There is no freedom of speech in Britain anymore. There is just the big thundering herd getting led around by the political and media elites. Say something that is unpopular with those elites, and you’re liable to be banned from the country.
British Future director Sunder Katwala says: “The UK Home Office has set out clear guidelines which have led to the exclusion of preachers of hate from the UK if their presence here would not be conducive to the public good. Theresa May has excluded extreme Islamists on these grounds” — while letting in a huge number of jihad preachers, such as Mohammed al-Arefe, who has said: “Devotion to jihad for the sake of Allah, and the desire to shed blood, to smash skulls, and to sever limbs for the sake of Allah and in defense of His religion, is, undoubtedly, an honor for the believer. Allah said that if a man fights the infidels, the infidels will be unable to prepare to fight.” That was just fine with Theresa May.
Katwala goes on to say that the Home Office has “kept out those who have fanned extreme anti-Muslim prejudice, such as the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. Trump’s statements are more extreme than theirs.” The Express goes on to characterize us as “extremists Geller and Spencer.” How did we fan “extreme anti-Muslim prejudice” and become “extremists”? The letter that the Home Office sent me said that I was banned for saying: “[Islam] is a religion and is a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose for establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society because media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism these things remain largely unknown.” This is a garbled version of what I actually said, which is that Islam in its traditional formulations and core texts mandates warfare against and the subjugation of unbelievers.
This is tantamount to banning me for saying that the sky is blue and the grass is green. This is what gets you labeled a dangerous “extremist” in Britain these days: noting an obvious factual point that is reinforced by every day’s headlines. And now the same sinister authoritarians who are rapidly destroying Britain have set their sights on banning Trump as well. While I am no fan of Trump and could never support his candidacy, and see a certain poetic justice in the foes of free speech turning on a man who doesn’t understand the importance of defending free speech, this is still a grave injustice, and a sign of how close Britain is to falling into the abyss.
“‘Block Donald Trump from UK’ 100,000 sign petition as fury rages over Muslim ban call,” by Greg Heffer and Rebecca Perring, Express, December 9, 2015:
A staggering FOUR Britons a second have signed a petition calling for the billionaire to be blocked from entering the UK, after he vowed to ban all Muslims from America.
At 12.30pm more than 100,000 people had signed an online petition stating: “The signatories believe Donald J Trump should be banned from UK entry”.
Reaching the 100,000 threshold means it will have to be considered for debate in Parliament.
Radical candidate Trump has sparked international outrage after he pledged to bar access to the US for all Muslims if he were to win power.
The property tycoon is hoping to win the Republican nomination to run in next November’s presidential election.
The petition adds: “The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK.
“If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.”
Just after 8.30am this morning, 45,000 people had signed the petition meaning more than doubled its support in less than four hours.
Trump, who is worth an estimated $4.5billion (£3bn), yesterday tried to justify his extremist policy by bizarrely claiming some parts of London are so “radicalised” police officers fear for their lives.
The 69-year-old said he was calling for an American ban on Muslims so the country is not left with no-go areas where police are “afraid for their own lives” from Islamist terrorists like in Paris and London.
Referring to the recent Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in the French capital, he said: “Look at what happened in Paris, the horrible carnage, and frankly, if you look at Paris, and I hate to do this because the Chamber of Commerce is going to go crazy, but Paris is no longer the same city it was.
“They have sections in Paris that are radicalised, where the police refuse to go there. They’re petrified. The police refuse to go in there.
“We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.”
Mayor of London Boris Johnson hit back at Trump’s false portrayal of the capital, quipping the only reason he wouldn’t go to some parts of New York “is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump”.
He added: “As a city where more than 300 languages are spoken, London has a proud history of tolerance and diversity and to suggest there are areas where police officers cannot go because of radicalisation is simply ridiculous.”
Prime Minister David Cameron also branded Trump’s far-right views “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong” while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the American politician’s comments an “affront to humanity” and called for people to “unite against racism”.
The Metropolitan Police said they “would not normally dignify such comments with a response” but added Trump “could not be more wrong” with his description of ‘no-go areas’ in the capital.
He was also offered a briefing on “the reality of policing London”….
British Future director Sunder Katwala said in a statement on his organisation’s website: “It is hugely irresponsible for a prominent figure like Trump to fan the flames of prejudice in this way and raises questions over whether the UK should consider barring Trump from the UK on hate speech grounds.
“The proposals are ludicrous and unconstitutional, and will be rejected by America’s decent majority, among them many proud Muslim Americans. They are also a gift to ISIS propaganda, playing into the idea of a ‘clash of civilisations’.
He added: “It is important that the UK Government makes very clear that this extreme view is rejected and repudiated in the strongest possible terms.
“The UK Home Office has set out clear guidelines which have led to the exclusion of preachers of hate from the UK if their presence here would not be conducive to the public good.
“Theresa May has excluded extreme Islamists on these grounds, and also kept out those who have fanned extreme anti-Muslim prejudice, such as the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. Trump’s statements are more extreme than theirs.
“Unless and until Trump were to retract these highly prejudiced comments, there is a good case for making clear that he would be refused entry to the UK by the Home Secretary.”
Extremists Geller and Spencer were banned from attending a far-right English Defence League march in 2013 because their presence would not have been “conducive to the public good”….