Muslims have civic responsibility to exercise their right to vote

ELECTIONS 2010

Muslims have the civic responsibility
To exercise their right to vote

Dr. Mozammel Haque

The long-anticipated general elections in Britain for 6 May 2010 kicked off on 6th of April this year as Prime Minister Gordon Brown, 59, stepped out of Buckingham Palace to ask Queen Elizabeth to dissolve Parliament in preparation for a May 6 vote, the final step before campaigning begins. Queen Elizabeth declared the end of the Parliament. The three main political parties, Labour Party, Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat Party have already declared their Election Manifestoes. There will be election for 650 Parliamentary seats at the 2010 General Elections. There is a rise of four on the number of seats contested in 2005.

In the last General Elections in 2005, Labour won 355 seats; the Conservatives won 198, while the Liberal Democrats took 62. 15 MPs were elected at the 2005 General Elections from an ethnic minority background out of that four were from Muslim community. 61.4 per cent voter turned out at the 2005 election, the figure was up from the 59.5 per cent who voted in 2001 but down drastically from 1997, the year Labour returned to power, when 71.4 per cent turned out to vote.

Muslims must register
The 20th of April, 2010 is the last date of registration for voters. Muslims must register them. This right of voting and participating in the electoral process is the fundamental right of citizens, through which they can take part indirectly, through their representative, in the policy-making and decision-making process. Tuesday is the last day for registration.

Historic Novelty in Britain’s General Elections
This 2010 General Election has some historic novelties. For the first time ever in British history there was a live Television debates of the leaders of the three political parties. On Thursday (15 April) night’s historic first election TV debate between the three party leaders, Gordon Brown of Labour Party, David Cameron of the Conservatives Party and Nick Clegg of Liberal Democrat Party, was watched by 10 million viewers across Britain. Around a quarter of British viewers watched the 90-minute ITV special and snap polls declared that Mr. Clegg’s performance was regarded as the best by the public.

Secondly, this is, for the first time, three candidates are going to contest elections that have never run for Prime Minister before.

The third novelty is that during this election, blogs, internet, Face book, Twitters and newspapers all online are playing a major role in the election campaign. Commentators and bloggers continued to debate the role the web would play on the polls amid suggestions of an “internet election”. With communications undergoing a dramatic transformation with the growth of the internet, political parties have attempted to reach out to the millions who are online. This is the political sofa nerd’s election. In the United States Barack Obama’s team capitalised on the potential of social networking sites such as Twitter and Face book to build support and funding for his presidential bid.

This sense of novelty is compounded by a string of innovations. For the first time, most people expect a hung Parliament with no party having an overall majority. Opinion polls suggest no single party will secure an overall majority in the General Election that the UK will have its first post-election hung parliament since 1974. The election is thus Britain’s first in almost 20 years with an unpredictable outcome, and the first in almost 40 years that might not produce a majority. Most analysts believe the Conservatives would need a 10-point lead to win a majority. Brown reportedly plans to continue governing even if Labour wins fewer seats than the Tories, as long as non-Tory seats add up to 50 percent. A minority government, known as a “hung parliament” in Britain, is a likely possibility. Whitehall is preparing a way for a parliament in which no single party has an absolute mandate to rule.

Behind this uniqueness and innovation, there will be some new record after the General Elections. Whichever Party wins this election, this will create a record. The 2010 General Elections might create record if Labour Party wins this election. Labour has been in power for 13 years already. If Labour Party under Gordon Brown’s leadership wins this election, then it would be the fourth continuous victory which was not happened in British history. This will be the first record.

Secondly, the opinion polls and electoral system tells us an outright David Cameron victory is far from certain. Now if the Tory Party wins the election then its leader David Cameron would be the Prime Minister. In that case, he would be the youngest Prime Minister after Lord Liverpool in 1827. Thirdly, Liberal Party was never in power since the First World War. After merging with the Social Democratic Labour Party in the 80s, it becomes Liberal Democrat but still it did not have electoral victory. The present leader of Liberal Democrat Party is optimistic about 2010 elections. If Liberal Democrat Party wins this election then it will also create a record.

In the last General Elections in 2005, Labour won 355 seats; the Conservatives won 198, while the Liberal Democrats took 62. 15 MPs were elected at the 2005 General Elections from an ethnic minority background out of that four were from Muslim community. 61.4 per cent voter turned out at the 2005 election, the figure was up from the 59.5 per cent who voted in 2001 but down drastically from 1997, the year Labour returned to power, when 71.4 per cent turned out to vote.

