British Law Against Glorifying Terrorism Has Not Silenced Calls to Kill for Islam

British authorities suspect that extremist speech and writings stoke the anger of young men who turn to radical Islam and terrorist plots. A strict law – the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 – aims to curtail violent speech or publications. But clerics and online radicals test the limits of the law, adjusting their language just enough to avoid prosecution while keeping the angry context clear. Critics question why the government does not crack down on extremist web publications or clerics that hint at martyrdom and urge defiance of the UK prime minister or the US president. Other legal analysts suggest that the UK law is so broad that it could apply to critics of the government who do not intend terrorist acts. The angry talk gains converts, with one Irish convert to Islam suggesting that anyone who supported Prime Minister Tony Blair was not a “civilian.” The government has made no arrests for violations of the law, perhaps because of widespread disagreement about what it actually prohibits. – YaleGlobal