Criminalization of conscience: on Palestine and British ‘cultural McCarthyism’
Pro-Palestinian rally in London, 18 January 2025
Asim Qureshi writes in The Palestine Chronicle on 17 June 2025:
In the United Kingdom today, the line between political expression and criminal offence has never been more perilously thin – as witnessed through the lens of Palestine solidarity – the extent of Britain’s encroachment upon basic freedoms becomes painfully clear.
The ongoing proscription of Hamas is being used as a blunt instrument to suppress, not acts of terrorism, but the articulation of political belief, emotional solidarity and moral outrage. In doing so, the British state has entrenched a system that penalises thought, stigmatizes empathy and punishes dissent.
CAGE International has submitted an application to the UK Secretary of State for the Home Department calling for the deproscription of Harakat al-Muqawwamah al-Islamiyyah (Hamas). The submission documents a disturbing pattern: across universities, hospitals, workplaces, and even primary schools, people are being harassed, suspended, or deported for speech or actions that have been interpreted as expressions of support for a proscribed group.
The breadth of the legislation means that there can be no commonsense approach to legitimate debate and discussion – as the legislation creates an environment of hyper-criminalisation.
Let us be clear: the individuals profiled in these cases were not caught plotting violence, nor were they accused of material support for any armed organization. Their crime, if one can call it that, was voicing grief, solidarity, or political critique. A student speaks emotionally about the war in Gaza — her visa is revoked. A child wears a Palestinian flag — he is interrogated. A doctor tweets in support of Palestinian resistance — she is suspended. The pattern is unmistakable.
Under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, it is an offence to express support for a proscribed organization. The statute’s vagueness is not a bug but a feature; it is precisely this ambiguity that has allowed for the criminalisation of conscience