Islam, radical John Cleese and the tragicomedy of modern Britain

Britain’s hostility to free speech and perverse catering to barbarism just crossed into absurdity with a “radicalization” complaint against comic genius John Cleese.Cleese has spent months sporadically giving Islam and some Muslim cultures the “Life of Brian” treatment — that is, pointing out apparent contradictions with civilized life when it comes to things like female genital mutilation, child marriage and “killing infidels.”So somebody sent in a terrorism complaint — flagging him to Prevent, a program under the Counter Terrorism Policing unit that’s supposed to head off “radicalization.”The actual threat is Islamist radicalization, though the Brit elite won’t say so out loud and in fact loudly pretends otherwise, to the point that they seem to find excessive displays of the Union Jack more troubling.Anyway, the complaint charges Cleese with a “sustained pattern” of online activity that “demonizes, dehumanizes, and collectively attributes violence and criminality to Muslims and Islam.”Even if that were so, it’s no more objectionable than similar charges against Christianity or any other faith — nor is there any real evidence that even baseless criticism of Islam leads to terrorism or mass violence.“Criticism of Islam is not racist, it’s culturalist,” Cleese has argued; a civilized nation shouldn’t accept female mutilation, child brides etc.And those who disagree with his claim that the “Koran’s teaching is ALL about acquiring power, killing ‘infidels’ and imposing Islam on everyone” are free to argue the point.

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Never miss a story.Calling out barbaric practices — as much of these are — is not only legitimate, it’s essential for preserving a civilized society.Yet Britain has grown increasingly protecti...