There are now millions of Muslims in the West. Those claiming to be their religious leaders cannot Islamise the entire society, but many want to create a sort of state within our state – a place where their laws (over marriage, for instance) are given the force of our law over their own believers. And because they are so horrified by the freedom in our society to speak openly and to mock, they constantly campaign for laws which forbid religious insults.
So when you listen carefully to the reactions of Muslims to the Charlie Hebdo murders, you will find genuine condemnation from most, but you will rarely find a Muslim saying that the cartoonists should have been free to draw what they did. “They had no right,” declared a pleasant-sounding chap from High Wycombe on the radio yesterday, “to make cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and no right to say Islam is bad.”
.... All this has created a chasm between public doctrine and what the public can see is the case. It is not for politicians to make theological statements. Like all the main religions, Islam is rich, deep and complex and will probably outlast our system of government. But what our leaders can and should do is insist that there is a price for living in a free society, and all citizens must pay it. [The Telegraph] Read more
