These laws are wrongheaded and dangerous, and this case has actually nothing to do with race, but it is some small consolation to see that at least so far they are being applied to jihadists, and not solely to non-Muslim critics of the jihad.
“Muslim on racial hatred charges,” by David Brown in the TimesOnline, with thanks to all who sent this in:
A Muslim protester called for the bombing of Denmark and the United States during a demonstration against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.
Umran Javed is accused of soliciting to murder unbelievers and Danes and Americans, and of inciting racial hatred, in a speech outside the Danish Embassy in Central London in February last year.
Police video of the protest, played to the jury, showed Mr Javed, 27, leading chants of “Bomb, bomb USA. Bomb, bomb Denmark”. Officers in charge of monitoring the demonstration told the court that they did not arrest any of the protesters on the day because of fears that it would lead to violence.
Mr Javed, a British citizen, of Washwood Heath, Birmingham, said in the speech that the Western world would pay a heavy price for declaring war on Allah and the Prophet Muhammad.
He said that “disbelievers” should learn from the murder of the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, who had made a film critical of Islam. Mr Javed also referred to the slaughter of the Jews of Khaybar, which is recorded in the Koran.
Mr Javed told the crowd that Denmark should watch its back because “Zarqawi was coming back”, a reference to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the dead al-Qaeda leader in Iraq.
David Perry, QC, for the prosecution, said that Mr Javed appeared to be one of the leaders of the protest and used a loud-hailer to address the crowd.
“He addressed the crowd in terms which encouraged killing and incited racial hatred.”
Mr Perry said that the words used were plainly criminal. “The words used were straightforward and plain. If you shout out “˜Bomb, bomb Denmark; bomb, bomb USA”, there is no doubt about what you intend your audience to understand.
“The prosecution case is that the defendant was clearly encouraging people to commit murder “” terrorist killing.”
Mr Perry told the court that the case was not about freedom of assembly or freedom of speech. He said that even a society that enjoyed freedom of speech had to have rules.
“It is not about freedom of expression, but it is not surprising there are rules against encouraging others to kill or incite racial hatred.”