Is the only way to fight Fundamentalist Extremists becoming one yourself? Having grown up in a liberal democracy, being educated in the ideals of freedom of speech and expression, diversity, multi-culturalism and the political correctness that stems from such a comprehensive education, I find myself questioning whether I am a closet fascist when it comes to the way in which the British Judiciary are referring to the whole issue surrounding the London suicide bombers of 7 July and the related legal news stories stemming from this.
I cannot understand the logic of the British Judiciary in countering the British Government's call for the expulsion of a number of foreign nationals specifically identified as contributing to anti-British feeling amongst the Muslim community. For example, one of the people due for expulsion is Abu Qatada, a Jordanian who has been tried and convicted in his absence in Jordanian courts for terrorism and given a life sentence. He is known as Osama bin Laden's 'Ambassador in Europe'. Now he is concerned that if he is returned to Jordan he will face the death sentence. The question becomes one of whether we can expel someone from Britain to what may be their death? While we don't know the details of his Jordanian convictions, terrorism in the Middle East tends to be pretty deadly, so it is fair to suspect this person has been convicted of something relating to people being killed.
This is where liberal ideals and common-sense conflict ? while we may agree in Human Rights Law, is it so wrong if we don't care that this man is being sent back to what might be his death? When someone commits themselves to terrorism, do they give up their right to justice when they so blatantly abuse it? How can we allow someone to rely on Human Rights law when they have so obviously overlooked the human rights of everyone else in the country? On a more local level, why do we have someone at liberty in Britain who has been convicted of terrorism in another country? Why were they being granted freedom of speech, and freedom to gather audiences, when it was known that they had fundamentalist tendencies and links with terrorist organisations? Is it our policy in Britain to say 'welcome to Britain and feel free to hate our society and way of life?'
It would be wrong to withdraw many of our fundamental human rights such as freedom of speech because we are scared of what people might say ? but surely when there is evidence that people have gone beyond what are acceptable societal boundaries then they need to be restrained in one way or another. Is this not what the new anti-terrorism provisions are seeking to do? Finding a way of tackling fundamentalism without resorting to fascism is going to require some common-sense in terms of interpreting the law.
Nobody wants to see a repeat of the shooting of the innocent Brazilian on the underground system, but neither do people want to encounter suicide bombers. For years there have been critical news reports on Isreali soldiers shooting Palestinians who they believed to be suicide bombers, many of whom may have been innocent, as well as reports of suicide bombers blowing themselves up in buses and bars ? now the reality of this is hitting Britain. There is no way to stop a suicide bomber but to kill them before they detonate themselves. Equally, there is no way of being absolutely sure that somebody is a suicide bomber until they actually detonate themselves. There lies the Catch 22 which will dominate the British legal system for years to come. Here we believe that someone is innocent until proven guilty, but by the time a suicide bomber is proven guilty it is too late.
So where does this leave us? If we can identify the underlying factions that are stirring up fundamentalist ideals, is it not common-sense that we either imprison or deport them? Even the Muslim Council of Great Britain supports such moves. However, we need to make sure that the extremists don't win by lulling us into a fascist state out of fear, and hence we become what they are propagating we already are. It will be common-sense that wins, not fascism, but it needs to be applied through the judicial system, not just in Government.
Eddie Blass is a freelance academic and ghostwriter specialising in business & management, futures, legal, and educational issues.
disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..The Presidents Before Washington:From the moment that the first Declaration... Read More
Many environmentalists are against roads through the forest because it... Read More
Federal Regulations on Business Destroy America, these regulations are a... Read More
You have in front of you two buttons, one is... Read More
This, of course, is a political decision. There is no... Read More
..."history may judge us to be the real bully if,... Read More
Britain has a proud tradition of valiant armed forces and... Read More
Heavens, what are we up against? It seems these days... Read More
It looks overall like the liberals are advocating for no... Read More
The great people of the United States of America deserve... Read More
Many in the World Media are quick to judge the... Read More
I watch the TV news and I get angry. I... Read More
Introduction:Although politicians and so-called "Intelligence Experts" are the ones appearing... Read More
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimated that there were... Read More
In discussing the OODA Loop theory on Limited War by... Read More
Einstein when ask how did he believe WWIII would be... Read More
America has some monetary issues, which need to be addressed.... Read More
Our trade deficit is directly proportional to our attacks on... Read More
Every conflict has its economic moments and dimensions. The current... Read More
I am an incurably ill American male forced to leave... Read More
We have seen an increase in Snowbirds from Northern States... Read More
Using Harmonic Beams to Pre-Detonate Shoulder Launched Surface to Air... Read More
I applaud Monsanto for their R and D. I would... Read More
Veterans Affairs Employees using government credit cards on personal items?... Read More
For anyone who wishes to become an armchair General in... Read More
last minute cleaning help Highland Park ..Pierre Dupont de Nemours:After arranging the Armistice that ended or... Read More
You are not going to believe what is going on... Read More
Freedom is in the eyes of the beholder. In Communist... Read More
[Author's Note: Another essay that I wrote on notebook paper... Read More
An irresponsible Chinese General made a very telling comment recently.... Read More
Often we see protests at the sites of global leader... Read More
Those who are above the law or act as such... Read More
It appears we are having a terrible situation with the... Read More
There is something egregiously wrong about a government that will... Read More
President Bush and Secretary Powell should hang their heads in... Read More
If we go hog wild towards the liberal agenda where... Read More
Nothing could be more alarming for Americans than what I... Read More
All UAVs Need a Self Destruct BLOS DeviceWhat do you... Read More
This is the first of a series of four articles... Read More
Leave it to the Columbia City Police Officers Association in... Read More
It is important as populations expand to work on the... Read More
Regarding the de-regulation of energy, this is not such a... Read More
The recent Jakarta summit of Asia and Africa brought remembrance... Read More
I would like to discuss a few issues we have... Read More
We have seen an increase in Snowbirds from Northern States... Read More
As the Baby Boomer Generation continue to get older, one... Read More
In discussing the OODA Loop theory on Limited War by... Read More
The prosecutors in the Martha Stewart Case used testimony from... Read More
This is the second of a series of four articles... Read More
J. Edgar Hoover and LBJ used to enjoy watching Hoover's... Read More
Political |