Standing together in the f ight for liberty

THE grotesque image of balaclava-clad terrorists murdering a wounded and helpless policeman in cold blood on a Paris street has sent waves of shock and revulsion around the world.

His pitiless execution was the final act in a day of carefully-planned slaughter that saw 11 others shot dead, including the editor and staff members of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The paramilitary-style gunmen declared the attack to be vengeance for cartoons published by the magazine lampooning the Prophet Mohammed.

In truth, it was a rampage of carnage by two psychopathic brothers programmed by Al Qaeda to kill without conscience or mercy.

Yesterday the Mail’s front page described the attack as The War on Freedom. Anyone who thinks this was an exaggeration, or has any doubt that Britain is firmly in the front line of that war, should heed the chilling words of MI5 boss Andrew Parker.

In a speech last night, he revealed that a group of ‘core Al Qaeda’ terrorists based in Syria is – right now – planning ‘mass casualty attacks’ against Britain and other Western nations. The ‘complex and ambitious plots’ include attacks on transport networks and landmarks, bombs on planes and ‘Mumbai- style shootings’ of innocent people in crowded public places. So as the French people mourn and honour their dead behind the defiant slogan ‘Je Suis Charlie’, Britain must stand shoulder to shoulder with them and refuse to be cowed by these fanatics.

This is more than a gesture of sympathy and friendship. It is also an act of mutual protection against men who want to destroy l i beral Western civilisation and plunge us into a new dark age of religious oppression.

Defeating this assault on our way of l i fe will undoubtedly take courage, determination and time.

In the decade since the 7/7 atrocities, the security services have foiled dozens of bomb plots and they must now be given the powers and resources they need – within a legal framework – to step up t hei r work i denti fy i ng a nd tracking terrorists.

But to be truly effective, they require the committed and vigorous support of the Muslim community. The vast majority of British Muslims are peace-loving, hard-working and law-abiding but their leaders have sometimes been slow to expose the militants in their midst.

All sections of the Islamic community condemned the Paris attack yesterday but – while admirable – condemnation after the fact is not enough.

Hate preachers such as Anjem Choudary should be denounced, conspiracies such as the ‘ Trojan Horse plot’ to impose Islamic f undamentalism on British schools should be fought and anyone suspected of becoming dangerously radicalised, or planning to fight jihad in Syria or Iraq should immediately be reported to the police. Some may argue t hat t he West contributed to bringing this violence on itself by waging reckless wars in the Middle East, and the Mail concedes they have a valid point. But now it’s time to look forward, not back.

Many Muslims – or their forebears – came to this country to escape injustice or persecution in their homeland. Britain has welcomed and conferred on them a range of hard-won freedoms built up over centuries. In turn, they have been of huge benefit to our society.

Now, as we face this malevolent threat, t hey can make an even greater contribution – by playing a full part in rooting out the extremists who seek to use their faith as a justification for violence. Nothing less than the freedom we all cherish is at stake.