The US pastor who planned a mass burning of the Qur'an on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks last year has been barred from entering the UK.
The Home Office ban means Florida-based pastor Terry Jones will not now attend a series of demonstrations organised by a far-right group against the expansion of Islam and the construction of mosques in the UK.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The government opposes extremism in all its forms which is why we have excluded pastor Terry Jones from the UK.
"Numerous comments made by Pastor Jones are evidence of his unacceptable behaviour. Coming to the UK is a privilege, not a right, and we are not willing to allow entry to those whose presence is not conducive to the public good."
"The use of exclusion powers is very serious and no decision is taken lightly or as a method of stopping open debate."
The preacher received worldwide condemnation last year when he threatened to burn the Qur'an on September 11. He eventually called the action off.
Jones told Sky News he was "disappointed" by the ban. "We would ask it be reconsidered and the ban lifted," he said. "I have done a countless number of interviews and in those I have stated and assured the media and British government we have no intention of doing anything against British law."
"We feel this is against our human rights to travel and freedom of speech."
"We are not against Muslims, we are not against Islam. We welcome Muslims and have only spoken out against the radical element of Islam."
A spokesman for the group England Is Ours, which had invited Jones to the UK, said he hoped other members of the preacher's church would be able to attend the meetings next month if the ban remained in place. Barry Taylor, secretary of the Milton Keynes-based group, said: "I'm very disappointed."
Before Christmas, it was thought that Jones might attend an English Defence League demonstration in Britain. But last month the EDL said it felt it would be inappropriate to invite him.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/pastor-terry-jones-banned-uk
Well then!
Are we coming back to medieval fucking religious wars? :argh:
QuoteComing to the UK is a privilege, not a right,
It's their country, they can run it however they like.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 20, 2011, 07:33:12 PM
QuoteComing to the UK is a privilege, not a right,
It's their country, they can run it however they like.
I think hate speech is also illegal in the UK.
Tough Queen titties, Mr Jones.
Apparently there are sufficient levels of anti-muslim bigotry in the UK to begin with.
Quote from: Charley Brown on January 20, 2011, 07:34:25 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 20, 2011, 07:33:12 PM
QuoteComing to the UK is a privilege, not a right,
It's their country, they can run it however they like.
I think hate speech is also illegal in the UK.
Again, it's their country. We can't keep our own shit straight, so we probably aren't the people to tell Britain how to structure its society.
The real benefit here is that we get to watch Jones get slapped down without any violation of our own principles, and for that I thank Britain.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 20, 2011, 07:43:05 PM
Quote from: Charley Brown on January 20, 2011, 07:34:25 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 20, 2011, 07:33:12 PM
QuoteComing to the UK is a privilege, not a right,
It's their country, they can run it however they like.
I think hate speech is also illegal in the UK.
Again, it's their country. We can't keep our own shit straight, so we probably aren't the people to tell Britain how to structure its society.
The real benefit here is that we get to watch Jones get slapped down without any violation of our own principles, and for that I thank Britain.
Amen.
Quote from: Charley Brown on January 20, 2011, 07:12:55 PM
"We are not against Muslims, we are not against Islam. We welcome Muslims and have only spoken out against the radical element of Islam."
So you commit an act that is an insult to all of Islam?
:?
There is a very amusing double standard here, in that promoting hatred based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation etc is illegal....yet, if you have actually committed war crimes or genocide which are often implied or outright stated in such language, and it was done before 2001, the UK government will stonewall any investigation and refuse to extradite you.
Saying "kill all the Muslims" = illegal.
Killing 50,000 Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia and wanted by Bosnia/Croatia/Kosovo = quit your fucking whining and get over it.
Quote from: Cain on January 20, 2011, 08:20:27 PM
There is a very amusing double standard here, in that promoting hatred based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation etc is illegal....yet, if you have actually committed war crimes or genocide which are often implied or outright stated in such language, and it was done before 2001, the UK government will stonewall any investigation and refuse to extradite you.
Saying "kill all the Muslims" = illegal.
Killing 50,000 Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia and wanted by Bosnia/Croatia/Kosovo = quit your fucking whining and get over it.
Been thinking about this quite a bit recently. IOZ brings it up all the time.
Quote from: ϗ on January 20, 2011, 11:00:55 PM
Quote from: Cain on January 20, 2011, 08:20:27 PM
There is a very amusing double standard here, in that promoting hatred based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation etc is illegal....yet, if you have actually committed war crimes or genocide which are often implied or outright stated in such language, and it was done before 2001, the UK government will stonewall any investigation and refuse to extradite you.
Saying "kill all the Muslims" = illegal.
Killing 50,000 Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia and wanted by Bosnia/Croatia/Kosovo = quit your fucking whining and get over it.
Been thinking about this quite a bit recently. IOZ brings it up all the time.
Everyone knows private citizens murder(unlawful) and the government kills (for
profit your liberty) :x
Also, we didn't go to all the trouble of driving all our religious nutjobs, across the Atlantic in the 17thC, just so you could send them back!
Now that Australia is no longer accepting our more undesirable elements, and our Prisons are full to bursting point, we need another new Colony to transport our own Anarchists and Seditionists off to. Any ideas?
Quote from: BadBeast on January 21, 2011, 04:58:35 AM
Also, we didn't go to all the trouble of driving all our religious nutjobs, across the Atlantic in the 17thC, just so you could send them back!
:spittake:
Quote from: BadBeast on January 21, 2011, 04:58:35 AM
Also, we didn't go to all the trouble of driving all our religious nutjobs, across the Atlantic in the 17thC, just so you could send them back!
Now that Australia is no longer accepting our more undesirable elements, and our Prisons are full to bursting point, we need another new Colony to transport our own Anarchists and Seditionists off to. Any ideas?
Mystery Tour to Tucson.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on January 21, 2011, 02:20:28 PM
Quote from: BadBeast on January 21, 2011, 04:58:35 AM
Also, we didn't go to all the trouble of driving all our religious nutjobs, across the Atlantic in the 17thC, just so you could send them back!
Now that Australia is no longer accepting our more undesirable elements, and our Prisons are full to bursting point, we need another new Colony to transport our own Anarchists and Seditionists off to. Any ideas?
Mystery Tour to Tucson.
Sounds good to me.
Quote from: ϗ on January 20, 2011, 11:00:55 PM
Quote from: Cain on January 20, 2011, 08:20:27 PM
There is a very amusing double standard here, in that promoting hatred based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation etc is illegal....yet, if you have actually committed war crimes or genocide which are often implied or outright stated in such language, and it was done before 2001, the UK government will stonewall any investigation and refuse to extradite you.
Saying "kill all the Muslims" = illegal.
Killing 50,000 Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia and wanted by Bosnia/Croatia/Kosovo = quit your fucking whining and get over it.
Been thinking about this quite a bit recently. IOZ brings it up all the time.
He has a point. In this case, it was reported on OpenDemocracy, one of the few British political sites worth reading.