The Islamist group Islam4UK, which planned a march through Wootton Bassett, and its "parent" organisation, al-Muhajiroun, will be banned under new legislation outlawing the "glorification" of terrorism, Alan Johnson announced today.
The order, which will come into effect on Thursday, will make it a criminal offence to be a member of either of the groups, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. [guardian.co.uk] Read more
Human rights activist says 'Luton five' verdict threatens free speech Commenting on the guilty verdicts reached yesterday against five Muslim men who demonstrated at a home-coming parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton in March 2009, the human rights and green campaigner, Peter Tatchell, has said that their conviction is an infringement of free speech and the right to protest - no matter how offensive their views.
The response came as Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced this morning that Islam4UK, the group which provoked outrage with plans to march through Wootton Bassett, is to be banned under counter-terrorism laws - though this is for their alleged role in promoting terror, rather than their protests. [Ekklesia] Read more
We all have the right to be offensive Islam4UK's desire to demonstrate in Wootton Basset may be despicable but it should not be banned. .... Maybe that's not your idea of utopia – millions of people screaming: "Fuck off" at each other – but it beats banning it, making an opinion against the law. [Guardian Cif] Read more
Islam4UK: bad, but not worth banning .... The appropriate way to deal with the actions of al-Muhajiroun members is surely transparently and through our legal system. If individuals are known to have incited violence then they should be prosecuted.
But we should be very wary of giving our government the arbitrary power to ban entire organisations. It also sets a bad precedent. The Conservative party has already made clear that if they attain power they will ban Hizb ut-Tahrir, a party that is fiercely critical of the UK's foreign policies in the Middle East but is also an avowedly non-violent group. [Guardian Cif] Read more
