In the debate about the isolation or otherwise British Muslims, as accusations fly that there is an Islamic “state within a state”, it is important to get right what our common citizenship demands. A liberal society should not police freedom of thought or freedom of expression, nor insist that citizens sign up to every aspect of a secular worldview.
What we do need agreement on is the equal status of our fellow citizens. People can hold religiously conservative views – like my mother – but they must accept the equal status of their fellow Britons. Indeed, what matters most in “British values”, is accepting the freedom of speech of those we disagree with.
The Channel 4 poll presents a mixed picture of integration. People will be worried that almost a quarter of those surveyed would like to see Sharia law implemented. Clearly, that isn’t going to happen – the rule of law depends fundamentally on one law for all. And put another way, more than three-quarters of British Mulsims don’t want sharia. [The Telegraph] Read more
