A desire to change history is a desire to control how people think

Trevor Philips, an ex-Labour party politician, looks dangerously like setting himself up as the head of a new Minitrue with his reported call to re-write history.

He wants history to be more inclusive - for example showing how muslims were part of the national story ( whatever that is ). ( Odd how England and the English are being written out.. as inconveniently not British). He actually suggest rewritting history for his own purposes.

This has to be very dangerous. Its an attempt to control how people think in the present by choosing how to present ( and indeed make up) the past. Only a socialist could have such a lax regard for the truth and scholarship, with an aim of controlling peoples minds.

His example is the Turks helping delay the Armada at the request of Elizabeth the first ( of England - remember Britain didn't exist then ). - he's aiming to catch the public mood with the new film on the subject due for release soon.

I have no idea if its true - but it doesn't really matter. It certainly doesn't provide a strong link to English history. However the third Crusade certainly does ! ( Odd how he didn't mention that.)

So the new revised history according to Trevor will ignore the Crusades, but have a foreign military power keeping another one of balance for its own reasons as a key part of the National Story ! ( To be fair I don't know if he's suggesting talking down the Crusades - but I'm guessing its on the agenda.)

Of course Queen Elizabeth also said some strong things about defeating the Turks in the great siege of Malta ( conveniently missing from most British teaching of history ) as it was one of the times when the muslim conquest of Europe was stopped in its tracks by stunning heroism of the Knights of St John and the people of Malta. ( Their defence of the fort of St Elmo surely deserves a film all on it own - if it wasn't so inconvenient now days. The Turks used soldier who were stolen from the Christian parents and brought up and forced to become muslims and used to kill the Christian soldiers as part of Turkeys military expansion. That too is part of our 'story').

There is a campaign by certain muslim groups to rewrite history ( assisted as ever by the BBC in its last outings of Robin Hood ). Of course some people do get left out, and Mary Seacole is an example of an individual who has rightly gained a higher place in the national consciousness.

Update: The Devil's kitchen takes young Trevor to task ( warning - language which reflect a justified sense of rage is used over at the DK ) - he quotes a dismissal of Mr Philips half backed ideas from The Reptile here.