UK Muslims angry at plan to bring back historic statue of wild pig

industry watch ^ | 2004-03-21

[dennisw]

The Boar War ; Muslims angry at plan to bring back historic statue of wild pig Source: Mail on Sunday; London (UK) Publication date: 2004-03-21 Arrival time: 2004-03-22

FOR more than 100 years it stood proudly as the centrepiece of England's oldest public park before being decapitated during a Second World War air raid. Now a row has broken out after plans to replace Derby's historic Florentine Boar statue were abandoned for fear of offending Muslims, whose religion considers pigs to be 'unclean'.

A replica of the statue, a crouching wild boar, was intended as the jewel in the crown of a Pounds 5 million National Lottery- funded restoration of the city's Arboretum Park.

But councillors have called for the proposal to be scrapped amid sinister warnings that the statue would be vandalised or stolen.

The Florentine Boar statue stood from 1840 until 1942 when it was beheaded by a German bomb. But it was last week branded 'offensive' during a meeting of Derby Council's minority ethnic communities advisory committee.

Councillor Suman Gupta, a Labour representative for Derby's Derwent ward, told the meeting: 'If the statue is put back in the Arboretum, I have been told it will not be there the next day, or at least it won't be in the same condition.

'We should not have the boar because it is offensive to some of the groups in the area.' The park is in an area known for its large Pakistani community.

Shokat Lal, a community leader, said at the meeting: 'In Normanton the majority of residents are Pakistani Muslims.

'I'm not saying we have to lose the boar, but we could put the boar in the city centre so it does not cause offence to people.' Local historian Christopher Harris told The Mail on Sunday: 'We are living in a multicultural society and I hope that would include English culture.

'If the boar had never been destroyed in 1941, these people would have grown up with it and would not have noticed it.

'Activists have jumped on the chance to make a statement. It is one that damns English culture-But the wild boar is part of Derby's culture.' He said a small minority of Muslims with extreme political views had issued veiled threats to the council over the statue.

The land for the park was donated to the council in September 1840 by Joseph Strutt, the first mayor of the Borough of Derby, a wealthy cotton mill owner who wanted to give the public a place to exercise.

He commissioned architect J.C. Loudon to landscape the area. The hollow ceramic boar was donated by Mr Strutt.

Sculpted on commission by W. J. Coffee - and based on drawings of a similar statue in the Market Nuovo in Florence - it was intended as a gift to the working classes of Derby.

Last week's committee meeting proposed that a statue of Mr Loudon should be erected at the Arboretum with a new site for the boar in the city centre.

Last night, Councillor Gupta told The Mail on Sunday: ' Communities change.'

Tory leader Philip Hickson said: 'The community is strong enough to stand a statue of a boar in a park. But we live in an age where sometimes things are a little more politically correct than they ought to be.'

Publication date: 2004-03-21

[dennisw]

Multi cultis run amuck

[speedy]

Let me see if I have this straight.
Statue of Christ in urine = protected self expression.
Statue of a wild boar = offense against community standards.

There now, that wasn't so hard was it?

[BfloGuy]

I am, as the Brits say (or used to say before the Islamists took over the Anglo-Saxon culture), gobsmacked.

[Fiddlstix]

........for fear of offending Muslims, whose religion considers pigs to be 'unclean'.

Well Ain't that just too bad!

</sarcasm>

[beaversmom]

http://www.derbyarboretum.co.uk/the_florentine_boar.htm

[Arkinsaw]

That won't fly round these parts.....ever

[Kieri]

Traditional English heraldry will be next on the block. As a family who's crest sports wild boars, I hope our UK friends will wise up, and QUICKLY, before they're banned as "offensive."

[I_saw_the_light]

Can you imagine if our national symbol was a pig? On all our money, stamps, ID cards passports, public buildings, everywhere. Maybe the islamists wouldnt be quite so comfortable here. Made me laugh for a second anyway.

[BenLurkin]

Herein is the very problem with Islam.

The statue (of a feral animal native to and respected by the historical inhabitants of Britain) was there long before the Muslims arrived.

Nevertheless, they feel no shame in taking over and demanding changes in their host nation's traditions and culture.

[dennisw]

He almost looked more lion than oinker.

[beaversmom]

This sculpture is the most significant of all the Arboretum's sculptures, frequently described in the local press as "One of Derby's best loved works of art" and is fondly remembered by thousands of Derbeians who are eagerly awaiting its promised return.

