The British government has an utterly ineffective process, called the “control order,” for monitoring potential terrorist aliens who cannot be prosecuted because there is not enough evidence that can be used in court but also cannot be deported because of the UK’s absurdly high restrictions against deporting aliens. Now, for the third time, in less than six months, a terror suspect has escaped.

The Times of London reports that a 26-year-old Pakistani jihadist has broken his control order and fled overseas. He is believed to have been seeking terrorist training in Afghanistan. The dispatch underscores a subject that is taboo both in the UK and here: the role of the mosque:

The man, who is of Pakistani origin and lives in Manchester, was only placed under the control order this month. But within four days he disappeared. Police sources say that the man failed to show up at a local police station to surrender his passport. He was traced to a nearby mosque, where community leaders say he had sought sanctuary. Police rarely enter a mosque: they began discussions with both local community figures and leading officials connected to the mosque. It is understood that while these talks were taking place, the young suspect was helped to escape through a back entrance while officers from Greater Manchester Police were stationed outside…. This episode will raise questions about how police deal with suspects who take shelter in mosques as senior officers are aware of the sensitivity of entering religious buildings by force.

The self-conscious solicitude of the Western intelligentsia, military and investigative authorities for things Islamic continues to boggle the mind. Yes, mosques are houses of worship; but there is a lengthy record of their use as centers of jihadist indoctrination, conspiracy, recruitment, para-military training, and even weapons storage and transfer. In Iraq, Muslims blow up mosques and use them as fortresses for military operations; in England and America, police won’t enter them … even for purposes of apprehending a known terrorist.

Similarly, at Gitmo, we have terrorists who believe the Koran commands them to murder infidels and who have been known to use Korans to pass notes to one another; yet, each terrorist is issued a Koran at the expense of the taxpayers the terrorists are trying to kill, and our military only allows the book to be handled by Muslim personnel wearing white gloves. Throughout the Iran/Iraq war, Muslims slaughtered each other with gusto throughout the month of Ramadan; in the West, during a defensive war against jihadists, we are periodically told we should suspend military operations during Ramadan out of respect for Muslims.

It’s one thing to refrain from gratuitous offense, but haven’t we gone a tad overboard … like to the point of suicide?