Blasphemy
THE GRAND DUCHESS. We are so decayed, so out of date, so feeble, so wicked in our own despite, that we have come at last to will our own destruction.
STRAMMFEST. You are uttering blasphemy.
THE GRAND DUCHESS. All great truths begin as blasphemies.Annajanska, The Bolshevik Empress (1918)
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
[Project Gutenberg]News and commentary on free speech cases and blasphemy law apologetics, including articles on the Fallaci affair, the Houellebecq affair, the Kilroy-Silk affair, Blunkett's proposed law to "ban incitement to religious hatred", the Will Collins affair, the murder of Theo van Gogh and the Pope affair. For articles on the Danish cartoon affair, see below.
Note that this collection of articles concentrates on free speech cases in Western countries.
See also:
"Image of Muhammad" - News and commentary on the Danish cartoon affair.July 2004 - November 2006
June 2002 - June 2004
November 2006
"Islamic fears kill off children's thriller" (Murray Waldren and Jodie Minus, The Australian, 2006/11/25)
"UK: Race-hate laws to be changed after BNP case fails" (Robert Spencer, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/11/14)
"Germany’s Headscarf Scandal" (Stephen Brown, FrontPageMagazine, 2006/11/14)
"Cleric: Criticizing Islam threatens peace" (Selcan Hacaoglu, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/11/01)
"End of free speech?" (Pieter Dorsman, Peaktalk, 2006/11/01)October 2006
"The West's Self-Imposed Censorship" (Amir Taheri, Gulf News/FrontPageMagazine, 2006/10/13)
"La Poupée" (Hans Bellmer, 1933-45)
"UK gallery scraps art, fearing Muslim rage: curator" (Reuters, 2006/10/06)
"Berlin opera house reinstates controversial opera" (DPA/Expatica, 2006/10/05)
"Publisher Pulls Book On Muslim Violence" (Shlomo Greenwald, The Jewish Press, 2006/10/04)
"An Opera In the Key Of Denial" (Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 2006/10/03)
"'Europeans Have Stopped Defending Their Values'" (Der Spiegel, 2006/10/02)September 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006 - Saturday, September 30, 2006
"Teacher forced into hiding after attacking Islam" (Jenny Percival, The Times, 2006/09/29)
"Death Threats in Brussels, France (Robert Redeker)" (Paul Belien, The Brussels Journal, 2006/09/29)
"It's the Idomeneo effect: increase security then watch the consequences" (Mick Hume, The Times, 2006/09/29)
"France: Philosophy Teacher Receives Muslim Death Threats For Islam Article" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/28)
"Writer of 'anti-Islam' article gets death threats" (Expatica, 2006/09/28)
"Berlin opera at center of free-speech debate" (David R. Sands, The Washington Times, 2006/09/28)
"Afraid of the Fear of Terror" (Henryk M. Broder, Der Spiegel, 2006/09/27)
"Fear of offending Islam spurs hot debate in Europe" (Mark Trevelyan and Mike Collett-White, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/27)
"Merkel warns against bowing to fear of Muslim violence" (Madeline Chambers, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/27)
"Opera Canceled Over a Depiction of Muhammad" (Judy Dempsey, The New York Times, 2006/09/27)
"King Idomeneo..." (El Pais, 2006/09/26)
"Politicians slam Berlin opera for canceling Idomeneo" (Noah Barkin, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/26)
"Opera withdrawn over Islamist threat" (Bertrand Benoit, Financial Times, 2006/09/26)
"Intimidating the West, from Rushdie to Benedict" (Daniel Pipes, New York Sun/danielpipes.org, 2006/09/26)
"Pope Benedict (L) shakes hands with ambassadors of Islamic nations..." (Osservatore Romano, 2006/09/25)
"Text of Pope's speech" (BBC News, 2006/09/25)
"Pope says Christians, Muslims must reject violence" (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/25)
"German opera house dumps Mozart opera depicting Mohammed" (DPA/The Raw Story, 2006/09/25)Monday, September 18, 2006 - Sunday, September 24, 2006
"Barroso disappointed at lack of EU support for Pope" (Reuters/The Washington Post, 2006/09/23)
"A Palestinian protester holds an unflattering picture..." (Muhammed Muheisen, AP, 2006/09/22)
"Pakistanis protest, cleric says Pope should be crucified" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
