The Magna Carta is 800 years old but freedom is eroding in Great Britain. However, a champion of freedom has risen and fighting for the protection of the Magna Carta and the re-institution of liberties in Britain. David Davis became an unlikely hero of Britain by sacrificing his political career to launch a one-man crusade against the British Government's plan to detain suspected terrorists for 42 days without charge.

David Davis the Freedom Fighter?

But the house (Parliament) allowed the state to lock up potentially innocent citizens for up to six weeks without charge. “The Counter-Terrorism Bill will, in all probability, be rejected by the House of Lords very firmly. After all, what should they be there for, if not to protect Magna Carta?,” he asked.

"But because this is defined as political, not security, the Government will be tempted to use the Parliament Act to overrule the Lords.

"It has no democratic mandate to do this since 42 days was not in its manifesto. Its legal basis is uncertain ... but, purely for political reasons, this Government is going to do that. Because the generic security argument relied on will never go away – technology, development complexity, and so on – we'll next see 56 days, 70 days, then 90 days,” he added.

What is the difference between Davis and people like G. W. Bush and Gordon Brown who is following the footsteps of former Prime Minister Tony Blair? Davis is following the footsteps of the heroes who 800 years ago laid down the foundations for the Magna Carta. Bush and company destroyed the civil liberties enjoyed by the Americans and the British people and imposed rogue laws to secure power and bully innocents.

Remember George Champion? George was one of the first and most dedicated supporters of the exiled islanders, even changing his name to George Chagos. He is perhaps one of the last of Knights from Britain who fought for the rights of a stolen nation’s territory. He is remembered as a hero and a freedom fighter. But Britain always produces heroes and it is very probable that Davis become one of the heroes of the modern day Britain.

However it is important to understand the cornerstone of the struggle that Davis has started in England.

George Champion created the Minority Rights Group in Britain to fight for the cause of the Chagos people who were displaced from Diego Garcia in the 1960’s. He acted out of faith and wanted justice to be done to a people who were left to live in oblivion.

Davis is fighting a larger, bigger battle and he is not alone.

The kite theory

While the notion of freedom is disputed in the world today, it remains an essential part in every modern civilization. In the Islamic concept, it is an important part of the daily lives of the believers too though it is not as extended as it is in other civilizations. Islam imposes limits on freedoms which could be considered to be like a kite that is free in the thin air, dancing to the pleasure of the crowd, but still in the control of the one person who is flying the kite. Cut loose, the kite will be lost forever and this theory simplifies the concept of freedom in Islam.

In the UK – at least before 911, freedom took a more loose form. There were unlimited and uncontrolled freedoms given to the people. After 911 and with people like Bush leading the western world, the British regime decided to rope in these ‘freedoms’ by attaching strings to them. However, these strings have now become tighter and more restrained or limited compared to the ‘kite theory’. The western world is afraid of the unlimited and uncontrolled freedom given to the people and they want to impose limits that are well beyond that of the limits imposed in the Islamic concept.

According to Islam, if it is interpreted without prejudice, rebellious acts against a ruling government or leader are not considered treason. It goes the same for the justice system in which no evidence is equal to no condemnation. This is the Islamic system.

Today the west has gone even beyond the ‘communist’ era where freedom was totally controlled by a ‘big brother’ and the people were forced to abide by the rules or go bust by rotting in ‘gulags’ or resting in shallow graves.

The USA has created its ‘gulag’ in Guantanamo where many innocents are incarcerated because they had the ‘freedom’ to challenge the rogue regime in Washington.

In Britain, while being short of the gulag, the government decided to extend the incarceration of suspects – most of whom proven innocents since 911 – from 30 days to 42 days despite having no democratic mandate to do so. In the process, it killed the articles of the Magna Carta of which Britain used to be so proud.

Davis has emerged as the most vitriolic critic of the UK regime – a capitalist regime that is protecting its principles by making a big U-turn on civil liberties and freedoms.

“In truth perhaps 42 days is the one most salient example of the insidious, surreptitious and relentless erosion of fundamental British freedom.

"And we will have shortly the most intrusive identity card system in the world. A CCTV camera for every 14 citizens, a DNA database bigger than any dictatorship has, with thousands of innocent children and millions of innocent citizens on it.

"We have witnessed an assault on jury trials, a bolt against bad law and its arbitrary use by the state. And short cuts with our justice system, which will make our system neither firm nor fair and a creation of a database state opening up our private lives to the prying eyes of official snoopers and exposing our personal data to careless civil servants and criminal hackers. The state has security powers to clamp down on peaceful protest and so-called hate laws to stifle legitimate debate, whilst those who incite violence get off scot-free. This cannot go on... and for that reason today I feel it is incumbent on me to take a stand.

"I will be resigning my membership of this House and I intend to force a by-election... I will fight it, I will argue this by-election against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this Government.

"Now, that may mean I have made my last speech to the House ... But at least my electorate and the nation ... would have had the opportunity to debate and consider one of the most fundamental issues of our day... And if they do send me back here, it will be with a single message – that the monstrosity of a law that we passed yesterday will not stand," Davis said in his ‘Declaration’.

This declaration enables the former SAS reservist who wants to stop the "slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms".

The Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim youth group, said: "His principled defence of civil liberties and the rule of law is an inspiration for the nation. We look forward to a debate based on the issues and evidence and not jumped-up proposals for political benefits," wrote the Independent newspaper in London.

The Hizb Tahrir in Britain said the House of Commons has approved a series of draconian measures, some of which would be condemned outright by Britain were regimes like Zimbabwe or Burma to implement them. ‘Suspects’ in terrorism cases can now be held for the equivalent of a 3 month jail sentence without even being charged with a crime.

The organization calls it the beginning of the ‘liberal inquisition’ but said nothing of the campaign headed by Davis, a member of the Conservative party in Britain.

Nevertheless, the Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally "Great Paper"), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. It required the King to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law. – Wikipedia.

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