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| Britain |
| We have the laws: use them (But They Won't) |
| 2005-07-17 |
| Defeating terrorism, the Prime Minister explained in a robust speech yesterday, means arguing against "the terrorists' politics and their perversion of religious faith". He is right. The trouble is that the Government has so far not shown much inclination to tackle the fundamentalist preachers whose hate-filled sermons incubate suicide bombings. The Bill on religious hatred, presently being forced through Parliament, is not directed at curbing preachers who call for the killing of unbelievers or Muslim apostates, or who exalt suicide bombers. If anything, that Bill will simply provide greater protection for the fanatics: they will claim that anyone who accuses them of spreading murderous venom is "inciting hatred" of their vision of Islam. In the wake of the murder of at least 55 people in London, the Home Office has drafted new legislation that it says will curb the excesses of the Muslim preachers who inspire young men to kill others by killing themselves. There is, however, legislation already on the statute book - incitement to murder, for example, is a crime - which could be used against the preachers who try to justify the killing of innocent people. This newspaper, which is extremely reluctant to endorse curbs on freedom of speech and of association, may yet be persuaded that the Government is right to consider further restrictions in order to protect our security. But in the first instance, what is required is the aggressive enforcement of the laws that we already have. The fear of being branded "Islamophobic" or "racist" has prevented chief constables from cracking down on the fanatics. Moderate imams have complained that they have called the police to disperse fanatics attempting to attract young Muslims outside their places of worship - only to discover that the police either do not bother to turn up, or do not take any action. That reluctance has provided space for the fanatics to flourish. The Home Office has also been far too tolerant of fanatics who, by glorifying violence and suicide bombing, abuse the Government's generosity in granting them the right to live in Britain. By far the majority of the Islamic fundamentalist "scholars" here who preach hatred of Britain and "justify" the murder of its citizens are foreign-born; many of them are here because they have been granted asylum from persecution in their native countries. These men - they include preachers such as Omar Bakri Mohammed and Hani al-Siba'i - have forfeited their right to stay in Britain by their support for the murder of its people. They should be deported back to the countries from which they have fled. The Government would have to negotiate an opt-out from the Human Rights Convention so as to be able to take that step, but can anyone seriously doubt that it is both necessary and merited? We are at a moment of unparalleled consensus, both among the political class and the people of Britain: there is a collective desire to take action to defeat the people who murdered 55 people in London and three British soldiers in Iraq yesterday. But the moment will not last, and we will soon be back to the pettiness of politics as usual. The measures the Government takes now must be capable of retaining public support once the present mood has passed. Proper enforcement of the laws that have stood the test of time is more likely to do that than any rushed new laws. |
| Posted by:tipper |