Ring Trilogy is generally considered to be the best fantasy story ever written.

"It really shows how desperate the BNP are, to try to make political capital out of a cinematic re-production of fantasy."

LAST NIGHT we spoke to John Rhys-Davies from his Hollywood home and asked him to defend his opinions.

Here's what he said...

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.

The fact that a minister of the French government has to fly to Cairo to talk with one of the religious heads in one of the mosques to get his approval for a ban on headscarves can be seen in two ways.

One, is how wonderfully culturally sensitive. The other, it seems to give an authority to a wholly unelected figure well outside Europe's jurisdiction.

I am really proud to be living in a society that accepts women as our equals, that accepts civilised discourse that allows people to hold different opinions without coming to any act of violence.

Here in America when that earthquake happened in Iran the reaction of everyone I knew was horror and dismay, the reaction of everyone when they heard that the old woman had been brought out alive long after they thought there was anyone there was absolute awe at the extraordinary capacity of the human spirit to survive. Contrast that with people jumping up and down and clapping at the 9/11 disaster in certain countries.

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.

Most societies can benefit from a good stirring of genes, but most cultures are tolerant of each other. I do not see Buddhists throwing bombs into Christian churches, I do not see Christians blowing up Hindu temples, I do not see those sorts of challenges.

When we are prepared to overlook certain things because we don't want to rock the boat, this is wrong.

The greatest act of racism is to expect that other people will not behave according to your values and standards.

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

I'm sorry that might be perceived as infringing some sort of racial taboo, it's certainly not intended to be a racial remark.

We are losing the ability to sit down and be able to have a tolerable argument.

I do not want to see a society where, should I ever have any, my granddaughters have their fingernails pulled out because they are wearing nail varnish.

I hope that my friends and relatives in Wales are not going to be shocked by what they are going to read about.

Do not brand me a racist because I am most certainly not.

But I will stand by this: Western Christianised Europe has values and experience that is worth defending.

[xzins]

Again, we agree.

And... a good slap upside the head to wake someone up can be a beneficial thing. Doesn't always work, but it's a neighborly act.

[Freebird Forever]

BTTT

[CIBGUY]

The culture of Islam is the culture on intolerance, violence, murder and assassination. That's what's already on the record. Can we anticipate a change? Not hardly. This issue in the mid east is the start of a religious war long planned for by the Islamists and ignored by western leaders. The true "holy war" is just beginning, and unfortunately we will see millions of lives lost as a result. The American politician tends to think that all countries are basically secular, when in fact that's simply not true. Islamists tend to believe that they can exploit their own people using God as their instrument. They are successful because of the ignorance of their clientele and the poverty that surrounds them.

[TigersEye]

Most societies can benefit from a good stirring of genes, but most cultures are tolerant of each other. I do not see Buddhists throwing bombs into Christian churches, I do not see Christians blowing up Hindu temples, I do not see those sorts of challenges.

I can't think of any religion other than Islam that does make a practice of throwing bombs at others. Most religions can be seen as taking a sort of pride in being founded upon principles that condemn that sort of barbaristic behavior. The root of Islam seems to have sprung from the idea that it couldn't exist without forcing itself on others by pain of death.

JRD-Gimli bump!

[Travis McGee]

Many of their real men left for the colonies, and many more died in two world wars.

[Alkhin]

Mr. Davies, YOU ROCK.

The truth hurts, and I hate that they have twisted what he has said to bash him. Any intelligent person understands what is going on...and I disagree with the tolkienites from his foundation - Tolkien would not agree with the barbarism that we see becoming prevalent in Europe.

[Fzob]

"Many do not understand how precarious Western civilisation is and what a joy it is.

"From it, we get real democracy. From it, we get the sort of intellectual tolerance that allows me to propound something that may be completely alien to you.

"I'm burying my career so substantially in these interviews that it's painful. But I think there are some questions that demand honest answers."

Worth repeating.

[LexBaird]

It's ignorance, he should learn more about Islam and the religions before he makes these comments.

IIRC, Rhys-Davis was raised in Africa (Zanzibar?). He got a good, first hand look at Islam.

[Deb]

Davies, pronounced Davis, is a Welsh name and always has been. If you know Jews named Davies, they changed it from something else.

Now what is your point? And what do mean by "more to the story"? He said what he meant when he was asked a question at a press junkett for LOTR. That's the story.

[happygrl]

Onward! 'tis the country needs us,

He is bravest, he who leads us

Honor's self now proudly heads us,

Freedom, God and Right!

Amen !

Time to Ride.

[risk]

http://www.decentfilms.com/commentary/lotr_junket.html - also discussed on http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1041629/posts - is where these quotes were evidently obtained.

See the section called "Gimli raises axe for Western civilization."

[The Black Knight]

Is it too much to ask that we just send Gimli over to Arafat's compound? Gimli could sharpen his axe on that nasty pubic hair looking growth on Arafat's chin. :-)

Sorry about that. Just venting.

[happygrl]

Not that any one culture is better than others.

WRONG!!!!!!

That's the very point Mr. Davies is trying to make.

MY WESTERN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CULTURE IS SUPERIOR TO OTHER CULTURES.

[Fledermaus]

He didn't attack "Muslims", he attacked RADICAL FANATICS that hide behind Islam.

Big difference. But race-baiters don't care about that distinction.

[happygrl]

Thanks for the link.

Insightful, especially the comments regarding the film makers' missing Tolkiens' point about the necessity of faith, not in frail humans, but in a higher power, in order to save us.

Most of the participants in LOTRs fimming, seemed to have missed that also, with the exception of Mr. Davies.

[risk]

You missed my point. I was saying that culture is different from race, and that distinction is what the Islamics and their apologists in this article are failing to recognize. Rhys-Davies isn't concerned about their racial background at all -- and J.R.R. Tolkien might be distraught if he thought people were using his literature as a propaganda tool for encouraging such a thing. You might agree with that in particular.

Where we probably differ is how to speak about "western superiority." I believe it's true, you believe it's true, and we both would defend western civilization one way or another. For me, it's a matter of diplomacy. I was just saying that I had no cultural fight to pick, no "crusade" to fight against other cultures. But when they threaten mine, that's when the tables turn.

I think these intellectual ninnies who claim that Rhys-Davies is a racist are deluding themselves in two ways: first, they mix relgion up with race. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Second, they make terrible guardians of our safety. If we waited for them to raise a warning, a warning that the barbarians are at our gates, we'd be already under Dhimmitude shortly thereafter. That's wrong, too. I can paraphrase their position in stark terms: they're saying that since crusades are wrong, to fight against jihad (especially in its milder, more "moderate" forms) is wrong, too. Sorry, but when someone levels jihad at me, I am not going to sit still.

So you and I agree on the important things. You're just more of an evangelist than I am. I do think our brand of intellectual, religious, and political liberty is worth advertising far and wide, however. So we even agree on that.

[risk]

"There's nothing wrong with responding [to terrorism]. It's how do you respond...our government is incredibly violent and aggressive and rapacious. And we want to control those regions. It's beyond a response."

"...we [the United States] are not the good guys..."

--Actor Viggo Mortensen

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

It is time that ordinary Muslims stood up to be counted.

They won't. The silence of the moderates is deafening.

[Huber]

"Many do not understand how precarious Western civilisation is and what a joy it is."

By George, he's a genuine Burkean conservative! Can we run him for governor somewhere?

[Centurion2000]

bump