The Difference Between Inciting Violence And Expressing Opposing Political View

17 March 2019, 15:17 | Updated: 17 March 2019, 15:31

Maajid Nawaz says it is important to resist going after your political opponents after an extremist attack.

The LBC presenter drew differences between individuals who incite violence and those who express different political views after an attack at two mosques in New Zealand.

"It can be very tempting for people on the opposing end of the political ideology that any last given attack comes from to start perhaps exploiting the opportunity and the event to go after their political opponents," Maajid said.

"I want to raise the flag of alarm for you because just like Isis, the Soviet Union was incredibly adept and skilled at exploiting crises and tragedies - like the one in New Zealand - to go after their political opponents, to make lists of their enemies of the people and to start purging them from society in the name of revolution.

"And so, in particular, it would be to satisfy the blood-lust of the mob and to conveniently remove any of their critics from society in the name of peace."

Maajid continued: "The last attack happened to be by a far-right anti-Muslim terrorist, before that we had a jihadist attack the Manchester Arena in a similar way with a gun, and we've had far-left extremists making the Jewish community feel unsafe. It's the triple threat.

"When we respond to these things what we mustn't do is manoeuvre in such a way that we inadvertently empower an extremist from the other end of the political spectrum.

"Stop compiling lists of people you don't like for goodness sake people, it's dangerous.

"Lists are for fascists and if the far-left, as they did when they accosted pregnant Chelsea Clinton in New York and blame her for the New Zealand attack, the far-left if they start behaving in a way where they seek division and disagreement before seeking common ground, then there's no difference between them and the far right."

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