UK: Muslims 'must accept' free speech

BBC ^ | 02/26/06 | BBC

[Pikamax]

Muslims 'must accept' free speech

People must tolerate things they do not like, says Sir Trevor

Muslims must accept that freedom of speech is central to Britishness and should be preserved even if it offends people, says Sir Trevor Phillips.

The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) said we should "allow people to offend each other".

And he suggested that Muslims who wanted a system of Islamic Shariah law should leave the UK.

His comments follow angry protests against cartoons satirising the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

'Absurd or unpopular'

Sir Trevor told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme: "What some minorities have to accept is that there are certain central things we all agree about, which are about the way we treat each other.

"That we have an attachment to democracy, that we sort things out by voting not by violence and intimidation, that we tolerate things that we don't like."

And that commitment to freedom of expression should also allow Muslim preachers to make comments about homosexuality that are offensive to broad segments of the British population, he said.

There were several large protests held in London over the cartoons

"One point of Britishness is that people can say what they like about the way we should live, however absurd, however unpopular it is," said Sir Trevor.

He also rejected the idea of Shariah law in Muslim communities in the UK.

"We have one set of laws. They are decided on by one group of people, members of Parliament, and that's the end of the story.

"Anybody who lives here has to accept that's the way we do it. If you want to have laws decided in another way, you have to live somewhere else," he said.

[Revolting cat!]

And what if they don't, because they don't and won't, silly?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

They hate the West. Why are they here ?

[Buffalo Head]

Period.

[trimom]

Amen.

[KJC1]

"We have one set of laws. They are decided on by one group of people, members of Parliament, and that's the end of the story.

"Anybody who lives here has to accept that's the way we do it. If you want to have laws decided in another way, you have to live somewhere else," he said.

Bingo.

[ozoneliar]

They hate the West. Why are they here ?

Simple answer. "Gee Brain what are we going to do tonight?"

"The same thing we do every night, Try to take over the world

[DannyTN]

"They hate the West. Why are they here ?"

Because they view immigration as a tool in the war against the west. And because they want western wages.

But this is encouraging. First Denmark, then Austrailia, now Britain, all telling the Muslims, accept free speech or high tail it out of here. Cool!!!

[jocon307]

Bon chance, Sir Trevor!

[EBH]

OK that's two countries starting to fight the war of words.

Good on 'em! Australia and Britain Wonder when we get some American politicians saying it? /sarcasm

[snowman1]

Can we vote for him, none of the ones we have, don't have the BALLS to call it this way. They just cowtow to any minority that squeals a little bit.

[Rocketman]

The Muslims as a people have not given intofredom of speech freedom of the press or any other freedoms since their inception in the 600's -- and they have faced down bigger armies than ours so what is going to make them do any of this?

[surely_you_jest]

They hate the West. Why are they here ?

Because they get a much better deal in the West than they got at home. They basically want home; but, and this is a big but, they want to be "on top", unlike home where they were generally at the bottom end of society.

I know this analogy is, on some levels, absurd, but these guys think of themselves as the "pioneers" and we are the savage "redskins" that need to be suppressed or wiped out so that "civilization" may reign, and so that truth and the light prevails.

I strongly suspect that were we to ask today's Native Americans how they think we should handle this, they'd basically tell us to keep "them" out, drive out those that are already here, and evict or otherwise dispose of those who refused to be driven out.

Of course, I could be mistaken . . . .

[GOPJ]

The right way:

The Adversary Culture: The perverse anti-Westernism of the cultural elite

To see how decadent these assumptions have become, compare today's relativism to the attitude that prevailed when the culture of the British people was in its ascendancy. Sir Charles Napier, the British Commander-in-chief in India from 1849 to 1851, signed an agreement with local Hindu leaders that he would respect all their customs, except for the practice of suttee. The Hindu leaders protested but Napier was unmoved:

You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585661/posts

[Casloy]

Muslims 'must accept' free speech

Just the fact they have to be told that says a lot about the problem.

[GOPJ]

The right way:

The Adversary Culture: The perverse anti-Westernism of the cultural elite

To see how decadent these assumptions have become, compare today's relativism to the attitude that prevailed when the culture of the British people was in its ascendancy. Sir Charles Napier, the British Commander-in-chief in India from 1849 to 1851, signed an agreement with local Hindu leaders that he would respect all their customs, except for the practice of suttee. The Hindu leaders protested but Napier was unmoved:

You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1585661/posts

[R. Scott]

"Anybody who lives here has to accept that's the way we do it. If you want to have laws decided in another way, you have to live somewhere else," he said.

Sounds good to me.

[OKIEDOC]

freedom of speech is central to Britishness and should be preserved even if it offends people, says Sir Trevor

I wonder when the loony left and the MSM will figure what this man stated as common sense.

[no-to-illegals]

people have to understand, mohammad doesn't understand. earth calling mohammad, and mohammad says, "DOH"? well not exactly, but don't be trying to reason with mohammad for mohammad will kill to prove you can't have freedom in mohammad's presence. A weapon which puts mohammad in mohammad's place isn't PC, but thank goodness, some are beginning to speak out, even if those speaking out aren't our own beloved media or politicians

[SkyDancer]

Christians and Jews will die for what they believe - Islamists will kill you for what they believe ...