It was placed in the Arboretum as a personal gift from Joseph Strutt, as part of his desire to offer instruction (educate) to the public.

The statue was a hollow earthenware copy of the original bronze boar fountain, (Cinghiale) which sits on the edge of the Marketo Nuovo (New Market) in Florence.

Joseph Strutt, a patron of the arts with a particular interest in Renaissance Art, opened up his own house to show his collection of Renaissance paintings and sculpture - long before Derby had an art gallery and museum.

He had commissioned W. J. Coffee to make the boar statue, based upon drawings of the original, for his garden at Thorntree House, which stood at the lower end of St. Peter's Street in 1806. Loudon had also sketched the the original statue at the Marketo Nuovo in Florence, during his time in Europe, and included it in his plan.

Derby was a pioneer in a trend that has spanned the last 163 (+) years as there are now hundreds of copies of this statue around the world, with almost every major city in the western world having a copy. Derby's copy was almost certainly the first example, despite claims by some other Western countries, to be copied outside the main European Continent.

Deeply rooted in our Heritage and culture

The Boar Statue has become very much a part of the Arboretum's cultural history, heritage and folklore.

According to old Derby folklore, when the Midland Railway Bull sounded, the Boar would leave its plinth and go for a drink at the fountain.

Nannies used to warn their young charges that if they misbehaved in the Arboretum the Boar would get them.

Children would often give the Boar a wide berth as they crept by very quietly so as not to disturb him.

The Boar was admired and enjoyed by generations of Derby families, often the centre of attention for whole family groups visiting the Arboretum. It was said that there can be no Arboretum without the Florentine Boar, and its return is eagerly awaited by many of Derby's citizens.

The Boar experienced long term weather damage (Read about the "Pig" Newspaper article from 1890). By the late 1920s it was in a pretty sorry state, in 1934, with the help of public subscriptions, it underwent a complete refurbishment. According to a reader's letter to the Derby Evening Telegraph, August 1934 "it has now been restored to its former dignity".

When a German bomb destroyed the Bandstand during January 1941, a piece of the Bandstand hit the Boar, knocking off its head as shown in the photo above.

The remains of the Boar were removed and pieces of it have turned up in unusual places, (the head apparently turned up at Royce's Allotments) but appear to have vanished again without trace.

The plinth was itself removed after it was severely damaged following a series of attacks by vandals using stolen cars.

Some evidence of a cement-like material is visible around the edges of the hollow, (photo below) this may be evidence of past repair work, possibly the re-attachment of the head when the Boar was restored in 1934 with money raised by public subscription. Note also that the missing left hind leg had been replaced by 1941, compare with top photo and 1890 news article.

We were promised that the Boar is to be reinstated as part of the refurbishment plan and will be sited at its original location.

It has been proposed that the Boar should be replaced, and this proposal has been widely welcomed by the majority of Derby's citizens, (through the local press) many of whom have family memories of the Arboretum and can relate to to the photos of family groups admiring the animal. It has even been said that there can be no Arboretum without the Boar.

No indication of the material from which it would be manufactured has been given, but this may not be of great importance as Strutt's gift was a copy of the original, and it was his interest in educating the public that resulted in its relocation at the Arboretum.

This copy of the original bronze would fulfill Strutt and Loudon's wishes by the fact that it is a copy of the same sculpture copied by W. J. Coffee. This replacement would probably look very much like the composite photo above.

Above all else we in Derby are privileged to have such a place as the Arboretum.

However we also have the huge responsibility of honouring the wishes of Joseph Strutt and to maintain our respect for the world heritage status of the Arboretum, including its statuary, buildings and trees.

[Democratshavenobrains]

Maybe if we put up pictures of pigs everywhere in this country, it will keep Muslims (at least the crazy fundamentalist ones) from moving here.

[beaversmom]

Recently, I heard that the Israelis were going to put pig lard on all the buses. Does anyone know if that ever happened?

[beaversmom]

I'd be all for putting one on every street corner.

[Neever]

That I like, even though I'm a Scarlet Knight. Uh Oh, a knight, crusaders...We might have to change our mascot at RU.

Well, the song says "nobody died for dear old Rutgers." Perhaps...I don't want to say it. Well, we might have to do away with the old Scarlet Knight. We wouldn't want to offend islam, would we?

[Blue Scourge]

Wonder how much longer until they (English moslems) start complaining about the National religion being the Church of England....a decade or more of invade....er..refuge..umm....immigrants and you will see it.

