As of today, Islam4Uk and its various guises have become illegal organizations, thanks to the discretion of Alan Johnson and 2000 Terrorism Act. Johnson’s justification for proscription is that that the group “unlawfully glorify the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism." In essence, the group openly takes a positive view of terrorism. Although members of the group’s previous incarnations have gone on to commit acts of terrorism, no member of Islam4Uk itself has been linked to any crimes of this sort.
The group’s main wrongdoing, and the justification for their proscription, has been to hold particular beliefs and to express them in such a way that the extreme majority of the UK are shocked, offended and appalled by them.
This should not be a crime. "If the group or individuals break the law, they should be prosecuted; but to proscribe the group as a preventive measure flies in the face of free speech. If we were able to ban organizations simply because we didn’t like their professed end goals, surely enough support could see the Labour party driven underground. Besides, banning an organization does nothing to change the attitude of its members.
An alternative way to deal with Isalm4Uk would have been to remove the income support that a number of the group appeared to live off, namely welfare. This would make sure that less public money was put towards enabling the group to have the time and means to propagate views that the vast majority of the nation find repugnant.
