© AFP / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASRadical cleric Anjem Choudary is seen leaving a probation hostel in London following his release from prison.
In his Sunday Times article, Liddle alleges that Choudary had encouraged British Islamists to leave the UK and blow themselves up, to which he remarks "I really don't mind" - adding they can do that here in the UK, as long as it's far from where any of us live, like Tower Hamlets. The east London borough of Tower Hamlets has a large muslim population.
Liddle writes: "He has urged British Islamists to leave the country and blow themselves up. Me too. Actually, I don't really mind if they don't leave the country, so long as they blow themselves up - somewhere a decent distance from where the rest of us live. Tower Hamlets, for example."
The right-wing journo, who is also associate editor of The Spectator, has received widespread condemnation on social media for his comments. Mehdi Hasan, a presenter on Al Jazeera and columnist for The Intercept labelled Liddle's article as "racism and incitement to violence."
Tell Mama, a group which record and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, accused him of Islamophobia. Others have called for him to be sacked.
Labour Co-Operative MP Anna Turley branded Liddle's language as "deeply insulting," tweeting: "Enough [The Sunday Times]. You cannot keep the disgusting racist Rod Liddle on your books any longer."
Tower Hamlets is one of the most diverse boroughs in the UK. The last Census in 2011 showed that 38 percent of Tower Hamlets residents identified as Muslim, compared with 30 percent who classified themselves as Christian. The borough includes Canary Wharf, a hugely influential financial district in London, where the average salary is reportedly £100,000, according to Galliard Homes.
According to inews, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has confirmed it had received complaints about article, under Clause 12 (Discrimination) and Clause 3 (Harassment) of the Editors' Code of Practice.
Such anti-Muslim bigotry or Islamophobia is unacceptable and needs challenging."
Well, dear heart. blowing up white people by the score, beheading aged priests at the altar, and running white people down - women, children and old people - with vans and trucks, is also "unacceptable and needs challenging." As are also declarations that all white women will be raped so as to birth more Muslim babies. And beating up or killing any white person that wanders into a Muslim neighborhood. All of that is unacceptable.