London -
An exhibition of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in London has been cancelled after its organiser, a former Ukip candidate who runs Sharia Watch UK, decided it was too dangerous.
The exhibition had been due to be addressed by Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician who has previously described Mohammed as “the devil” and claimed the Qur’an is a “fascist book” that should be banned.
Depicting images of the Prophet is insulting to many Muslims and this has been used as a justification for violence by extreme Islamists in the past.
In January, 11 people were killed when two men armed with assault rifles attacked the office of the satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris.
But an anti-Islamophobia group said that Mr Wilders's invitation to speak at the exhibition, which was planned for September, showed the event was more about inflaming tension than defending free speech.
Writing on Sharia Watch UK's website, the exhibition's organiser, Anne Marie Waters, said she had decided there was a “very real possibility that people could be hurt or killed - before, during, and after the event”.
“Over the last few weeks, I have had several conversations with both Scotland Yard and counter-terror detectives. My conclusion?
That the risk of running this exhibition is simply too high,” she said.
“When setting out to do something like this, one has to be prepared for the possibility of threats, or even violence, but it's easy to underestimate the impact such things will have on the people around you.”
She also said that the venue for the exhibition - which had been kept secret - had pulled out “citing security and insurance concerns”.
“Given the fear that people were feeling generally, the only responsible thing to do was to pull back and try to learn some lessons,” Ms Waters said. “I have not learnt lessons as much as I have had my suspicions confirmed. There are two major messages to take on board from this episode: 1) Britain is a frightened nation, and 2) our freedom is not going away, it has gone.”
Mr Wilders was banned from entering the UK in 2009 with the then Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, labelling him an “undesirable person” following his comments about Islam. Despite that, he flew to Heathrow but was deported back to the Netherlands. The ban was overturned later in the year.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of the anti-Islamophobia group Tell Mama, said: “By inviting Geert Wilders, who has been charged for alleged anti-Moroccan comments and Paul Weston, of Liberty GB, an extreme far-right group, this event was simply meant to irritate and inflame. If this was a genuine attempt to speak up for free speech, organisers would have invited groups like 'the Pen'.
“In the end, with all of the hot air, what have organisers achieved? Nothing but an attempt to raise the temperature and inflame community tensions. Hardly anything constructive to humanity.”
Ms Waters stood as the Ukip candidate in Lewisham East in May's general election, coming third with 9.1 percent of the vote.
The Independent