Downing Street Surrenders to Islam
by Frank Haviland, The New Conservative:
On Wednesday evening, thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors congregated to pray in support of Gaza. Roads were blocked off, and the adhan (the Muslim call to prayer) was broadcast at a dizzying volume. Where was this, you might ask? Just outside Downing Street, of course—where else?
The demonstration was revealing more for what didn’t happen than for what did. Not only did no arrests take place, but the police seemed content to watch meekly from the periphery. This represents something of a break from tradition, as the UK constabulary customarily takes a harsh line on matters of religion —at least, where Christianity is concerned.
In 2019, 64-year-old Oluwole Ilesanmi was arrested for preaching outside Southgate tube station. Video footage reveals the arresting officer claiming Ilesanmi was “causing problems, disturbing people’s days,” and that “no one wants to hear that. They want you to go away.” In 2020, it was the turn of Hazel Lewis, a cancer survivor who had dared to preach a biblical message outside Finsbury Park tube. A year later, David McConnell, a street preacher in Leeds, was arrested, convicted, and handed an 80-hour community order for causing offence to a ‘transwoman,’ Farrah Munir. Munir had asked whether God was accepting of the LGBT community and was told (correctly in biblical terms) that “homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God.”
Perhaps the most tenuous use of UK law to clamp down on free speech and free expression are the ‘public spaces protection orders’ which came into effect in 2014. The orders are allegedly designed to prohibit activities that “have a detrimental effect on the quality of life” in public places; in reality, they appear to be little more than legal censorship. Thus far, they have been used to create ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics to prevent pregnant women from being harassed. This might appear a sensible measure until you hear the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.
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