Vote or not to vote
When there will be novelty, innovations and uniqueness in British history, a very tiny minority anti-voting brigade of Muslim, like last General Elections in 2005, revisited and was telling everyone NOT to vote and also distributing anti-vote leaflets, especially after the Friday Jumah prayer near the Mosques. Now the question is whether Muslim will participate in the voting and elect their candidates to take part and participate in the policy making and decision-making process of the country or they will abstain from casting their votes and electing their representatives.

In this connection, I would like to point out that the First Muslim, Mohammad Sarwar, being elected entered the British Parliament, House of Commons in 1997. The First Muslim Peer, Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham, being appointed entered into the House of Lords in 1998. The First Muslim Baroness, Lady Manzila Pola Uddin, being appointed, entered the House of Lords in 1998. The First Muslim Privy Councillor, Sadiq Khan, was appointed in 2009 and the First Muslim MP, Sadiq Khan, was promoted to sit in the Cabinet, in 2009.

One must not forget that all these successes were achieved due to the Muslim participation in the voting system and in the participation in the political process. It must also be remembered that all these First Muslim MP, First Muslim Peer, the First Muslim Baroness, the First Muslim Privy Councillor and the First Cabinet Minister were members of the Labour Party and from the Labour Party. Labour Party opened the doors followed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. There was no MP from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons but there was Baroness Warsi from the Conservatives and Lord Hameed from the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. We are expecting Muslim MPs from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the 2010 Elections.

Muslims are living in this country as citizens and it is their civic and Islamic responsibility to cast their votes and participate in the political process. Both the Islamic scholars and Muslim leaders and organisations inside the country and around the world expressed their opinion that nothing prevents Muslims Islamically to participate in the political process where they are living.

Islamic Point of View
Followings are the opinions of the Islamic scholars of the Muslim World League, OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy from Saudi Arabia, Mufti Ibrahim Desai from South Africa and also the opinions of Islamic scholars, such as Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra from the United Kingdom.

Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, Muslim World League, Makkah and OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy, said: “...Whatever helps us to achieve these noble goals becomes Islamically obligatory. This includes: ... Supporting (both politically and financially) those non-Muslim candidates whose beliefs and values are most compatible with ours as Muslims, and who most address and support our issues and causes... Registering to vote and then voting. Although separate acts, they are both an essential part of the electoral process. Our participation in that process is mandatory.”

Mufti Ibrahim Desai, Darul Ifta, South Africa, said: “Since seeing that voting is a testimony (giving Shahadah) and being aware that a particular party will be more willing to fulfil our Islamic rights, not to vote for this party will he tantamount to transgression and breach of trust in the eyes of Shariah.”

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Former Chair, Mosques and community relations committee at the MCB; Graduate of Dar-ul-Uloom, Holcombe and Al-Azhar University; S.O.A.S, London, said: “I consider Muslim political participation, especially in a non-Muslim country, as a form of jihad. This is our country and it would be foolish not to participate in the political processes which eventually shape our future and that of Islam.”

Muslim leaders and organisations in the UK
Following the guidance of Islamic scholars all over the world, the Muslim leaders as well as the Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom are advising Muslims to exert their civic and Islamic responsibility to cast their votes and participate in the elections. Followings are the messages and advice from Imam Shahid Raza, the chairman of MINAB, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, General Secretary of the Union of Muslim Organisations of UK 7 Eire (UMO), and the Muslim Student Community, FOSIS.

Imam Shahid Raza
Imam Shahid Raza, chairman of Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) said to me in an interview: “I am very very strongly recommending to vote and participate in this general election because through this institution we can exercise our civil power in the best interest of the Muslim community and Britain.”

“Those who are saying not to vote and quoting Qur’an, they are misinterpreting references they are quoting from the Qur’an. In our opinion, voting and elections provide us a mechanism through which we can express our opinion in the form of Mushwara (Shoura),” said Imam Raza.

In reply to another question, Imam Raza said, “Yes, I believe that from the Islamic perspective, it (voting) is permissible and it is the opinion of the vast majority of Muslim scholars and Ulemas in this country and all over the world.”

Sir Iqbal Sacranie
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former Secretary General of MCB and presently Chairman of Muslim Aid, said to me in an interview: “During this election, Muslim vote will be very crucial in determining who is elected as the MP in more than 50 constituencies around Britain.”

“It is now becoming apparent that the guidance given by prominent Islamic scholars around the country as well as all major Muslim organisations that it is their duty as a responsible citizen who cares for the welfare of the community in which he lives that he exercises his fundamental right to vote in the election,” said Sir Iqbal.

Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha
Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, General Secretary of UMO said to me in an interview, “Our position in this regard has always been we should participate fully in the mainstream of society and make our contribution for the welfare of the society as a whole retaining our religious and cultural values. Therefore, elections is a good opportunity to express their views on the manifestoes of the political parties and ensure that numbers to the Parliament should be elected who are favourable to the requirements of the Muslim community in terms of all aspects of their day-to-day life, like equality in jobs, housing, financial institutions, society as well as religious needs like planning permission for Mosques, Halal foods in school, workplace, hospital and at all public places and application of Muslim Family Laws.”

“From the Islamic perspective, we are living in this country and we should avail of every opportunity to promote the cause of Islam and eradicate all misunderstandings surrounding our religious practices. Therefore, voting is one of the opportunities Muslims have which they should not abdicate and they should not abdicate their responsibilities,” said Dr. Pasha.

Muslim Association of Britain (MAB)
Muslim Association of Britain has issued a press release on 6th of April, urging Muslim to vote in the UK 2010 general elections and also calling upon the Muslim community to exert its civic and Islamic duty by making sure to come out and vote in the next general elections.

Conclusion
From the above, it becomes clear that a tiny minority group is trying to dissuade people through their anti-vote brigade from participating in elections which has neither the support nor the backing from the Islamic scholars or Muslim leaders and organisations. Rather the Islamic scholars and Muslim leaders and organisations are urging the Muslim community to exercise their fundamental right to vote in elections because during this election, Muslim vote will be very crucial in determining who is elected as the MP in more than 50 constituencies around Britain.

So do join in the elections, cast your votes and participate in the political process of the country. In the next issue, I will, Insha Allah, try to give you the clear picture of the candidates, constituencies and the analysis of the manifestoes for your consideration to choose and select whom to vote, whether the candidate or the party.

Seminar on the Life of the Prophet

Dr. Mozammel Haque

A Seminar on the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was organised by the Union of Muslim Organisations of UK & Eire (UMO) at the Churchill Hotel, London, on Monday, the 16th of March, 2009, which was attended by the Mayor of Westminster, Simon Hughes, M.P., Hazzaa al-Hasher of the Saudi Embassy in UK; Mohamed Ali, CEO, Islam Channel and many other community leaders and diplomatic representatives.

Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha

Welcoming the gatherings, Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, the General Secretary of the Union of Muslim Organisations of UK and Eire (UMO), said, “The UMO, for the last 39 years, has been consistently organising this Seminar on the Life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as an important event in its calendar. People ask why Muslims are giving so much importance. We are giving importance for two reasons: one is mundane and another is spiritual. From the first angle, the whole world acknowledges that our Holy Prophet is the greatest benefactor of the humanity. During his prophetic life he brought about a huge transformation in the quality of life in Arabia whose ramifications were felt throughout the world and whose effects are being felt even today.”

Speaking about the equality of humans, Dr. Pasha mentioned, “The Holy Prophet (pbuh) brought about the concept of human brotherhood transcending the barriers of race, colour and ethnicity. In his Farewell Sermon he proclaimed that there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab or a non-Arab over an Arab or a white over a black or a black over a white – that all are born from Adam and Adam was born out of clay.”

Speaking about the status of woman, Dr. Pasha mentioned, “The Prophet (pbuh) uplifted the condition of women who were treated like chattel in the Arabian society and instructed the Muslims to treat woman as equal partner in life. They have rights over you and you have rights over them. Now the women throughout the world are enjoying the right of equality because of the contribution of our Holy Prophet (pbuh). So, Mr. Geert Wilders, the Dutch M.P. who criticised our Prophet in his Film - Fitna - should be ashamed of himself and he should express his gratitude to the Holy Prophet (pbuh).”

Speaking on the recession, Dr. Pasha pointed out, “Our Holy Prophet prohibited usury and exploitation of the poor by the rich. Now because of the recession it is affecting the whole economic system. The Governments are forced to cut down the rate of interest to nearly zero percent which is exactly what our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has legislated more than 1400 years ago. We believe that our Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is engaged in reforming the economic and banking system and who is a great admirer of the Sharia-based economic system should seriously considered to introduce a total Islamic way of economics in his quest to have a new world order based on justice and compassion.”

Dr. Pasha also said, “Our Holy Prophet (pbuh) is acclaimed by friends and foes alike as a greatest champion of the cause of the poor, underprivileged, orphans, widows and all others who are still experiencing hardships in life.”

Regarding the spiritual side, Dr. Pasha maintained, “Our Holy Prophet (pbuh) is the last in the line of Prophets who gave us an ideology and a way of life which guarantees peace and happiness in this world and eternal felicity in the Life Hereafter. Allah the Almighty has designated him as a Prophet of Mercy unto All Mankind and as a role model for us to follow in order to obtain blessings of Allah the Almighty. His coming has been foretold by the Prophets – Moses and Jesus – peace be upon them – and is clearly mentioned in the Torah and Bible.”

Deputy Lord Mayor of Westminster

Deputy Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Alan Bradley said, “You are celebrating the birthday every year. Your organisation truly exemplified Islam’s teachings of peace, humanity and universal brotherhood. I wish you all success.”

Lord Shaikh

Lord Shaikh said, “On my court of arms, I have a peacock holding a pen; why pen because pen is actually mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. So I have a peacock holding a pen and my motto is Iqra. Why Iqra, it is for two reasons: the first word revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is Iqra. Iqra also means read, proclaim, it also means pen and I am very very keen on education.”

“I always give advice to my Muslim brothers and sisters, “Please educate your children. The Holy Prophet said, Seek knowledge even it is in China,” he quoted.

“My maiden speech was on environment,” Lord Shaikh said and added, “The Holy Prophet has said, the earth is green and beautiful and Allah has appointed you custody over it. Allah has made this planet and Allah has appointed us as people to look after this planet. It is important that we look after this planet because this planet otherwise will be destroyed.”

“The Holy Prophet also said when doomsday comes if someone has plum seeds in his hands, he should plant it. He commanded his armies not to harm women and children; furthermore, he instructed them not to harm animals or destroy crops or cut down trees. I repeat: don’t cut down trees; because he cared about the trees,” said Lord Shaikh.

Banning of Dutch MP from UK Entry;Reaction and Response

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Dutch Freedom Party MP, Geert Wilders, was invited by Lord Pearson, a member of the UKIP Party, to attend a parliamentary session to discuss the European Union and Islam where the Islamophobic film ‘Fitna’ was apparently to be shown in the House of Lords. He was excluded by the Government from entering the United Kingdom for public security.

Now the question comes up why he was banned? Dutch MP Mr. Wilders describes the Holy Qur’an as a fascist book” and compared it to Hitler’s Mein Kampf. He has called for the Qur’an to be banned. Mr. Wilders also links the Islamic Holy Book to terrorism. The film ‘Fitna’ caused outrage across the Muslim world when it was posted on the internet last year. Mr. Wilders faces trial in his own country for inciting hatred. Earlier, this year, a Dutch court ordered prosecutors to put Mr. Wilders on trial for inciting hatred and discrimination by making anti-Islamic statements.

Under the circumstances, Mr. Wilders was denied entry by the Home Office amid fears his presence would endanger public security. The Government said it would not allow extremism and hatred to be spread through the communities of Britain.

The Home Office said there was a blanket ban on Mr. Wilders entering the UK under EU law enabling member states to exclude someone whose presence could threaten public security. “The Government opposes extremism in all forms,” it said in a statement, adding that it had tightened up rules on excluding those engaging in “unacceptable behaviour” in October.

“It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred, and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country.”

Reaction
The Home Secretary has the power to stop people entering the UK if she believes there is a threat to national security, public order or the safety of UK citizens. The British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, MP. said the home secretary made a decision on an individual case. “We have profound commitment to freedom of speech but there is no freedom to cry ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre and there is no freedom to stir up hate, religious and racial hatred, according to the laws of the land,” he added.

Commenting on the decision to exclude Geert Wilders Cohesion Minister Sadiq Khan, MP., said: “Actions that incite hatred towards an individual or group that undermine our shared values are unacceptable.

“The Government opposes extremism in all its forms and we will stop anyone who wants to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country. We act consistently in making decisions to refuse anyone entry, having taken all the factors in each case into account,” Minister Khan added.

