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Terrorism Bill

I too support the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick. When they made this commitment, the Government probably had in mind those who were rather naively celebrating the people involved in 9/11. I think they were criminals. However, I have seen no evidence of anybody celebrating the terrible and evil events of 7 July. On many occasions, we hear this myth that somehow these Muslims are told that, if they get involved in terrorism and suicide bombing, there will be 72 virgins waiting for them in heaven. I assure you, the people who say this normally want to insult and demonise Islam and the Muslims. There is no such thing as a normal life in Islam in the heavens. The concept of angels—of pure people in heaven—runs across all religions and the alternative view is spread only to insult people of the Islamic faith. However, this glorification, as mentioned earlier by noble Lords, is a concept that comes not only from the days of Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up this very building; we still celebrate that. There are many others in our history who have been mentioned: Nelson Mandela, Prime Minister Begin, George Washington and others. There is also a concept of martyrdom in all religions, however. Certainly, as a Muslim, there is a concept of Shohada: those who have given their lives for good causes. As a noble Lord reminded me earlier, JF Kennedy said that if you make change impossible, you make violent change inevitable. We have seen that in history and even today, in the cases of East Timor, Chechnya, Kashmir and many other places. I therefore think this glorification of a so-called terrorist is unnecessary. I will support the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, if he wishes to divide the House at some stage on this issue.