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This week, two obtuse and fanatical London Muslims who manifestly hate the West witnessed great British justice. Abu Qatada, a cleric close to Bin Laden, was released from prison and placed under house arrest and all-day curfew restrictions. He will not be deported to Jordan, where he is wanted for terror attacks. As Dominic Grieve, the new Tory shadow home secretary, says: "The man's presence is an offence." And yet, and yet, this evil man is protected by the rule of law.
So, too, is Samina Malik, 24, "the lyrical terrorist". Working at WH Smith at Heathrow, this Londoner in hijab and trendy denim jackets penned sickening (and third-rate) poems in praise of Islamist violence and beheadings. The terrorist was her muse; she his dreamy, imaginary moll. She was convicted of possessing jihadi propaganda. Now the Court of Appeal has decided that accessing propagandist material is not unlawful, unless presumably a proven connection is established-between the ideas propagated and action. Instead of outrage, I hope Britons feel pride. We have shown how an upright democracy works.
In these times of extreme provocation, when understandable fears grip millions, immutable legal safeguards must be defended; they should never be bent. That belief united the people from Left to Right who came out against the 42 days in detention without charge, including David Davis.
I sat next to him last Sunday in a castle in Kent, celebrating the civil partnership of a mutual gay friend, and, trust me, Davis is no softie on crime. We had such arguments. But he is right to put up a robust fight for our ancient freedoms and legal protectionsand to extend them to the enemies within. Such feelgood idealism is all very well, you might say, but doesn't stop those consumed by hate and vengeance. And there's the rub. There is no way we can be sure that these generous verdicts or the valiant protests against 42 days will make one terrorist manqué think again. I fear that for those with distorted minds and poisoned hearts, redemption is pathetic weakness.
Qatada and Malik may well feel scorn and a perverted sense of victory. No matter. Justice and decency eventually weaken villainy, says Shakespeare in Measure for Measure: "We must not make a scarecrow of the law, /Setting it up to fear the birds of prey, /And let it keep one shape, till custom make it/ Their perch and not their terror."
Can't say better than that.
Reader views (1)
All very well, the rule of law protecting evil men, but who protects the law abiding people of this country? The author of this article is very good at lecturing British people when she adopts 'in my country, Uganda' postures; but when it suits her she adopts the 'us in Britain' position. Too many people use Britain as a flag of convenience and use British values when it suits them. She would adopt the 'ethnic minority' stance... and urge the government to punish/deport/condemn,to reassure the offended communities that Britain will not tolerate, etc., etc,
- Beatriz, London, 19/06/2008 13:58
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