David T of Harry’s Place and I went head to head yesterday on the question of whether it is right to ban extremist speakers from the country and, if it is not, what can be done to challenge extremist speakers such as those attending the iERA tour covered here over the last few days. (See here, here and here)
It is a massively important topic which rarely comes up for debate. So, what do you think?
One Comment
Like you, I’m on the non-banning side of the argument. That is unless the extremist in question is an inciter or advocate of violence or belongs to a group which does. I’m guessing this is what you mean by “fighting talk”. In which case, banning is the only option.
There has been a massive mobilisation of awareness towards the BNP since they won the MEP seats. But Islamist extremists happily promulgating dawah tours up and down the length of the country doesn’t even register a blip on the radar.
The only caveat to allowing extremists full freedom of expression is that we must exercise vigilance. But blog posts on AR Green and Bilal Phillips is just not enough. Given the state of lethargy by the British authorities in tackling advocates of Islamic extremism here, individual and group action seems to be the only option. I hope there is agreement on that at least!