LONDON, 27 July 2004 — Earlier this month Britain debated the entry of a well-respected Islamic scholar into the country because he is said to have “incited hatred”. Just a week later comes a BBC documentary on the British National Party (BNP) in which the leader of the party claims Islam spread by the sword and rape. Nick Griffin refused to apologize for his claims and even went on to say on BBC’s Newsnight that given an hour to “dissect” the Qur’an, he could prove that there is a “monster in our midst”. What are we going to do with him?
The issue of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the Islamic scholar whose entry into Britain was debated, is easy. If we could prove he was inciting hatred in the country we could ask him to leave. The same goes for people like Abu Hamza, the cleric in London; we can just threaten to strip them of British citizenship and with any luck they will find someplace else to go and preach.
But what happens when British people, with British citizenship and the proud burgundy passport, commit the acts we keep accusing others of? We can’t say, “No, you’re not allowed into this country.”
There’s no place to deport them to and there’s no prison in Cuba in which we can incarcerate them. To let the BNP carry on in British politics would be a dishonor to those that died in wars to free us of Fascist ideology and Nazism.
To allow people like Griffin to get off with just an apology is like saying, the Cold War never happened. Wasn’t the World War II and the Cold War all about eradication of rival ideologies because we feared that they threatened our lifestyles and ultimately our existence?
We’re now fighting this war on terrorism because Al-Qaeda thinks differently and acts violently. Then we should put up with British political parties that boast of wanting to blow up mosques with a rocket launcher, or those that admit to kicking and punching Asians during riots.
In my opinion there should be no political voice for a party that espouses such disgusting behavior. Whether or not they were “provoked” into saying these things is not the matter. The fact that they have admitted to committing racist crimes when they are supposed to be representing a section of the British population should be viewed seriously and these people should not be allowed to represent such views.
The BNP has no place in this country and I would ask the world policeman to now come now and ensure that we are rid of such atrocious ideologies that exist in British society; that the West rises up against these acts of hate that infest our country. I feel the need to remind people that these people (the BNP) hate our freedom.
They hate that we live in a peaceful multicultural society, where everybody is equal. The BNP is to racism what mafia is to crime. They have no place in this country and we need to ensure that, with every effort we can.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary David Blunkett announced a plan to outlaw religious hatred (as it stands now, British legislation outlaws racial hatred and not incitement to religious hatred).
The timing could not be more significant. At a time when religions are being asked to prove their innocence, it is vital that laws exist to protect religion and rebuke religious hatred, particularly for Muslims who currently do not enjoy the religious protection that Jews and Sikhs do under British laws.
While I hope that this will be the end for the BNP, it would probably not surprise me if Nick Griffin gets elected to the European Parliament as Robert Kilroy-Silk did last month.
