One of the stranger developments in British politics is the ease with which certain views can travel from the margins into public life, provided they arrive dressed in the right vocabulary.

We are constantly reminded that words matter. Careers have stalled over careless remarks. Public figures have been hauled before the court of opinion for comments made years earlier. Institutions issue apologies with industrial efficiency. Language, we are told, shapes the world around us.

Yet there seems to be an exception.

For reasons that remain difficult to fathom, expressions of sympathy for organizations whose methods include murder, kidnapping and terror are often treated with remarkable indulgence. The linguistic gymnastics required to transform a proscribed terrorist organization into a subject of polite debate would be impressive were the subject matter not so grim.

The controversy surrounding the appointment of Kamel Hawwash to Birmingham City Council’s cabinet brings this question into sharp focus.

The issue is not disagreement. Democracies depend on........

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