"Thousands rally against pope in Mideast" (Sarah El Deeb, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
"Pope to meet Muslim envoys after speech offends" (Philip Pullella and Stephen Brown, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
"Confronted by the Islamist threat on all sides, Europe pathetically caves in" (Gerard Baker, The Times, 2006/09/22)
"Tolerance: A Two-Way Street" (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 2006/09/22)
"What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?" (Robert Redeker, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)
"Tunisia: Muslims Ban French Newspaper For Questioning Islamic Intimidation" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)
"The Pope and the Prophet" (Sean Matgamna, Workers' Liberty, 2006/09/20)
"Mum's the Word, Lest We Provoke a Lethal Tantrum" (James Lileks, NMS, 2006/09/20)
"Pakistan calls for ban on 'defamation of Islam' in veiled attack on pope" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/19)
"Terror group threatens Gaza Christians" (Khaled Abu Toameh, The Jerusalem Post, 2006/09/19)
"Angry Turk workers urge Pope's arrest during visit" (Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/19)
"Enough Apologies" (Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 2006/09/19)
"Iraqis burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI..." (Nabil Al- Jurani, AP, 2006/09/18)
"Rushdie, Hirsi Ali, the Pope -- Who's Next?" (Claus Christian Malzahn, Der Spiegel, 2006/09/18)
"If the Pope said it here, he'd be arrested" (Richard Littlejohn, The Daily Mail, 2006/09/18)
"The Pope must die, says Muslim" (The Evening Standard, 2006/09/18)
"'Jihad' vowed over Pope's speech" (Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/18)
"Understanding Benedict" (Daniel Johnson, New York Sun, 2006/09/18)
"Subtle scholar, but what an inept politician" (Waleed Aly, The Age, 2006/09/18)
"Nun shot dead as Pope fails to calm militant Muslims" (Richard Owen, The Times, 2006/09/18)
"In a Rare Step, Pope Expresses Personal Regret" (Ian Fischer, The New York Times, 2006/09/18)Thursday, September 14, 2006 - Sunday, September 17, 2006
"ISLAM WILL CONQUER ROME" (Joee Blogs, 2006/09/17)
"Pope sorry for offending Muslims" (BBC News, 2006/09/17)
"Italian nun shot dead in Somalia" (AP/The Jerusalem Post, 2006/09/17)
"Infantilizing Muslim 'rage'" (TigerHawk, 2006/09/16)
"Rioters' madness shames Muslim world" (Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, 2006/09/16)
"Somali cleric calls for pope's death" (AFP/The Age, 2006/09/17)
"Pope's words spur attacks on Gaza, W. Bank churches" (Khaled Abu Toameh, The Jerusalem Post, 2006/09/16)
"Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam" (BBC News, 2006/09/16)
"Muslim anger with pope builds" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/16)
"Members of Muslim League Jammu Kashmir..." (Rafiq Maqbool, AP, 2006/09/15)
"Turkish lawmaker compares pope to Hitler" (Suzan Fraser, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/15)
"Muslim anger grows at Pope speech" (BBC News, 2006/09/15)
"Pope lashes evil of jihad" (AFP/The Herald Sun, 2006/09/14)June 2006
"Dutch professor censored for daring to criticize Islam" (Robert Spencer, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/06/18)
"Fallaci Show Trial opens, adjourns" (Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, 2006/06/13)
"Fallaci trial to begin today in Italy" (Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, 2006/06/12)April 2006
"Sienna Miller Is Targeted By Islamic Extremists" (Lowri Williams, Entertainmentwise, 2006/04/19)
"EU lexicon to shun term 'Islamic terrorism'" (Mark Trevelyan, Reuters, 2006/04/11)March 2006
"Muslim gang forces Paris cafe to censor cartoon show" (Middle East Times, 2006/03/31)
"Muslims ask French to cancel 1741 play by Voltaire" (Andrew Higgins, The Wall Street Journal/post-gazette.com, 2006/03/06)February 2006
"Want freedom of speech? You may not like what you are going to hear" (Iain Macwhirter, Sunday Herald, 2006/02/05)January 2006
"Ministers lose religious bill bid" (BBC News, 2006/01/31)October 2005
