By: Chris Knowles
Aeneas Lavinium

For many years I have been involved with the human rights group the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA). ICLA is concerned about how aspects of sharia law impact negatively on basic human rights. My own involvement was motivated by a concern that freedom of expression was under direct attack and in danger of becoming an irrelevant freedom. On the basis of this I attended my first political demonstration on 25 March 2006 – the March for Free Expression (MfFE). The way that the government of the day sacrificed freedom of expression at that time appalled me. As a result of the erosion of freedom of expression many social problems have being allowed to fester. If those in power had addressed the concerns of the MfFE at the time I believe that this could have been avoided.

I am a firm believer in dialogue, discussion and conflict resolution. In the last decade much fear has been allowed to build up due to an unwillingness to discuss important social issues. To some people discussion of such issues has even become taboo! People’s genuine concerns have been brushed aside and as a result fears have escalated and misconceptions and mistrust have grown. This situation cannot be allowed to continue and as a result of a recent initiative in the UK the British Government is in a unique position to start solving these problems.

The recent rapprochement between former EDL leader Tommy Robinson and Muslims from the Quilliam Foundation is something on which a new process of dialogue can be built. The Tommy-Quilliam (TQ) Process has the potential to bring a broad range of stakeholders together to solve many social problems and heal the divisions that exist in our society.

Successive governments in the UK have highlighted the importance of community cohesion. We are now presented with an opportunity to work to begin to make that cohesive society a reality. Government and civil society should come together to ensure that this opportunity is not missed.

I would therefore call upon the British Government to endorse the TQ Process and participate in it. If the British Government and civil society stakeholders can get together and participate in this process then positive results are certainly possible. This opportunity should not be missed.