The new Geert?

Douglas Murray, head of the UK think tank Centre for Social Cohesion, has written to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith urging her to deny entry into the UK to Dr. Ibrahim el Moussaoui. El Moussaoui is a well-known spokesman for Hezbollah and head of political programming at al-Manar TV, the Hezbollah channel that has been banned in France and Germany for inciting hatred and violence against Jews. Murray argues that, if the Home Office denied entry to Geert Wilders for threatening public security, it certainly should not permit this individual to enter. Murray threatens to sue if the Home Office lets el Moussaoui in.

Of course, one could argue that the circumstances of the two men are quite different. After all, el Moussaoui is being paid to teach a week-long course on political Islam at the University of London for government officials and police officers. Guess that tells you all you need to know about who's socially and morally acceptable for many in today's Britain.