"Jesus is the slave of Allah"

I awoke to see this article on the front page of the Daily Express today http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/88642/Sick-Extremists-welcomed-our-troops-

It seems that Islamic groups organised a protest against a parade through Luton by the Anglian regiment. Reading the placards it is quite interesting to see what message the protestors are conveying. In the picture the leftmost one says "Illegal war in Iraq". Interestingly I'd say that most people in the UK probably would agree. The one next to it says "British Government Terrorist Government". A sentiment some may agree with, but not really sustainable. Then we have "Anglian Soldiers Butchers of Basra". Whatever one may think of them, it is ridiculous to compare them with the way Saddam Hussein treated the citizens of this city. The most offensive is the placard saying "Anglian Soldiers Cowards Killers Extremists". This is such a crassly ignorant thing to put on a poster. Whilst the Anglian soldiers risked life & limb in Basra, the chap holding the poster does so in the knowledge that he is living in a free tolerant society. He won't get beaten up by the police or the army for waving such a ridiculously insulting poster. Who is the coward?

There are 1.5 million Muslims in the UK. At this protest it appears that there are 15 people at most. The Luton branch of the UK Trainspotting society would probably get a better turnout at their coffee morning than this mob. It is clear to me that they are doing their best to be offensive and cause trouble. How should we deal with them in a free society? Should we arrest them, beat them up, deport them? Not in my opinion. We should ignore them. The Daily Express is being highly irresponsible putting 15 malcontents on their front page. This is exactly what they want and what they hope for. To put this in context, Arsenal's football ground holds 68,000 people. Given the 100,000 to 1 ratio of protestors to Muslims, if you filled it with a randomly selected crowd made entirely of Muslims, statistically you wouldn't have even 1 person who attended this rally there.

In another recent protest, Islamic supporters waved posters proclaiming "Jesus is the Slave of Allah". Knowing that I'm a Roman Catholic, a friend asked if I found this offensive. It is quite an interesting point. Recently London buses were adorned with the message "There probably isn't a God". Now strictly speaking, of the two, from my viewpoint I suppose that the first statement is actually the more correct. Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. Muslim's call him Allah and Christians believe that Jesus was sent to serve his will. Does someone waving a placard aggresively in my face, stating something with which I agree with offend me. Nope. Does the Athiest message offend me, again No. It's an hoestly held viewpoint.

You see when it comes down to it, free speech isn't about tolerating those you agree with. It's about tolerating those who say things you find rather offensive. It's about dealing with their arguments in a rational manner and making yours in a civilised fashion. That's why ultimately, in this clash of cultures I believe that the Western Liberal Democratic model will always win. That is why this mob only has 15 people in it. That's why I get so upset when people start employing censorship to try to win arguments. Preacher's of hate don't worry me. What does worry me is the publicity they get and the effect it has. What worries me most is when people use them as an excuse to curb our freedoms and liberties.

Update: 19:55 11 March 2009

Immediately after finishing the blog, I started to upload my Boris blog. Looking for a picture to illustrate it, I happened upon the British Numpty Parties (BNP) Simon Darby blog (click here and hold your nose). He tells us what would happen to these protestors with a BNP government :-

Since the British National Party cannot really have any direct impact on Government policy at present, although indirectly we certainly do, I'll have to provide you with an image of what would have happened if this act had taken place on our watch. After viewing the BBC video, which you can find by clicking on the graphic below (sorry no link - too lazy - Rog), imagine a supplementary thirty or so seconds of video tagged on the end. That material would have been shot at nearby Luton airport where every single one of those "demonstrators" would have been filmed boarding a military aircraft, placards still in hand. That plane would then be filmed taxiing on the runway before its four giant turboprops propelled it off the ground on its journey towards some fly-infested desert in Afghanistan.

That is how the BNP win arguments. That is the force of their logic. They claim to support "British Values" but forget that the most cherished value of all is Free Speech. Judge for yourself.