Alan Dershowitz moans about how Britain’s libel laws (which do need fixing) are being used by ‘radical Islamists’ to silence critics.
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thabet
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thabet
The BBC paid £45,000 in damages to Muhammad Abdul Bari, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, for comments made on Question Time by one of the panellists (Charles Moore).
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johnpi
Liberal imam wins libel claim against conservative “Muslim Weekly” newspaper in UK.
Dr Taj Hargey said, “The historic case highlights the right to freedom and dissent within the British Muslim community. Iconoclastic thinkers, liberals and non-conformists who dare to challenge religious authority in Islam by striving to present a rational interpretation of their faith are invariably branded as apostates and heretics.”
The paper accused him of being a member of the Ahmadiyya, a “heretic,” which he denies, describing himself as mainstream Sunni Muslim. The Muslim Weekly published an apology on its front page today, and will have to pay a “substantial” five-figure sum in libel damages.
Some of Hargey’s positions are described here:
The Oxford institute he founded, the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (Meco), preaches that women should not wear the niqab or face-covering and that men should not wear beards. He sanctions marriages of Muslim women to men of other faiths and promotes mixed congregations in mosques, where men and women are usually strictly segregated and women are sometimes not allowed at all.
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thabet
Hazel Blears responds to Daud Abdullah’s lawsuit.
I don’t like Blears, but this may end badly for Abdullah (and the MCB).
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johnpi
“Libel tourism,” a growing phenomenon whereby individuals or groups shop abroad for the country offering the most effective curbs on free speech.
It is a matter of consternation to many here in London that the United Kingdom should prove, time and again, to possess the courts most likely to impose an easy gag or order substantial damages. British libel law “shames Britain and makes a mockery of the idea that Britain is a protector of core democratic freedoms.”
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thabet
Another example of rich people using our libel laws to quash any criticism of their activities.
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thabet
Another genuine threat to free speech: The UN committee on human rights has criticised Britain for its terror and libel laws, saying they contradicted a covenant guaranteeing freedom of speech and exchange of ideas and information “regardless of borders”.
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thabet
Dave Walker, an Anglican blogger and cartoonist, has been threatened with libel action by the owner of Society of Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) bookshops.
SPCK are owned by Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), an American Orthodox group.
The cease and desist notice sent to Walker relates to a series of posts on his site regarding the sale of the SPCK bookshops to SSG, who are accused of running the bookshops into the ground.
Warman’s Wire has a detailed series of posts on this issue. There is also an entire blog dedicated to the transfer of SPCK to SSG.
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thabet
Tim Spicer, the former British soldier who is said to be effectively running the ’second biggest military service in Iraq’, has hired Schillings to help him block publication of a new book by Craig Murray.
(Via Septic Isle.)
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thabet
The British Muslim Initiative (BMI) has threatened the blog Harry’s Place with legal action. BNR explains:
