Mohammad Shabbir, Councillor for Heaton Ward Bradford, tweeted Nick Clegg 5 hours ago to suggest (in a slightly passive-aggressive way) that he should ditch Maajid Nawaz.
Mohammad Shabbir @
@nick_clegg guess you are between a rock and a hard place. Ditching Majid isn’t the liberal way but his behaviour is deliberate provocation
so you could demonstrate that liberalism isn’t about deliberate insults but ‘consideration is civilisation’ as muslims say
Later a conversation ensued. Nawaz asked Shabbir if he could agree “to allow me my right to my own opinion on my own timeline?” Shabbir replied:
I don’t deny the right to any human being. But the question is why would anyone go out of their way to create potential upset
That is so entirely wrong. It’s a heckler’s veto, a rioter’s veto, a potential upset veto. Anything anyone says can “create potential upset.” That is a terrible standard for what we can say.
The whole thing is depressing to watch – people competing to live up to the worst stereotypes about them.
“Ditching Majid isn’t the liberal way…”
But he wants Clegg to do it anyway. He is therefore not a liberal by his own definition and thus should himself resign from the party.
Is he in the party?? I assumed he was just telling Nick Clegg what to do, from outside it. I can’t imagine he thinks he’s a liberal.
Ah, no he’s not. He was in “Respect” but Galloway suspended him/he resigned and now he’s an independent.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-23716076
So, Shabbir, why are you creating potential upset towards Nawaz?
Heh. Exactly.
I feel an aphorism coming on.
All progress in human ideas has come from people going out of their way to create potential upset.
And why should Shabbir be allowed his own opinion on his own timeline? Or his party’s, for that matter, if he is still in one.
The “deliberately causing potential upset” is of course just framing the issue in such a way as to imply Nawaz has no legitimate cause for concern. It’s implying he’s a mere pest. It’s poisoning the well.
https://www.change.org/petitions/nick-clegg-leader-of-the-liberal-democrats-give-full-support-to-libdem-ppc-maajid-nawaz-and-take-disciplinary-action-against-party-member-mohammed-shafiq?share_id=xUrLnKtZpD There a petition to support Maajid.