Lawfare in Londonistan – using the UK as weapon against itself

| 05-01-2010 | UK Law | Written by Matthew Bennett

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The prize for the most eye-catching post title of the day goes to Melanie Phillips at the Spectator for ‘Lawfare in Londonistan‘:

Once again, Londonistan is the weakest link in the battle to defend those democratic traditions against attack – both from without and from within.

Political Islam is using English laws and traditions – of freedom of speech and the right to protest – against their enemies, traditions their own ideology seems to be against.

Melanie points us to a longer post by Alexander Hitchens on Standpoint’s blog about how Hamas is using London lawyers and English laws to try and “have senior Israeli leaders arrested for alleged war crimes when they visit European countries“.

The Telegraph reports today on the trial of seven Muslim men on public order offences after they demonstrated against the return of the Royal Anglian Regiment last March, chanting “British soldiers, murderers”, “British soldiers, baby killers”, “British soldiers burn in hell”.

The seven have pleaded not guilty and have already managed to belittle the judge in his own courtroom:

The seven defendants have refused to stand up when the judge enters and leaves the courtroom, as is the normal practice. They have said they only stand for Allah. The district judge has accepted the reasoning.

All this in the same week as Amjem Choudary’s Islam4UK organisation wants to organise a march through the newly-iconic village of Wootton Bassett to protest against supposed atrocities committed by British soldiers in Afghanistan.

We must not curtail his or anyone else’s right to protest – but does that right to protest exist in any place at any time? I think CharonQC and Oedipus Lex have the right idea:

“I think his deliberate selection of Wootton Basset, designed to be inflammatory, is tasteless. I hope the government stops it on public order rather than free speech grounds … Choudary and his tawdry plan to protest at Wootton Basset simply reveals that he has no manners and respect for the sensitivities of others – yet requires us to have sensitivity for his views on Islam.”

Where do we draw the line between respecting the law and allowing those who might be the enemies of the nation to use a nation’s laws as a weapon against itself?