"Is this headline really illegal?" (Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, 2005/10/26)
"Ripe for ridicule" (The Times, 2005/10/24)
"God save the heretic" (Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times, 2005/10/23)
"death will visit Denmark" (infovlad.net, 2005/10/15)
"Holy war against newspaper" (The Copenhagen Post, 2005/10/20)
"Muslim anger at Danish cartoons" (BBC News, 2005/10/20)
"Youth reported held in Denmark for death threats over Mohammed cartoons" (Middle East Times, 2005/10/17)
"Imam demands apology for Mohammed cartoons" (The Copenhagen Post, 2005/10/06)
"Image of Muhammad" (Kurt Westergaard, Fjordman, 2005/10/05)
"Race fears spark St. George ban" (CNN.com, 2005/10/04)
"Making a pig's ear of defending democracy" (Mark Steyn, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/10/04)
"ITS ME PIGLIT HELP HELP!" (E. H. Shepard, poohnet.co.uk)
"Ungulates Unwelcome" (Marcus, Harry's Place, 2005/10/03)September 2005
"Cone-demned" (The Sun, 2005/09/19)
"The Crescent of Pistachio" (Andy McCarthy, The Corner, 2005/09/19)
"Fear Pervades Danish Art Community" (Patrick, Dhimmi Watch, 2005/09/18)June 2005
"Twisted 'tolerance'" (Diana West, The Washington Times, 2005/06/24)
"Prophet of Decline: An interview with Oriana Fallaci" (Tunku Varadarajan, The Wall Street Journal, 2005/06/23)
"Pastors Who 'Vilified' Islam Would Choose Jail Over Apology" (Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews, 2005/06/22)
"Muslim Target" (Robert Spencer, FrontPageMagazine, 2005/06/14)May 2005
"A freedom to oppress" (Nick Cohen, The Observer, 2005/05/29)
"The 18 things you can't say about Muslims in Italy" (Chris Newman, Dagger in hand, 2005/05/26)
"Here we go again..." (Chris Newman, Dagger in hand, 2005/05/25)
"Fallaci charged in Italy with defaming Islam" (Crispian Balmer, Reuters/The Washington Post, 2005/05/25)March 2005
"A vote for intolerance" (Nick Cohen, The Observer, 2005/03/13)February 2005
"The law against religious hatred is – in effect – an invitation to it" (Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/03/05)February 2005
"Scène d'amour" (Louzla Darabi, Galerie Peter Herrmann, 2003)
"Death Threats Nix Love Painting" (Mats Lilja, Expressen, 2005/02/03)
"When Muslims Convert" (Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Commentary, from the February 2005 issue)
"Museum removes erotic art after Muslim anger" (Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2005/02/02)January 2005
"Fears prompt withdrawal of Van Gogh film" (The Guardian, 2005/01/27)
"In praise of blasphemy" (Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian, 2005/01/13)December 2004
"Shattered Glass, Battered Freedom" (Lionel Shriver, The Wall Street Journal, 2004/12/28)
"I'm disgusted ministers did nothing as Sikhs forced play's closure, says Rushdie" (Rajeev Syal, The Sunday Telegraph, 2004/12/26)
"How to destroy tolerance" (Christina Odone, The Times, 2004/12/23)
"Playing with fire" (Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, 2004/12/22)
"Death Knell of the West" (Robert Spencer, FrontPageMagazine, 2004/12/22)
"Violent Sikh demo forces theatre to cancel play" (Nick Britten, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/21)
"Tale of rape at the temple sparks riot at theatre" (Tania Branigan, The Guardian, 2004/12/20)
"The British Inquisition" (Melanie Phillips, melaniephillips.com, 2004/12/15)
"Arrest throws British hate laws into focus" (Hannah K. Strange, United Press International, 2004/12/15)
"BNP leader bailed after racial incitement arrest" (The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/14)
"We need protection from the pedlars of religious hatred" (Iqbal Sacranie, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/14)
"Censor and sensibility" (Nick Cohen, The Observer, 2004/12/12)
"Is it only Mr Bean who resists this new religious intolerance?" (Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/11)
"Mockery, calumny and scorn: these are the weapons to fight zealots" (Matthew Parris, The Times, 2004/12/11)
"Atkinson defends right to offend" (Toby Helm, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/07)
"Freedom of expression is vital, says Atkinson" (Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/12/07)
