04-29-2010, 03:08 AM
Source Wrote:BBC News ReportThree different sources and I cut snippets from each. Click on them to read the full articles.
A radical Islamist group that planned a march through Wootton Bassett will be banned under counter-terrorism laws, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said. Islam4UK had planned the protest at the Wiltshire town to honour Muslims killed in the Afghanistan conflict.
Activities of Islam4UK (wiki)
On 16 October 2009, members of the organization protested against the visit to Britain by Dutch MP Geert Wilders. They carried banners with slogans such as "Shariah is the solution, freedom go to hell" and "Geert Wilders deserves Islamic punishment".
In January 2010 the group gained widespread media attention by announcing plans to hold a protest march through Wootton Bassett, a town where informal public mourning takes place to honour the corteges of service personnel killed on active service, as they make their way from RAF Lyneham to Oxford. Reports that the group planned to carry empty coffins to "represent the thousands of Muslims who have died" were denied by the group.Choudary said that the event would be peaceful, and that it was not timed to coincide with any mourning processions. The announcement was condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said that plans for the march were "disgusting" and that "to offend the families of dead or wounded troops would be completely inappropriate". The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, indicated he would agree to any request from the Wiltshire Police or local government to ban the march under Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Choudary said he chose Wootton Bassett to attract maximum attention and, he asserted, 500 members of Islam4UK would carry 'symbolic coffins' in memory of the Muslim civilians 'murdered by merciless' coalition forces. By 5 January 2010, over 400,000 people had joined a Facebook group opposing the march.
The Muslim Council of Britain stated that it "condemns the call by...Islam4UK for their proposed march in Wootton Bassett", and continues, "Like other Britons, Muslims are not opposed to Britain’s Armed Forces.". The Wiltshire Islamic Cultural Centre stated "We, along with all other Muslim community groups in Wiltshire and the surrounding area, including Bath Islamic Society and Swindon Thamesdown Islamic Association, unreservedly condemn this march," adding, "Therefore we are putting the record straight and letting the media and general public know that the vast majority of Muslims have nothing to do with this group", and asking that Wiltshire Police ban the march. They stated that they, along with Call to Islam Centre and Masjid Al-Ghurabah, would counter-demonstrate against "Islam4UK/Al-Muhajiroon".
On 10 January 2010 Islam4UK said it was cancelling its planned march in Wootton Bassett; however, the police had not actually received a request for permission for the march
Anjem Choudary(wiki)
Choudary is a vocal critic of the UK's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has praised the terrorists involved in the attacks of 11 September 2001, and 7 July 2005. He believes in the implementation of Sharia Law throughout the UK, and marched in protest at the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy, following which he was prosecuted for organising an unlawful demonstration. He was also investigated, but not charged, for his 2006 comments regarding Pope Benedict XVI. Choudary has received little support from the mainstream UK Muslim population, and has been largely criticised in the media.
A Fundamental Islamist Organisation (Islam4UK) has been proscribed through the Terrorism Act of 2000. This means it is unlawful to be part of such a group and you could face time in jail.
The question I'm posing is, "Is it right to shut down organisations like this?"
They did not actually do anything and we all condone the right to free speech. But, they had agressive connotations (especially about imposing the Shariah through out Britain , as opposed to normal laws) and planned to demonstrate unlawfully.
So, tell me your opinions on the subject
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