Sam Harris

In today’s Washington Post, law professor Jonathan Turley notes a disturbing trend of even enlightened European nations prohibiting criticism of Islam, using the concepts of hate speech:

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/04/11/international-blasphemy-the-free-world-bars-free-speech/#more-9875

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903155.html

We expect stuff like that out of Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, but when Britain and Holland criminalize insulting Islam, we know we live in a world of “heckler’s vetoes” gone mad.

In America, we have yet to criminalize religious criticism, but some hate speech doctrines do not always, in practice, draw the distinction between hate directed at persons (“Muslims are bunch of ignoramus terrorists”) and ideas (“Islam promotes ignorance and violence.”).

How about bringing hate speech charges to Islam?  Lots of hate in the Qu’ran would qualify.

I was very glad to at least see the Post giving this issue attention.  It needs more attention, however—without freedom of speech, the “free” world really isn’t free at all.

Tblazer - 12 April 2009 02:20 PM

In today’s Washington Post, law professor Jonathan Turley notes a disturbing trend of even enlightened European nations prohibiting criticism of Islam, using the concepts of hate speech

Thanks for those links but it’s not really “news”. I wrote already over a year ago in this and other fora on the attempts of the OIC countries to subvert the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the Orwellian phrase “defamation of religion”. I also pointed out that there are many NGOs fighting this, like the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU - http://www.iheu.org), world union of Humanist organizations or the Center for Inquiry (http://www.centerforinquiry.net/).
Help them by becoming contributing member, reading their attempts to throw sand into the UN bureaucratic machinery now used by dictatorships and theocracies to promote global censorship also is often brilliantly ironic:
http://www.iheu.org/putting-non-believers-agenda-durban-review-conference

A good way of keeping up with all the developments is Ophelia Bensons blog http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com

“Defamation of Religion”, “Islamophobia” are also just recent manifestations of a trend to shield “faith” and faith-based forms of oppression and violence from criticism and the use of “faith-communities” as bases of power for a mafia of “faith-leaders”.
Check Kenan Maliks book “From Fatwa to Jihad” (now out in paperback!) for a comprehensive overview from the 1980ies until now.

I agree with Tblazer

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I would be careful not to categorize all of Europe by what Germany does.

Germany had some unique problems in the last century and there are still major reprecussions from that I’m afraid. Sounds as though tare very careful as to what they say these days and that might be a good thing. For awhile longer anyway. Just a thought.

rays - 28 May 2009 01:11 PM

In Germany, you can get arrested for simply saying that you dont believe something happened 60 years ago.

Thats Europe for you.

In the U.S. you can’t get elected to public office if you say you don’t believe something happened 2000 years ago.