It was unedifying to watch Cameron and Brown at Prime Minster’s questions trading stupidities on security which they hoped would impress the electorate, presumably via the Murdoch press.
Cameron pressed for the banning of Hizb-ut-Tehrir, on the basis of an old quotation allegedly from a Hizb-ut-Tehrir leaflet in Germany, which HuT have always denied. Brown sensibly queried whether this was sufficient evidence.
HuT believe in the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate to unite the Muslim lands. That is a strange thing to believe in, but I can see no reason why the belief should be illegal. Certainly driving them underground would be a great deal more dangerous. HuT arguably function as a safety valve, providing a non-violent outlet for fundamentalist Muslims in the UK. To ban them is tantamount to saying that fundamentalist Muslin belief ought itself to be illegal.
Brown then decided to outdo Cameron in useless but hopefully populist proposals. He regurgitated Blair’s favourite about needing to be able to deport people to countries where they are liable to be tortured or killed (which would involve resiling from Article 3 of the UN Convention Against Torture). He also proposed identity cards. This time Cameron made the sensible response that compulsory ID cards did not stop the Madrid bombers.
In fact, there is no reason to believe that any of these daft proposals would have had the slightest effect on the events of the last few days. Predictably, nobody suggested that we stop invading other people’s countries and killing their people. Now that might make a difference.
I recall HT protested outside some central Asian embassy a year or two ago due to the fact that the government of that country had massacred hundreds of innocents, something reminiscent of Tiananmen square (sorry for all the vagueness). Guess how loudly the Western canaries cheeped then? I seem to recall some reporting of it being as though some Islamic fundamentalists (yawn) were going to blow up the embassy! Can't have HT going around being concerned with human rights and anti-oppression can we, after all the hard work we put into demonising the crap out of them. Incidentally I knew people associated with HT in Manchester. I regarded them as intelligent and patient people, very polite and civil. They were very willing to discuss their philosophy with me at that time, me a non-Muslim. Yes they passionately believed in Kalifah, but (of course) they believed it from the point of view that it would be a force for justice and peace.
Brown was badly briefed (if at all). But it was interesting to see Reid's intervention – for which Brown should feel indebted. That said, it's quite easy for either side to make these gesture political moves. Maybe the time has come for politicians (yes, all politicians) to step back from point-scoring and do something to actually resolve the situation.
It's so depressing to witness these set-piece appeals to supposed popular prejudice; and particularly so when much of that prejudice is the direct consequence of blatant fear-mongering by the same people. I find absolutely nothing to choose between the major parties in this regard. It is one of the most pernicious ingrained vices of the political classes.
"Predictably, nobody suggested that we stop invading other people's countries and killing their people. Now that might make a difference."
Some habits are hard to break, especially when they support addictions. Burglaries support heroin, invasions support oil and expanding markets for industrial consumerism.
I've read repeatedly that muslims are involved in most of the world's current bloody conflicts. I've seldom seen that comment illuminated by the fact that they are in historically muslim lands, and usually imported there from America and/or its allies or proxies.
I'm nearly through Andrew Sinclair's "An Anatomy of Terror." The first three-quarters of the book is a history of Europe, interwoven with several chapters of the history of America.
How does the song go? "I'm proud to be an American, at least I know I'm free …" It's interesting to see what some people continue for centuries to imagine that they're free to do.
Somewhere, there's a piper waiting for his pay …