Words

I am a believer in free speech but it does seem to me that the laws regarding what one can and cannot say in public need some attention. I am not free to speak out against Islam without running the risk of being arrested, or having a fatwah set against me, and yet I can happily express my dissent regarding Catholisism or Church of England philosophies. I can criticise Mormons and Jehova's Witnesses with impugnity (I hope), and yet I,like most of our politicians, do not feel safe to argue against the ridiculous notions of the mad mullahs that seem to control the bulk of the Muslims in this and other western countries. This week, a British born, Cleric has been observed, condemning British troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, and urging his followers to provide funds to support the war against the west. He has also been reported as promoting the introduction of Sharia law into the uk along with the mediaeval systems that it is based upon. All of this while utterly dependent upon State benefits as many of his kind tend to be. At present he seems to be walking free and although I do support his right to freedom of expression and can laugh at the ridiculous nature of his arguments, many of his followers have experience of one book and one set of ideas and as a result are malleable and so easily influenced. It would seem that as yet he has broken no laws, or is it that these days it is so much easier for us to turn a blind eye?