Choudary had claimed innocence on the grounds that he was simply exercising freedom of speech and worship; the fact that 500 known disciples of his later joined ISIS notwithstanding. The Imam protested the court's decision quite vehemently.
"If you look at my speeches, I have been saying the same thing for 20 years." he fumed to the press, "For me this a matter of freedom of worship. If you cannot speak when you believe in something and cannot share that view, then you really don't have freedom of expression in this country."
And we well know by now, of course, ISIS' profound respect for freedom of worship and free expression. But even that aside, the Imam has a point: for 2o years he was able to escape British justice. But that was before BREXIT.
Under the arcane and corrupt procedures of the European Union, it is extremely difficult for one country to punish a foreign national for seditious and treasonable acts. However, now as a sovereign nation free to protect its own national interest, scoundrels like Choudary can no longer hide behind supranational protocols.
Some Libertarians might argue that governments have no right to curtail dangerous speech; and given some of the excesses committed under the name of Political Correctness in the West, their position is understandable. But Political Correctness is aimed at undermining social stability, just as Sedition is. It has been a legal maxim since Roman times that Public Safety is the Primary Law. This is an important distinction to observe, since it is widely ignored in our culture.
Many political and social commentators---including a fair number in the Manosphere---hide behind the sophistry that their words do not translate into actions. The British Imam was claiming essentially the same thing: that he was simply 'educating' people about the Jihad, and that he could not be held responsible if some of his followers became ISIS killers as a result.
This has never been a legal excuse, nor should it be. It is a fundamental legal principle in every civilized society that one who incites others to crime, is an accessory to that crime. Legal disclaimers and sophistries that one's words are descriptive, not prescriptive, are no argument. The motive behind such words are what distinguish Sedition from the false Cultural Marxist principle of hate speech. So-called 'hate speech' is legally protected in a free society; deliberate incitement to criminal activity and violence is not. In today's culture, we have the legal status of Free Speech exactly reversed.
And not only civil law, but the laws of major religions teach the same thing. The New Testament uses the term 'Sedition' to describe the same act in a moral sense. Thus, when the Game Cultists in the Manosphere incite violence towards women and use Christianity as a cloak for doing so; they are just as morally guilty as those who translated their descriptions into prescriptions. This British Imam is no different because, unless we are mistaken, the Koran teaches the same thing relative to Islam.
The direction in which Britain is moving post-BREXIT is towards a reclamation of the fundamental principles of Western Civilization. British independence seems, as of now, a genuine reform movement; not a reactionary movement as its opponents claimed. Hopefully, the future will see some more positive developments from Britain.
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