This House recognises the right of religious extremists to protest at Wooton Bassett, Wednesday 20/1/09, Venue: TBC
We hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and that you are all ready to dust out those debating cobwebs with an explosive first debate. Unless you have (smartly) been spending the festive season under a sled, you will be aware of the highly controversial plans of Islam4UK to hold a march in the town of Wooton Bassett and this is what our opening debate of 2010 will be about
The tradition of soldiers, killed in conflict, being repatriated through this town has led to it becoming an area of sacred value to the supporters, friends and families of the armed forces and the reaction to Islam4UK’s intentions has been one of fury. Islam4UK claiming it is merely to draw attention to the huge number of Muslim lives lost in these conflicts. There have been miles of column widths, dozens of facebook campaigns and hours of TV coverage dedicated to this controversy in recent weeks so research should not be a problem.
The proposition will want to emphasise the importance of the UK’s commitments to freedom of speech, the dangers of un-rebutted patriotism and the risks of any ban or protest here appearing to be overly racist and political. The opposition will want to move the playing field of this debate. Perhaps acknowledging that these issues are all important but are severely outweighed by the importance of supporting UK troops in holding a hardline against religious extremism.
As always, if you want to speak, get in touch.
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