Thurs 9 Nov 2006

Discussion of the 'British Muslim community'.

David Starkey is joined by:
- Taji Mustafa (a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahir),
- Maryam Namazie (campaigner for the rights of women and refugees in Islamic countries)
- Inayat Bunglawala (media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain).

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has called for British Muslims to speak out against extremism. Should moderate Muslims be expected to stand up to Islamic extremism within their communities? Are they doing it already, but the mainstream media aren't listening?

'The Muslim community' is often spoken of, with little clarification of who makes up this community, or whether it can really be said to speak with one voice.

One of the areas where this voice is very loudly heard is on the issue of freedom of expression. In a free society, there is no obligation to offend, but equally we have a right to offend: should Islam be uniquely exempt from offence or satire?

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Viewers' comments:

From Gerry
Dr Starkey, I can barely work out how to use teletext so for me to send an email is simply groundbreaking. I'm a 28 year old steel labourer working nights but make the effort to tape your show as it has become a big part of my week. Thursday's show has been circulated round the factory and now is next door at the sign makers. I just wanted to let you know that as a direct result of Starkey's Last Word a bit of Whitehall industrial estate Essex no longer needs 'The Daily Sport' to spoon feed it its opinions. The boys agree or disagree strongly but at least we have a debate in place now which oils the wheels to allow open mindedness and a better understanding of our times. Keep up the good work.
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