An indication, if it were needed, that the new law on religious hatred is a deliberate attempt to win back the Muslim vote:
The Muslim Council of Britain has been at the forefront of lobbying the Government on issues to help Muslims. Recently Iqbal Sacranie, the General Secretary of the Council, asked Tony Blair to declare that the Government would introduce a new law banning religious discrimination. Two weeks later, in the middle of his speech to the Labour Party Conference, Tony Blair promised that the next Labour Government would ban religious discrimination. It was a major victory for the Muslim community in Britain.
But this is not the first and only time that Labour Party has delivered for Muslims. When I was a Home Office Minister in 1997, the MCB lobbied me to introduce not only a new law which would increase sentences for racial violence and harassment but also to recognise the particular problems faced by Muslims. As a result we were able to amend the law to make religion a factor in any violence and harassment. Today, new Crime Bill, announced in the Queens Speech is coming before Parliament to toughen the laws on incitement to religious hatred. This has upset some M.P.`s such as Evan Harris MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman, who has said he will oppose it because it is unnecessary!
Energy Minister Mike O’Brien
And as Islam Online says,
After the Muslim support for their traditional Labour party had halved and the free fall of the party’s ratings in the local and European Parliament elections, the government has come to realize the fact that the Muslim vote does really count and planned to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim citizens.
The Home Office has already unveiled plans to put forward a legislation criminalizing incitement of religious hatred.
Kow-towing to religious fanatics now appears to have resulted in militant Christians threatening people at the BBC over the showing of Jerry Springer - The Opera.
