...from the redoubtable Cranmer...it is not a criminal offence to offend a group of people about their theology.And not just theology, but political theology...Either one is free or one is not. And it is no freedom at all which may not criticise or offend. All that Geert Wilders did is tell it as he sees it. And that isn’t so very far from how thousands if not millions of others see it. Ignorant of the nuances of Islamic theology they may be. Unaware of Islamic scholarship and the plethora of schools of thought they undoubtedly are. But all Geert Wilders did was to point out the fact that the Qur’an contains offensive passages and that some imams still preach it – and they are free to do so. His Grace is sometimes called a bigot. The Pope is occasionally called the Antichrist. The Holy Bible is frequently defiled, Christians are mocked and reviled, and the name of Jesus is dragged through the mud. And we all have to live with it. There should be no special protection for Allah, Mohammed, the Qur’an or Muslim sensitivities. For that would be to treat people unequally and elevate Islam to that place in law once occupied by Christianity.Geert Wilders has fought to defend the liberties of us all, and he won. Rejoice! This is a marvellous day for democracy and for liberty. When a politician sounds the trumpet to warn a continent of the incursion of an antithetical ideology and an oppressive power, it is ironic indeed that he should have been silenced not by that alien ideology or foreign power, but by the very agencies of government he seeks to guard and of which he is part. But Geert Wilders has been vindicated. He will now be exalted, and his Party for Freedom poll rating will go stratospheric. Doubtless millions of Europeans will only be sorry that the Presidency of the European Council is not subject to the popular will. And the ruling class will breathe a sigh of relief...more here... and from the UK Telegraph...a historical Dutchman who went on trial for saying such things about Christianity would be lauded across Europe. Wilders says things about a more conservative religion and he is accused of a hate crime. Where is the liberal outrage at this trial? Where are the BBC radio plays? When’s George Clooney going to make a film about Europe’s Islamophobia McCarthyite witch-hunts? Unlikely – the Oscars in 2005 didn’t even mention Theo Van Gogh on their annual slide show of movie people who died in the previous year. Freedom, if anything, means defending the rights of people you profoundly disagree with, even find offensive. Half a century ago the idea that a major European politician could go on trial for insulting a religion, in the Netherlands of all places, would have been fitting only for a dystopian parody. Yet this is really happening, as western Europe adopts Singapore-style multicultural authoritarianism...more here...
Friday, 24 June 2011
Geert Wilders acquitted...
...from the redoubtable Cranmer...it is not a criminal offence to offend a group of people about their theology.And not just theology, but political theology...Either one is free or one is not. And it is no freedom at all which may not criticise or offend. All that Geert Wilders did is tell it as he sees it. And that isn’t so very far from how thousands if not millions of others see it. Ignorant of the nuances of Islamic theology they may be. Unaware of Islamic scholarship and the plethora of schools of thought they undoubtedly are. But all Geert Wilders did was to point out the fact that the Qur’an contains offensive passages and that some imams still preach it – and they are free to do so. His Grace is sometimes called a bigot. The Pope is occasionally called the Antichrist. The Holy Bible is frequently defiled, Christians are mocked and reviled, and the name of Jesus is dragged through the mud. And we all have to live with it. There should be no special protection for Allah, Mohammed, the Qur’an or Muslim sensitivities. For that would be to treat people unequally and elevate Islam to that place in law once occupied by Christianity.Geert Wilders has fought to defend the liberties of us all, and he won. Rejoice! This is a marvellous day for democracy and for liberty. When a politician sounds the trumpet to warn a continent of the incursion of an antithetical ideology and an oppressive power, it is ironic indeed that he should have been silenced not by that alien ideology or foreign power, but by the very agencies of government he seeks to guard and of which he is part. But Geert Wilders has been vindicated. He will now be exalted, and his Party for Freedom poll rating will go stratospheric. Doubtless millions of Europeans will only be sorry that the Presidency of the European Council is not subject to the popular will. And the ruling class will breathe a sigh of relief...more here... and from the UK Telegraph...a historical Dutchman who went on trial for saying such things about Christianity would be lauded across Europe. Wilders says things about a more conservative religion and he is accused of a hate crime. Where is the liberal outrage at this trial? Where are the BBC radio plays? When’s George Clooney going to make a film about Europe’s Islamophobia McCarthyite witch-hunts? Unlikely – the Oscars in 2005 didn’t even mention Theo Van Gogh on their annual slide show of movie people who died in the previous year. Freedom, if anything, means defending the rights of people you profoundly disagree with, even find offensive. Half a century ago the idea that a major European politician could go on trial for insulting a religion, in the Netherlands of all places, would have been fitting only for a dystopian parody. Yet this is really happening, as western Europe adopts Singapore-style multicultural authoritarianism...more here...
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