A timely account from Christie Davies of the conservative Social Affairs Unit of another free speech / blasphemy flap: the 2004 play Behzti which offended a lot of Sikhs when it was performed in Birmingham, and was abandoned amid violent protest.
Davies hardly has a good word for anyone involved – least of all the playwright – which is probably fair enough. I don’t have any particular conclusions to draw myself, but I think this supplies a bit of context, at the cost of muddying the waters.
Note that, unlike the current choppy teacup, that episode did involve actual violence in Britain, not just childish posturing.
I’m not saying it was completely ignored by those making such a fuss now – it wasn’t, but I don’t recall being told that complacency was not an option, or that this was the final conflict..