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Important to remember - despite BBC's failure to vet the *questioner*, the *question* remains a fundamentally important one. The Tory Party, and the government, must face up to Islamophobia.
Individuals should be held accountable for their views.
But communities must be protected from hatred and discrimination.
We can - indeed must - do both of these things at the same time.
But communities must be protected from hatred and discrimination.
We can - indeed must - do both of these things at the same time.
This is how human rights work - accept that societies are complex and no person or community is an island.
That's why the right to religious freedom is a qualified one, it can be interfered with where the interference is a proportionate way of protecting the rights of others.
That's why the right to religious freedom is a qualified one, it can be interfered with where the interference is a proportionate way of protecting the rights of others.
Religious communities can be breeding grounds for intolerance - I have certainly seen this in the Jewish community. One of the great challenges of modern society is to figure out how to address this whilst still protecting people's right to manifest their religion.
But that tension needn't detract from the task of reducing intolerance and hatred against religious people for being religious, or being perceived to be so.