“Our aim is to foster community cohesion in this country and we will do that by promoting a sense of shared values that includes respect for the rule of law, freedom of speech, equality of opportunity and respect for others,” said Minister Khan and added, “We have legislation in place to protect people from incitement and hate crime which we have and will continue to enforce.”

Commenting on the BBC’s Panorama programme shown last night (!7 February 2009), Sadiq Khan said: “The preventing extremism work that we have been doing with communities up and down the country is in partnership between local communities and local authorities. We have invested highly in some of the most vulnerable communities in our country.

“The Panorama programme made some very serious allegations about prevent work being used to spy on British Muslim communities. This is untrue,” Minister Khan also said.

Cohesion Minister Sadiq Khan also said, “Prevent is about stopping people from being drawn into violent extremism and it is about working with Muslim communities at every level to build their resilience and enable them to challenge robustly the ideas of those extremists who seek to undermine this country’s shared values. We continue to expand our relationships to ensure we are talking to, and working with, those at the grassroots. Our emphasis is on engaging with those within our communities who acknowledge the problem of extremism, who voice this acknowledgement and who are actively seeking to address the problem.”

“Parents of all faiths and communities want to keep their children safe from radicalisers. We are committed to helping them to do that, and the money we are providing to local authorities for Prevent work is being used to do just that,” Minister Khan observed.

Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said even with freedom of speech, there was a line to be drawn.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs committee, insisted that Fitna could incite violence in its audience.

Response from Muslim Parliamentarians
Labour Peer Lord Ahmed, who expressed his concerns to the Parliamentary authorities about Mr. Wilders’ visit, said he welcomed the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the MP from entering the UK. Lord Ahmed said “this man is facing serious charges of inciting hatred and discrimination in Amsterdam, and has incited hatred amongst the communities in the UK.”

“This film creates hatred, and further segregates communities,” he reportedly said.

Lord Ahmed continued, stating “we are peace-loving citizens of the UK and do not want to see extremist groups incite hatred. This is something we campaign against.”

Lord Patel of Blackburn said, in an interview with me, “The government is absolutely right. The person, in the name of freedom of speech, tries to divide the community on the basis of religion, should not be allowed in our country, where the government is trying to unite the all faith communities and also all heritage communities and belief in community cohesion.

“So, under the circumstances, how can any government of the world, allow the person who spreads racial prejudice and tries to divide the community,” said Lord Patel.

Support from Muslim Community leaders
The Muslim Council of Britain, the Umbrella organisation of the British Muslims, said Mr Wilders was “an open and relentless preacher of hate”. “Geert Wilders has been an open and relentless preacher of hate, there is little difference between his views and those of the far right. We have no problem with the challenge of criticisms to our faith, but the film that will be screened tomorrow by Lord Pearson and Baroness Cox is nothing less than a cheap and tacky attempt to whip up hysteria against Muslims. Mr Wilders' xenophobic and repugnant views has been identified by a Dutch court, and is now confirmed by his official exclusion to the United Kingdom. It now time to ask why Peers of Realm who promote such demagogues without any censure are allowed to be regarded as mainstream, responsible leaders in our community,” said The Muslim Council of Britain.

Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, General Secretary of the Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO), said to me in an interview, “We, the British Muslims, are glad that our government has refused entry to the Dutch M.P. – Mr. Geert Wilders, because his presence will cause discord between faith communities. Our Union, for the last 39 years, have been striving to promote good relations with all faith communities. So, we do not want anyone to come to this country to create discord and friction in this multi-faith society. We are also very much concerned how some members of the House of Lords has screened this film in the House of Lords knowing fully well that it is a blasphemous film intended to incite religious hatred, which is legally forbidden in this country.”

“People have wrong conception about Holy Qur’an. It should clearly be understood that this is a literal Word of Allah the Almighty sent for the guidance of the whole mankind and unless the entire Holy Qur’an is completely read and understood it is impossible to take a few passages and make unwarranted comments,” said Dr. Pasha and added, “People of intelligence and fair-mindedness acknowledge the fact that the Holy Qur’an brought about an intellectual revolution. Europe which was in a state of darkness became civilized on account of the contribution Muslims made through the Universities of Saville, Granada and Toledo.”

