The BNP, those cartoons, and threats of a new 7/7

Reading the papers on Friday was a pretty depressing experience.

First of all there was the sickening spectacle of Griffin & Collet standing outside court posing as the voice of 'decent working people'and hailing a "tremendous victory for freedom"; just as sickening was the sight of Islamic militants burning Danish and other European flags (and subsequently storming the Danish Embassy in Damascus) as part of a wave of protests against the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammed.

To top it all a small group of protestors in London, convened by Hizb ut-Tahri, thought it would be constructive to demonstrate while carrying placards 'glorifying' 9/11 and 7/7...

The 'left' seems to be all over the place on these events - on the one hand people are obviously worried about the ability of extreme elements of one religious community to effectively censor the press - on the other, people feel uncomfortable about criticising those who burn flags because they risk ending up looking like they're on the same side of the fence as Griffin and his bunch of lumpen Neanderthals.

For what its worth here's 3 quick bullets re my personal take on the issues:

1) The Cartoons: Yes they may be offensive, but provided they are printed within the proper context, I support the right of the press and media to print/broadcast them (a view shared by the NUJ). Lets not kid ourselves - the bulk of those editors who have recently reprinted the cartoons are more focused on boosting circulation than they are 'press freedom', but I can't see how anyone can make a considered judgment on this issue without having first seen the cartoons. We can't simply be happy with being told they are unacceptable or offensive - we need the means to make that decision ourselves, and that means allowing publication.

2) The response of some Islamic groups to the cartoons: Burning flags, threatening terrorist acts and storming Embassies...should we accept this as a legitimate response by any section of any group or community? I don't think so. Neither do the majority of Muslims themselves.

3) The BNP: Do we really think its useful for the CPS to pursue a re-trial of Griffin & Collett? As the verdict last week showed the judicial system is not infallible. Griffin was acquitted of 'race hate' charge last week.Does this mean he's 'innocent'? Does it mean he's not a racist?Of course not, but I'm not convinced a re-trial would give any other verdict.

Even if it did, Griffin would love playing the 'martyr' every bit as much as he loves playing the underdog overturning the establishment. The law alone is not enough to shut down the BNP - lets make sure every public and private organisation that lets them hire a venue for their meetings is put under pressure; that when they take to the streets during election campaigns we are there in larger numbers; and that we constantly challenge the BNP's 'right' to be heard in the media as a legitimate voice - these racists and fascists don't have the 'right to free speech' (a right, incidentally, that they'd be quick enough to deny others if they ever got their paws on a bit of power.) That old line about what to do with a fascist when you meet one, - 'Acquaint their head with the pavement ' - comes to mind...

Any thoughts on this and related issues?