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The proposed Islamist march at Wootton Bassett is an offensive notion, but should not be banned. The test for a fair society is how it deals with that which it dislikes.

The phenomenon of Wootton Bassett is something both remarkable and precious. So evocative are the scenes in this small Wiltshire town that it is inevitable that some will seek to exploit them for political ends.

Nick Griffin of the British National Party did just that in November. Now it is the turn of Anjem Choudary, the equally unlovely spokesman of Islam4UK, a web-based front for the banned Islamic extremist group al-Muhajiroun. He has announced his intention to lead a procession through the town, carrying empty coffins to symbolise Afghan Muslims killed in the conflict.

This is a shameful ambition. Just down the road from RAF Lyneham, Wootton Bassett has become a place of compassion, not of politics. The coffins that pass through this town are not symbolic, but filled with the very real bones, flesh and blood of young British men slain in Afghanistan. Their relatives stand and watch, alongside fellow soldiers; locals and visiting wellwishers line the streets.

READ more at: timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article6977040.ece

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