<p>Through their bullying demands for submission to their dogma they are destroying the very liberties on which our democratic society is based.</p> 
<p>A disturbing example of this trend can be seen in the case of <a type="internal">British gymnast Louis Smith, who was punished this week</a> by officialdom for showing insufficient reverence towards Islam.</p> 
<p>The action against him by his professional body British Gymnastics arose after a video emerged of Smith and fellow gymnast Luke Carson joking about the religion at a private wedding in a Northamptonshire hotel.</p> 
<p>In the footage which caused the furore Carson mimicked the Islamic prayer practice and shouted &#8220;Allah Akbar&#8221;, while Smith laughed at his antics.</p> 
<p>For this behaviour Smith has been turned into a pariah. He has received death threats from jihadists and vilification from the media.</p> 
<p>On Tuesday a disciplinary panel at British Gymnastics suspended him from competition for two months and warned him that the reprimand will stay on his record for two years.</p> 
<p>Smith committed no legal offence.</p> Louis Smith holds his Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal in 2012 
<p>He did not physically hurt anyone but in today&#8217;s Britain he is guilty of a thought crime by daring to indulge in religious satire.</p> 
<p>It is like a modern version of the Cromwellian regime that existed in the 17th century with its determination to crack down on any signs of heresy, only now the faith held to be sacred and inviolable is not Protestantism but Islam.</p> 
<p>In this new climate of creeping totalitarianism any mockery of the Muslim faith, even in private, will not be tolerated.</p> 
<p>The anachronistic law against blasphemy was meant to have been swept away in 2008 but the offence has returned with a vengeance due to the accelerating Islamification of Britain.</p> 
<p>Louis Smith has effectively been treated as a blasphemer against Islam and is now forced to undergo public penitence for his sins.</p> 
<p>He was hauled up in front of ITV&#8217;s Loose Women, who had decided to appoint themselves as the guardians of the new official orthodoxy.</p> 
<p>One panellist, TV presenter June Sarpong, was ferocious in her condemnation, accusing Smith of racism, xenophobia and prejudice.</p> 
<p>But this goes to the heart of the problem with this case. His critics pretend that any kind of criticism of Islam is a form of racism or bigotry.</p> Ola Jordan and Louis Smith on Strictly Come Dancing 
<p>In the same vein Muslim leaders constantly talk of &#8220;Islamophobia&#8221; if any of their religious sensitivities are challenged.</p> 
<p>But Islam is not a race, it is a belief system, and like all faiths it should be open to questioning, censure or humour.</p> 
<p>The idea that any religion, especially one as controversial as Islam, should be above debate is repugnant. Religious freedom is one of the cornerstones of our civilisation.</p> 
<p>The alternatives are absolutist theocracy and violent sectarianism, precisely the characteristics of too many Muslim societies in the Middle East and Asia.</p> 
<p>In the wake of the Louis Smith incident the Muslim Council of Britain predictably bleated about &#8220;Islamophobia&#8221;, arguing that British society must &#8220;realise the need for people to follow their faith with dignity&#8221;.</p> 
<p>The council should also recognise the need to abide by the values of our country, one of which is open discourse free from clerical tyranny.</p> 
<p>It is disgraceful that British Gymnastics, like so many other craven public authorities, is eager to do the work of the zealots.</p> 
<p>By punishing Smith they are effectively endorsing the hardliners. The chief executive Jennie Allen said that competitors such as Smith and Carson should &#8220;use their profile to have a positive impact on sport and communities&#8221;.</p> Louis Smith in training 
<p>The implication is that athletes must suspend their own opinions and instead act as evangelists for the ruling doctrine of political correctness.</p> 
<p>Equally offensive are the grotesque double standards.</p> 
<p>British Gymnastics and the media would have never worked themselves up into such a froth of phoney indignation if Smith had mocked Catholic prayer rituals.</p> 
<p>In fact Christianity is subject to constant attacks and satire without any demands for disciplinary action.</p> 
<p>Joking about the Christian faith has long been a key ingredient of British comedy from Dave Allen to Father Ted.</p> 
<p>Nor does the state show much respect for Christian sensibilities, as highlighted by the case where a firm of devout bakers in Belfast was fined for refusing to make a cake with a political slogan in favour of gay marriage.</p> 
<p>The reason for this hypocrisy is simple: Islamic grievances and demands for special treatment come cloaked with the menace of violence. &#8220;Our religion will not be mocked&#8221; is a threat, not a plea.</p> 
<p>Tue, July 31, 2012</p> All the best pictures of British artistic gymnast Louis Smith Louis Smith with his silver medal 
<p>The intimidation is real, as shown by the relentless catalogue of global slaughter against those deemed to have offended Islam.</p> 
<p>But instead of defending our freedoms, Western rulers wallow in desperate appeasement dressed up as tolerance.</p> 
<p>The determination to punish Louis Smith is the flipside of officialdom&#8217;s impulse to surrender, as shown in the growing acceptance of sharia courts.</p> 
<p>As for Smith himself, he has embarked on a tour of abject repentance, visiting a number of mosques where he claims to have discovered &#8220;the true meaning behind the religion of peace&#8221;.</p> 
<p>In those words there is a chilling echo of the end of George Orwell&#8217;s novel 1984: &#8220;He had learnt to love Big Brother.&#8221;</p>
Punished for not showing enough respect to Islam says Leo McKinstry