[broadsword]

I would rather shower with a pig than touch an islamofascist.\

The Brits need to throw the whole lot of them out of their country before it is too late.

[Snuffington]

God save England from the multi-cultis who hate her.

[Capt. Tom]

Nevertheless, they feel no shame in taking over and demanding changes in their host nation's traditions and culture.

You just stated their agenda right there. That's what it's all about, infidel. - Tom

[The Great RJ]

I'd be for donating one for Mecca. So much for the religion of toleration and peace.

[Dec31,1999]

Hmmm. But aren't pigs unclean to orthodox Jews, too?

[Ben Hecks]

"Maybe if we put up pictures of pigs everywhere in this country, it will keep Muslims (at least the crazy fundamentalist ones) from moving here."

You might also send a bag of Bill Elliot Pork Rinds to your local mosque.....
or put them on the mailing list for Jimmy Dean Sausage recipes.

[SENTINEL]

Give 'em a break guys, those poor muslims have had some bad experiences with WARTHOGS !

[mathurine]

islam sucks; it has no redeeming social value. It constructs nothing and ultimately destroys everything, wherever it goes. The devil created it.

[Bogey78O]

It'd be pointless. Orthodox Jews would have the same reaction as Islamacists.

[Blue Scourge]

Lol....no wonder they are terrified of pigs....bet they also hate Falcons, Eagles, Night Hawks, Aardvarks, Hornets, Tomcats and guys with the name Abrams.

[Bogey78O]

Only Libyans have a problem with aardvarks.

[whereasandsoforth]

Pigs are clean animals. Muslims are not near as pure, inside or out.

I'd rather spend the weekend with a pig.

[Monty22]

So basically everything in the world now has to be 'approved' by the islamics.

Great.

[SENTINEL]

Don't forget COBRAS !

[Sabatier]

What about Porky Pig? Pooh and Piglet? Can Muslims "pig out"?
Can Muslim kids ride piggyback? The entire Anglo culture is rife with pigs! Bacon cheeseburgers! Barbecue ribs! Bacon bits! Pork rinds! Miss Piggy! Where will it all end!

[farfromhome]

Yes, but I've always heard this in relation to eating pigs (and other animals), not to seeing them, or statues of them.

[Dan from Michigan]

If it's offensive, then they are certainly welcome I'm sure to go back to Pakistan.

[Blue Scourge]

Oh sorry....of course they hate Cobra's, people called Apache, Black Hawk, and a bunch of guys called Reagan, Eisenhower, Nimitz, Kennedy, Roosevelt...etc..

[Libertina]

Here's an idea... YOU go BACK to where you came from. Call us LATER when you have learned to behave as part of the human race and we'll get back to ya, promise.

[Libertina]

LOL Awesome shot!

[Robert_Paulson2]

Why is it that this makes my blood boil?

[Dec31,1999]

I wonder what the Koran says about it. I've seen the parts about the infidels and the Jews, but not the part(s) about the pig! Anybody got any references handy?

[Robert_Paulson2]

Are these people mentally ILL?

Is it genetic?

[Libertina]

Why is it that this makes my blood boil?
Just a guess - because you're SANE.

[RightWingNut]

I suppose very few of these "TOWELHEADS" are fans of Pink Floyd !!

[broadsword]

You got that right.

[rogueleader]

Don't make the Muslims angry PING!!!

[montag813]

He said a small minority of Muslims with extreme political views had issued veiled threats to the council over the statue.

This is one GOOD aspect of the Patriot Act. Who are these extreme Muslims making threats, and perhaps they ought to be "detained".

[Light Speed]

we'll get back to ya, .....promise : )

[1066AD]

You've got that right.
Sometimes these days I hardly recognise the country of my birth and upbringing.

[Dec31,1999]

No. At least as much damage as having the philosophy influence the gene pool, i.e. who to marry, etc. If the problem were genetic, it would have to be explained why, for example, why Islam was so popular in Indonesia. Not that Indonesians were the original rocket scientists, LOL!

[El Gato]

Hmmm. But aren't pigs unclean to orthodox Jews, too?

AFAIK, only to eat. I don't think they have any kind of swinophobia like the members of the religion of pieces.

[broadsword]

Sometimes these days I hardly recognize the country of my birth and upbringing.

It is something the Musli could never build, could never understand, could never maintain, could never benefit in any way. Drive them out before it is too late, or they will destroy it. Death and destruction of all things humane and civilized is all they ever achieve. Banish all the death-culters.