So fuck off.

Siddartha, Muslims were also offended by The Satanic Verses ( a much better cause to raise the banner over, I hope you would agree). But the principle is the same, and offence is irrelevant to that principle. As Stephen Fry once said: “You’re offended? So f*cking what?”. Same goes for offended Christians with JSTO, offended Sikhs with Behzti, and offended secularists with the recent hijacking of public debate by a bunch of mentalists.

As for this, “I AM unwilling to call myself a “Liberal” if it means having standing on the same side of the fence as the BNP. “, I will be charitable and assume that you haven’t thought it through.

You’re right that there is no convergence between the Far Right and the Liberal Left ideologies, and I should hope so. But we’re not talking about ideology here but more about a utilitarian adoption of, say, the Danish cartoons as a banner for FoE and remain silent about the offence caused to Muslims (in the UK and elsewhere) in the process. And its this silence that is more offensive than speech.

And you’re right Lachlan. I AM unwilling to call myself a “Liberal” if it means having standing on the same side of the fence as the BNP.

The points have to be taken in context:
Above, I was talking about about non-Muslims writing in the media about Muslims – you only get the Madeleine Bunting types and the Mark Steyn types mostly. Anyone who can see through the community politics bullshit (Zia Sardar for example) don’t really get much of an opportunity. We have people who don’t know much about Muslims, or having many Muslim friends, writing about the issue from an outsider’s perspective.

Ditto the hard left and Islamists, all of whom are opposed by liberals, whether on the liberal left or otherwise.

The BNP’s self-serving adoption of a “Freedom of Speech” agenda is as transparent as it will be short-lived. They do not believe in freedom of speech in any meaningful way. Their views on every topic are anathema to any true liberal.

Your post above seems to me to betray, Siddartha, an unwillingness to admit that you are not a liberal.

But maybe I’m wrong.

The problem is the traditional community leaders of the left are out of touch. They speak a different language from ordinary leftist, and spend their time engaged in arcane theological disputes.

That leaves the field free to various frauds and charlatans who claim to speak for the left, but have never so much as organised a strike or given a sociology lecture.

Has anyone paid any attention to the Liberal Left, who now look indistinguishable from elements from the Far Right? You just have to see how the BNP have re-purposed the Freedom of Expression (read “Muslims Out”) as the perfect vehicle for their anti-Islamic agenda to see that. More telling is the Liberal (muscular?) Left’s inability to address that.

As El Cid put it so brilliantly here once:
Pussies to the lef of me, wankers to the right
here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

I think you are confusing the hardcore extremist left – who will side with anyone against the “Imperialist forces” and have formed an alliance with extremist Muslims – with the less vocal but vastly more numerous moderate left.