Islam, Integration and the Limits of Tolerance

Britain's laws and liberties did not appear from nowhere. They grew over centuries from a Christian and Enlightenment inheritance: equality before the law, freedom of conscience, the right to speak, argue and offend. These are not universal defaults; they are achievements, and they can be lost.

Today, a number of sharia councils operate in Britain, issuing religious rulings on marriage and divorce. A 2018 Home Office-commissioned review found evidence that some gave women unequal treatment. The government chose not to ban them. We would.

There must be one law for everyone. No religious body, of any faith, should operate anything resembling a parallel legal system. Foreign state funding of religious institutions should end, so that British congregations are not shaped by the priorities of overseas governments.

Free speech must also include the freedom to criticise religion. Teachers have gone into hiding after showing images in class. Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008,