Dr. Pasha also mentioned, “All the modern sciences owe a great deal of debt to the Holy Qur’an and the Muslims as a result of which Europe now is a civilized continent. One example which we can quote is that of Ibn Sina (well-known in the West as Avicenna) – his book on medicine was a textbook in the Universities of Europe for forty years. It is enough to say that the Holy Qur’an is the fountain head of all knowledge and humanity owes a debt of gratitude to Allah the Almighty for sending this unique revelation through Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to conveyed to the humanity at large.”

Dr. Pasha said, “We want to make it clear that women were treated like chattel in the Western world until the Holy Qur’an was revealed which raised the status of women to that of legal equality with men. It is travesty of truth to say Islam treats women as inferior. The Muslim women enjoy the life of dignity and honour and upholders of high moral standard.”

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, also supported the Home Secretary’s decision. “His fascist views are not welcome in our country where we pride ourselves as a multi-faith society,” he said. “This is not about freedom of speech but about stopping the incitement to religious hatred this man promotes.”

After he was sent home Thursday a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said: “The United Kingdom has the right, just like the Netherlands, to refuse people entry for reasons of safety and security. “Of course we acknowledge that right, but we do not agree with the way it is being exercised in this case.”

Opinion of the Press
The Observer editorially observed on Sunday, the 15th of February, 2009, “Geert Wilders’s short film Fitna is a poisonous dose of brutal propaganda, designed to foment fear and hatred of Muslims.”

“But that is not its only purpose. Mr Wilders, a Dutch MP, is touting his shoddy little oeuvre around Europe to provoke outrage, stoke aggressive reaction and thereby promote the real product – himself,” wrote The Observer editorially.

The editorial continued, “How sad then that the Home Office should oblige that ambition by barring Mr Wilders from the UK. How sad also that members of the upper chamber of parliament should conspire to erect the stage on which Mr Wilders can play out his deluded fantasy of a political crusade: Lord Pearson and Baroness Cox by inviting him to show his film; Lord Ahmed by asking that he be banned.”

Writing in The Sunday Times, on 15 February, 2009, Minette Marrin wrote, “Those who insist that freedom of speech within the law must be absolute are also missing the point; there are times when public order trumps free speech, as the wildest of libertarians must agree. Careless talk can cost lives and grown-up governments have a duty of pragmatism. So if the home secretary rightly judged that Wilders is a man likely and possibly anxious to stir up serious trouble, then she was right to have him put on the next plane home at Heathrow last Thursday. But did she judge rightly? Or was she guilty of the poor judgment, moral funk and cultural appeasement that we have come to expect of new Labour?”

She also observed, “It is difficult to avoid thinking the man must be as aggressively silly as his preposterous cockscomb hairdo; he has urged the Dutch government to ban the Koran as “fascist” and he is facing prosecution there for incitement to hatred and discrimination. He seems to be entirely the wrong man to make a balanced, thoughtful case about anything.”

About the nature of the film ‘Fitna’, Marrin commented, “Fitna is extremely unbalanced and, in that sense, misleading.”

Commenting on Mr. Wilders’ statement on the Qur’an, Marrin wrote, “To call the Koran “fascist” as Wilders has done is stupid, empty and needlessly offensive.”

Comparing this issue with the Salman Rushdie affairs vis-à-vis freedom of speech, Catherine Bennett mentioned in The Observer, on 15th of February 2009, “A year later, Norman Tebbit agreed that the “villain” Rushdie had “betrayed” and “degraded” Islam. On the Labour side, a lot of us will never forget Lord Hattersley, then plain Roy and deputy leader of his party, explaining why the paperback of The Satanic Verses should not be published. “The proposition that Muslims are welcome in Britain if, and only if, they stop behaving like Muslims is a doctrine which is incompatible with the principles which govern and guide a free society,” he argued.”

“Whatever “behaving like Muslims” actually meant,” Bennett raised the question and quoted from the former member of the radical Islamic political group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Ed Husain, 34, who authored the book ‘Islamist’ and presently one of the directors of the controversial counter-extremism think-tank, The Quilliam Foundation. “Today, Muslim Ed Husain tells us: “Geert Wilders should be allowed in because this is a country that has pioneered freedom of speech, from Milton and Locke through to Mill,” wrote Bennett in The Observer on 15th of February, 2009.

The Foundation, set up ten months ago, which have been given almost £1 million of public money, says that it is working to tackle the extreme Islamist ideology coming out of mosques, universities and madrasas in countries such as Syria and Pakistan.