Outside a mosque today some extremist muslims gathered to rubbish the messages issued by clerics denouncing terrorism. They also burned a Union Flag for emphasis.
"There is nothing that me and you or the British services or the Government can do about stopping an attack in this country. There is nothing Tony Blair, this liar, can do to stop al Qaeda. There is nothing that MI5 or
MI6 can do to stop al Qaeda from bombing London."
Ok, now I'm a firm believer in free speech, but come on! Walking around London burning the flag and rooting for Al Qaeda is unspeakably atrocious. Surely this qualifies under Article 10(2) of the ECHR as an instance where a national authority is justified in infringing an individual's right to self-expression.
The group also serve to highlight a the marked distinction which must be drawn between those who practice Islam and those who disregard the teachings of intelligent scholars and instead follow the fatwah of Jihadists and fundamentalists. The vast vast majority is made up of peaceful and intelligent people and it is good to emphasize, though it has always been obvious that they will not tolerate such support for terrorism and murder.
I'd like to see that fact drummed into a few bigoted heads. Particularly the BNP who are doing rather well out of the upsurge in Islamo-Phobia (although still not nearly as well as they manage out of Anti-Semitism).
Seriously though, the whole damn ECHR contains sections which would qualify state action against this group and yet I wonder how long it will be before someone tries to infer some sort of infringement of their rights.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at April 3, 2004 02:13 AM