I took part in a debate on free speech at Westminster University on 20 November, involving many radical Islamists, as well as other politics students. What was interesting was that despite attempts to censor and ban Islamist groups themselves, they still feel there is *too much* free speech in Western societies, citing insults against the prophet Mohammed as signs of rampant licence and decadence. It is sad that these politically engaged young people see free speech as a problem rather than an opportunity, but this is just further evidence that Islamism is a political dead end rather than a threat to the West. As the censorship of Islamists and others indicates, far from being a core value in decadent Western society, the idea of free speech is part of a radical undercurrent in modern politics, and a precious one for those of us who actually want to change the world.

Dolan Cummings