Category Archives: Religious hatred law

Defending an anti-incitement law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Thoughtful reply to Polly Toynbee at Talk Politics:

“Underneath it all the fundamental principle of the bill, that we should offer some protection to law-abiding citizens against personal attacks predicated on their holding particular religious beliefs is basically sound. How can any reasonable person argue otherwise if they’ve ever seen the likes of Nick Griffin skirting around current race relations legislation simply by substituting the word ‘muslim’ for ‘paki’. Its an unsustainable position however you look at it – unless you’re a member of the BNP.”

… or a blogger at Harry’s Place.

Religious hatred bill is unveiled

Posted on by Bob Pitt

bnp-islam-posterControversial plans to make incitement to religious hatred illegal are being unveiled by the government. The government says the legislation is a response to the concerns of faith groups, particularly Muslims.

The Muslim Council of Britain has welcomed the move, arguing that the courts have already extended such protection to Sikh and Jewish people. Sher Khan, a council spokesman, said to protect some groups but not others contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.

BBC News, 9 June 2005

The BNP states that the new law “is intended to stop the British National Party and other individuals pointing out that Islamic fundamentalism poses a serious threat to the well being of Britain. It has been drafted at the behest of Muslim organisations and New Labour’s increasing dependence upon the Islamic vote to stay in power has led to the creation of this piece of legislation. The law is a further erosion of free speech and one which even gay actor and comedian Stephen Fry called ‘a sop to Muslims’ on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon.”

The fascists promise: “If the Bill does become law the BNP will not stop its public awareness campaign [sic] against militant Islam and we will find ways around the legislation to continue to point out that the Islamic wolf is already in the secular/Christian/non-Muslim lamb’s pen.”

BNP news article, 9 June 2005

Over at Jihad Watch, under the heading “Freedom of speech in grave peril”, Robert Spencer warns that the adoption of such legislation “would be a cornerstone of the Islamization of Britain”.

Dhimmi Watch, 9 June 2005

Another secularist rant from Nick Cohen

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Oriana FallaciIn today’s Observer, Nick Cohen rallies to the defence of Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, who published a book immediately following the Madrid bombing in which she argued that Muslim immigration is turning Europe into “an Islamic province, an Islamic colony” and that “to believe that a good Islam and a bad Islam exist goes against all reason”. In an earlier book, published after 9/11, she wrote that Muslim immigrants in the West have “multiplied like rats”. (See here.)

Cohen takes a relaxed view of this racist filth. He opposes a decision by the Muslim Union of Italy to take legal action against Fallaci, portraying it as an attempt to suppress free speech. “What she says may not be true”, he concedes (may not be true?!), but he defends her right to say it. “Fallaci is a raging prima donna. Still, since when has it been a criminal offence for prima donnas to sing, however tunelessly?”

Would Cohen take a similarly relaxed view of a book which claimed that Jews are breeding like rats and turning Europe into a Jewish colony? I think not. In any case, under existing race relations legislation, the author of that sort of writing would be open to prosecution in this country. If that happened, I rather doubt that Cohen would write a column for the Observer condemning legal action being taken.

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Government appeases Muslims scandal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The National Secular Society has condemned the government’s declared intention to press ahead with its plan to extend race relations legislation to cover Muslims by outlawing incitement to religious hatred.

NSS new release, 16 May 2005

“The principal problem which the legislation seeks to address is white separatist groups inciting hatred on racial grounds, but using religion as a proxy,” Keith Porteous Wood of the NSS reports. “The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats tabled a joint amendment to clarify that the race hatred legislation could be used in such instances, but the government opposed the sensible solution, which carried minimal freedom of expression dangers.”

Yeah, well perhaps that was because the proposed amendment was full of loopholes and marked only a marginal advance on the present legal position.

“There have been widespread serious allegations”, Wood writes, “that the Government has been motivated in pushing through this legislation simply to appease minority religious interests.”

Why not just write “appease Muslims”, Keith?

Incitement to religious hatred legislation to be reintroduced

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In the Labour Manifesto document to be launched this morning, it will say that the Labour government would reintroduce legislation to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, which was dropped last week from the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, after opposition from the Conservative and Liberal Democrats, The Muslim News has learnt exclusively.

“This inclusion by the Labour Party is to placate the bitter disappointment of the Muslim community by the Government’s second failure to enact the legislation in the last Parliament, ” said Editor of The Muslim New, Ahmed J Versi.

