http://digbig.com/4ebkf
Rohan Jayasekera
"This is the bill that is supposed to protect the country's religious faithful from hateful words. More specifically it's supposed to win back Muslim votes lost since the Labour government began its war in Iraq, by granting imans the same medieval defence against blasphemy allowed Christian bishops.
The government thinks this trade off is a good deal, as it also provides a legal tool to use against radical Islamists preaching hate from the country's mosques. It also thinks it comes cheap. The Home Office expects to see fewer than two or three cases of incitement to religious hatred brought before the courts a year. Only 67 people have been tried, and 44 convicted, under 19-year-old legislation banning incitement of racial hatred in Britain. The government expects a sister law covering religious hate to be equally lightly applied."
