Ed Husain: Geert Wilders should not have been banned
Latest in Commentators
Opinion blogs
We need to avoid another ‘lost generation’
A tiny green shoot one day, and then a chill wind the next. Anyone hoping for signs of economic spr...
Circular firing squad at a crossroads
Politico has identified seven dreadful clichés of campaigning in and commenting on the Republican pr...
Reminders of Iraq
I was sorry to learn from Paul Waugh of the death of Brian Jones, the former Defence Intelligence Se...
Geert Wilders should be allowed in because this is a country that has pioneered freedom of speech, from Milton and Locke through to Mill.
We have a strong, resilient society that is capable of tolerating debate without losing its temper or making personal attacks on those who are deemed offensive. When I debated Ayaan Hirsi Ali [the Dutch feminist and critic of Islam] last year, it was a civilised affair with powerful arguments on both sides and we need that sort of debate, if only to illustrate that Muslim communities are an asset to wider society.
Tolerant Muslims must be allowed to show we have the strength of our convictions and are allowed to handle criticism in a robust way, just as any other community would. We have to show people Muslims aren't just the most sensitive, the most aggressive, the most critical community; rather we're very prepared to take on these debates and win.
Mr Wilders has been invited over here by Lords and Ladies who have, to put it mildly, an anti-Muslim stance. They want to flare up divisions and show that Muslims are an aggressive bunch who won't tolerate free speech. By using Mr Wilders as a holy cow to demonstrate their point, they've achieved exactly what they set out to do. Lord Ahmed, a third-generation immigrant, might have various complexes but his message is all wrong. Drop the ban and start the debate. Bring it on!
Ed Husain wrote The Islamist, an account of his five years as aradical Islamist
- 1 Leading article: Iran risks playing into the hands of its enemies
- 2 Leading article: Superpowers in search of the next world order
- 3 Andreas Whittam Smith: The Greeks have spoken and the eurozone's fate is sealed
- 4 Mark Steel: If religion is 'marginal', I'm the Pope
- 5 Steve Richards: Binge-drinking can go the way of smoking
- 6 The Daily Cartoon
- 7 The dark side of Dubai
- 1 Ninety gaffes in ninety years
- 2 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 3 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 4 Rangers future could be bright says administrator
- 5 Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics
- 6 MP faces charges over Nazi stag night
- 7 Six Grammys, five years off: Adele puts love before career
- 8 No secularism please, we're British
- 9 Mark Steel: If religion is 'marginal', I'm the Pope
- 10 Lightning kills an entire football team
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
How an abortion divided America
Did they all live happily ever after? That's up to you...




Comments