"The Islamization of Europe?" (David Pryce-Jones, Commentary, from the December 2004 issue)November 2004
"'Take that article down. In Index it's disgraceful'" (Frank Fisher, Index on Censorship, 2004/11/18)
"Speak your mind, lose your life" (Anthony Brown, The Spectator, from the 2004/11/20 issue)
"Blasphemy law revival upsets the Dutch elite" (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/11/18)
"Censure the censor" (Stephen Pollard, The Times/stephenpollard.net, 2004/11/15)
"Index writer responds" (Harry's Place, 2004/11/11)
"Index on Censorship" (Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, 2004/11/11)
"GIJ ZULT NIET DODEN!" (Cineac Noord, 2004/11/05)
"Clueless in Rotterdam" (Pieter Dorsman, Peaktalk, 2004/11/05)
"Death of a 'Blasphemer'" (Robert Spencer, FrontPageMagazine, 2004/11/03)
"Challenging Islam is risky" (Irshad Manji, UPI, 2004/11/02)
"Dutch mourn free-speech martyr" (Aaron Gray-Block, Expatica, 2004/11/02)
"Gunman kills Dutch film director" (BBC News, 2004/11/02)September 2004
"Assault on freedom" (Nick Cohen, New Humanist, 2004/09/06)
"British Council official sacked over anti-Islam articles" (Hugh Muir, The Guardian, 2004/09/02)August 2004
"We must be free to criticise without being called racist" (Polly Toynbee, The Guardian, 2004/08/18)
"British charity suspends press officer: Accused of writing anti-Muslim articles" (Patrick E. Tyler, NYT/IHT, 2004/08/07)
"British Council official in anti-Muslim row" (Tania Branigan, The Guardian, 2004/08/06)
"British Council anti-Islam probe" (BBC News, 2004/08/03)July 2004
"The triumph of the East" (Anthony Browne, The Spectator, from the 2004/07/24 issue)
"Some Arguments Against a Religious-Hatred Law" (David G. Green, CIVITAS, July 2004)
"Blunkett's ban will fan the flames" (Mark Steyn, The Daily Telegraph, 2004/07/13)
"We must be allowed to criticise Islam" (Will Cummins, The Sunday Telegraph, 2004/07/11)
"Speech impediments" (Nick Cohen, The Observer, 2004/07/11)
"Crucifying public debate: If we aren't free to 'incite religious hatred', we aren't free" (Josie Appleton, spiked online, 2004/07/07)
"Islamic fears kill off children's thriller" (Murray Waldren and Jodie Minus, The Australian, 2006/11/25)
"A LEADING children's publisher has dumped a novel because of political sensitivity over Islamic issues.Scholastic Australia pulled the plug on the Army of the Pure after booksellers and librarians said they would not stock the adventure thriller for younger readers because the "baddie" was a Muslim terrorist.
A prominent literary agent has slammed the move as "gutless", while the book's author, award-winning novelist John Dale, said the decision was "disturbing because it's the book's content they are censoring".
"There are no guns, no bad language, no sex, no drugs, no violence that is seen or on the page," Dale said, but because two characters are Arabic-speaking and the plot involves a mujaheddin extremist group, Scholastic's decision is based "100 per cent (on) the Muslim issue".
This decision is at odds with the recent publication of Richard Flanagan's bestselling The Unknown Terrorist and Andrew McGahan's Underground in which terrorists are portrayed as victims driven to extreme acts by the failings of the West.
The Unknown Terrorist is dedicated to David Hicks and describes Jesus Christ as "history's first ... suicide bomber".
In McGahan's Underground, Muslims are executed en masse or herded into ghettos in an Australia rendered unrecognisable by the war on terror." (Hat tip: Andrew Bolt.)
"UK: Race-hate laws to be changed after BNP case fails" (Robert Spencer, Dhimmi Watch, 2006/11/14)
"I have no love for the BNP. Its strength is an indication of the wholesale abdication of responsibility on the part of the mainstream British parties, none of which seem able to discuss the jihad threat to Britain in any useful manner. (Yes, my British friends, the same thing is true of the mainstream parties in the United States.)This case shows just how out-of-focus the British approach to the jihad threat really is. Nick Griffin calls Islam a "a wicked, vicious faith," and is charged with race hate. What race is Islam? ...
