Why 'freedom of speech' has never applied to Muslims

Why 'freedom of speech' has never applied to Muslims Submitted by Shaheen Kattiparambil on Fri, 05/29/2026 - 19:45 Across Europe, this principle is invoked as a defence for far-right hostility, and cast aside in the context of anti-racist critiques Participants and supporters of the far-right Unite the Kingdom march are pictured in London on 16 May 2026 (Justin Tallis/AFP) On As thousands of people gathered in London under the banner of " Unite the Kingdom " last month, much of the public defence of the march rested not on denying its Islamophobic or anti-immigrant rhetoric, but on invoking the language of free speech .  Supporters and commentators framed the march as an expression of patriotic concern, democratic dissent and the right to speak openly about immigration, Islam and national identity. Criticism, meanwhile, was frequently dismissed as an attempt to silence ordinary people or suppress uncomfortable truths. This pattern has become increasingly familiar in Britain and across Europe. The language of free speech is no longer invoked to protect abstract democratic freedoms; it is increasingly used to legitimise racialised political formations, while casting anti-racist critiques as authoritarian.  Free speech becomes less of a neutral principle, and more of what author Gavan Titley describes in his book Is Free Speech Racist? as a racial script: a framework through which certain forms of racial hostility are reframed as courageous truth-telling, while the speech of racialised minorities is rendered excessive, dangerous or threatening. The contrast becomes especially visible when one considers how differently Muslim political expression is treated.  ...

Original source: Middle East Eye