London, UK, November 24 2008 – Conservative MP Philip Davies shared a debating platform with Taji Mustafa of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain in Bradford last Saturday (22/11/08) despite David Cameron’s slanderous populist calls for a ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir and Cameron’s refusal to take their challenge to an open debate. It is clear that he cannot even convince his own MPs on this issue as Mr Davies preferred to argue and debate ideas – ignoring Cameron’s hysterical scaremongering – in a lively community debate entitled ‘Has freedom gone too far?’.
The debate questioned the effects of liberal values in western societies – as exemplified by the recent Russell Brand/Jonathon Ross insults fiasco. They also discussed the Iraq war and the killing of over a million Iraqis in the name of bringing ‘freedom’ and democracy to the Middle East, as well as the torture, rendition and 28 day pre-charge detention practised by western governments who preach ‘freedoms’.
During the debate, Philip Davies made it clear that he is opposed to the liberal interventionist export of democracy and liberal values by the gun, as supported by some in the West including David Cameron who supported the invasion of Iraq. Taji Mustafa highlighted growing questions in the West about the effects of liberal values and why people in the Muslim world increasingly support the re-establishment of the Caliphate state so they can once again live by the Islamic values of accountability and responsibility as opposed to the moral-relativism which has lead some in the West to support lewd insults to a 78-year-old man as ‘edgy comedy’.”
After the debate Taji Mustafa, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "David Cameron spreads lies about Hizb ut-Tahrir – hiding behind parliamentary privilege. However, his colleague Philip Davies MP was willing to share a platform with a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, for the second time, and debate issues."
"Cameron, it seems, believes in the kind of ‘freedom’ that calls for the banning of Islamic political organisations and shutting down debate, but cannot convince his own backbenchers to accept this. One wonders if he will now promote the same kind of ‘freedom’ within his own party and ban his backbenchers from speaking? We will see.”
"For our part, Hizb ut-Tahrir is happy to debate with both moderate and extremist Conservative MPs, because we believe in debate, the strength of our ideas and our vision of a Caliphate for the Muslim world”.
[Ends]