The Prime Minister had assured the Muslim community in an exclusive interview with Editor of The Muslim New, Ahmed J Versi, last month, that he would not drop the incitement to religious part of the Bill as the Government had done in December 2001, when they dropped incitement section (which was part of the anti-terror legislation) after opposition from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

However, the Government has put the blame squarely on the Conservatives and Lib Dems. In a letter to mosques yesterday, Home Secretary, Charle Clarke, said, “The reason we cannot pass this legislation is because both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have blocked the legislation in Parliament. The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives made it clear that they were not willing to see this measure become law. They bear full responsibility for blocking this part of the Bill.

Muslim News, 13 April 2005

Religious hatred incitement law: British Muslims let down again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Muslim Council of Britain is deeply disappointed by yesterday’s announcement that the Government was dropping the Incitement to Religious Hatred section from the Serious and Organised Crime Bill due to opposition from the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party.

“Sadly, British Muslims will now continue to remain second-class citizens and denied the legal protection that is given to some racial and religious groups such as Jews and Sikhs under existing racial incitement laws. We deplore the position of the Liberal Democrats – who had proposed an amendment backed by the Tory Party – that would have regarded Muslims as a racial group, notwithstanding the fact that Muslims transcend racial boundaries. We regarded this as a vital piece of equality legislation that would have accorded Muslims and other faith groups protection from those who are deliberately inciting hatred against them,” said Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

MCB press release, 8 April 2005

For MAB’s response, see MAB news report, 6 April 2005 and Islam Online, 6 April 2005

Calls mount for Australian state to rescind religious hatred law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A campaign to rescind a law against religious hatred in the Australian state of Victoria is winning growing support from churches since two evangelical Christians were found guilty of vilifying Muslims.

CNS News, 31 March 2005

For the background, see here.

No prizes for guessing Robert Spencer’s views on this. See here and here.

And worth noting that evangelical Christian groups have come out against a religious hatred law in Britain. See here.

Muslims fear Labour will again drop anti-religious hatred law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslims leaders Friday expressed fears that Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will renege on his pledge to outlaw the incitement of religious hatred by sacrificing the clause to rush through the rest of the Serious Organised Crime Agency Bill ahead of the general election.

The Prime Minister had assured the Muslim community in an exclusive interview with Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi, last month, that he would not drop the incitement to religious part of the Bill as the Government had done in December 2001, when they dropped incitement section (which was part of the anti-terror legislation) after opposition from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Chair of the Muslim Council of Britain Media Committee, Inayat Bunglawala, warned that there could be serious implications for Labour at the election if the new law was dropped for a second time for the sake of political expediency.

“Many Muslims find it inexplicable that the Government can quite easily pass laws that has a negative impact on the Muslim community but drop a vital piece of legislation to put faith groups on a par with race groups,” Bunglawala told The Muslim News.

“Muslim voters would feel deeply disappointed after receiving several assurances to put the incitement of religious hatred on the statute books,” he said, warning it would be a “regrettable move” by Labour, who had used its support for the legislation to distinguish the Party from the opposition voiced by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

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Rushdie resists religious hatred law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“In Europe, the bombing of a railway station in Madrid and the murder of the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh are being seen as warnings that the secular principles that underlie any humanist democracy need to be defended and reinforced. Even before these atrocities occurred, the French decision to ban religious attire such as Islamic headscarves from state schools had the support of the entire political spectrum….

“The exception to European secularism can be found in Britain, or at least in the government of the devoutly Christian and increasingly authoritarian Tony Blair, which is presently trying to steamroller parliament into passing a law against ‘incitement to religious hatred’, in a cynical vote-getting attempt to placate British Muslim spokesmen, in whose eyes just about any critique of Islam is offensive.”

Salman Rushdie in the Guardian, 14 March 2005

‘A vote for intolerance’ – Cohen defends the right to incite religious hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Another diatribe from Nick Cohen against the extension of race relations laws to cover incitement to religious hatred.

He is particularly upset about Mike O’Brien naming Evan Harris as a leading Lib Dem opponent of the new law – on the grounds that the person O’Brien “singled out for attack wasn’t even on the Lib Dem front bench. All that appeared to distinguish him was that he was the only Lib Dem MP to come from a Jewish family”.

Yes, well, apart from the fact that Harris is a militant secularist who’s achieved notoriety among British Muslims, not least because of his enthusiastic support for the French hijab ban. Or hadn’t you noticed that, Nick?

Observer, 13 March 2005