It’s time to reaffirm who we are

But shall Britain, a nation steeped in the Christian tradition alongside the democratic inheritance of the Enlightenment, allow this attitude to shape public discourse?

Recent years have seen Western countries take the confounding path of debating the credibility of freedom of speech. This is enough to make one realise how far we’ve fallen in esteem for our most cherished right. That isn’t to say that the parameters of freedom of speech are immediately clear – nations have long sought to find the right balance between freedom of speech, social cohesion, and public safety.

But these boundaries traditionally regarded as fruitful considerations for speech are now being imposed – so to speak – from the outside. It is all well and good to have a society internally discussing the nature of freedom, but once a previously unknown force threatens to chime in on the debate, civil society bears the marks of decay. France and the UK are the clearest exemplars of this. Both nations are struggling with debates surrounding religious freedom and assimilation: should Islamic values be seen as a threat to our shared values? Shall we tolerate religious views and practices of all kinds lest we risk offending their adherents?

This struggle has been no more apparent than in the recent furore at Batley Grammar School. It is a common tale, growing evermore likely in the canon of Western nations: a person caricatures the Prophet Muhammed; fury erupts. This is one way in which Islamic culture has contributed to Britain’s free speech debate. It is a culture which says that the Prophet Muhammed must not be drawn lest you offend Allah, and it is a contribution to an ongoing debate to which secular Britain has no reply.

But shall Britain, a nation steeped in the Christian tradition alongside the democratic inheritance of the Enlightenment, allow this attitude to shape public discourse? After all, it is a rule which comes from a culture historically foreign to Britain.

In the case of Batley Grammar School, one can easily observe how ground is ceded in this debate, not because of any change of heart and mind, but because of cowardice. A previously unshakeable faith in values such as freedom of speech has been ceded to an unshakeable faith in tolerance and egalitarianism. Just recently, Imam Qari Asim MBE, the Government’s advisor on ‘Islamophobia’, asserted in the wake of the Batley incident that showing images of the Prophet Muhammed should be considered as egregious as using racial pejoratives. It is a deft sleight of hand which avoids dealing with the substance of the debate surrounding free expression. This is where the vapid sentiment of tolerance has taken us.

But in order to push back against this sort of bullying, we must reaffirm our values. Our common values are what bind us, they tie the nation to the community and thus create a sense of place through commonality. Britain fosters a remarkable diversity which, until now, has managed to unite under these commonalities. But if our values are destroyed, we may risk losing ourselves in the process.