And if Britain is now going to criminalize criticism of an ideology, does that mean that it will soon be illegal in Britain to call Nazism a wicked, vicious" political ideology? Does the religious content of an ideology exempt it from criticism, such that if Adolf Hitler had declared himself a prophet and Mein Kampf a divine revelation, it would be illegal to criticize him? Or if Nazism had not been held by Germans but by Pakistanis, it would be illegal to criticize it?
"Race-hate laws to be changed after BNP case fails," by Andrew Norfolk and Greg Hurst in the TimesOnline, with thanks to Fjordman:
NEW laws to clamp down on racism are being prepared by the Government after the leader of the far-right British National Party was cleared of stirring up racial hatred by attacking Islam.
Gordon Brown swiftly pledged to bring in tougher powers to raise the chance of convictions in similar cases, calling the BNP’s statements offensive.
His intervention came after an all-white jury decided that Nick Griffin, the BNP chairman, broke no law when he condemned Islam as “a wicked, vicious faith” at a secretly filmed meeting."
"Germany’s Headscarf Scandal" (Stephen Brown, FrontPageMagazine, 2006/11/14)
"What a woman wears on her head may literally cost you your head in Germany.That is what German politician Ekin Deligoz discovered recently when she called upon Muslim women in Germany to take off their headscarves. Deligoz, who is Turkish-born, has long expressed her opposition to the scarf’s wearing and wants Muslim women in her adopted country to lay it aside, believing it is a symbol oppression and patriarchy. There are more than three million Muslims in Germany and about two million are Turks or of Turkish descent.
“You live here, so take your headscarf off,” said Deligoz in a German newspaper.
But unlike the veil controversy in England where the Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw, wanted Muslim women to go about with uncovered faces, Deligoz, a member of the leftist Green Party in the Bundestag, has received numerous death threats as a result of her comments. Ninety per cent of the threats, the Green politician said, were from men. Also unlike Straw, Deligoz now has joined the lengthening list of European writers, editors and politicians, among others, who have to accept police protection in their own countries due to threats from Muslim extremists." (See also: "End of free speech?" (Pieter Dorsman, Peaktalk, 2006/11/01))
"Cleric: Criticizing Islam threatens peace" (Selcan Hacaoglu, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/11/01)
Via Robert Spencer: "Step back for a moment and substitute any other word for "Islam" in that lead paragraph. "A leading cleric called criticism of Christianity a serious threat to world peace." "A leading Chinese official called criticism of China a serious threat to world peace." Would anyone see such statements as anything but expressions of thuggery -- which is what this one is?":
"ANKARA, Turkey - A leading Turkish cleric called criticism of Islam a serious threat to world peace, speaking Wednesday as Turkey prepared for a controversial visit by Pope Benedict XVI later in the month. ...Ali Bardakoglu, head of the country's religious affairs, said "it was saddening" to see Islam being criticized while the religion's contribution to civilization is ignored.
"This attitude, which fuels division and lack of mutual trust, is seriously threatening world peace," Bardakoglu told a conference in Istanbul attended by several African Muslim leaders."
"End of free speech?" (Pieter Dorsman, Peaktalk, 2006/11/01)
This week Peaktalk "focuses entirely on Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and free speech." Meanwhile, the latest from Sweden is that Kent Ekeroth, a trainee on the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv, has been forced to leave his job immediately because he is an active member of the anti-immigrant Sverigedemokraterna and "openly presents his views on the Internet." [both links in Swedish]:
"Two years after Theo's death it seems nothing has changed, in fact, things are getting progressively worse in Europe. The latest from Germany:A Turkish-born lawmaker who urged Muslim women in Germany to take off their head scarves has received death threats and is now under police protection, a spokesman for her party said Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, Ekin Deligoz, a member of Germany’s opposition Green Party, said “the head scarf is a symbol of women’s oppression.”
And then there is this nugget from Britain, which would probably do well in the jawdropping moment of the week contest (where John Kerry outdid everyone else):
A reader from Worthing, West Sussex, recently attempted to buy a copy of Ian Buruma's Murder In Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance in her local bookshop. 'I'm sorry,' said the sales assistant, 'but the book has been banned.'
Atlantic Books, who publish Mr Buruma, assure us that the book is not only freely available but also selling well. It turns out a wholesaler misinformed the bookshop. However, the assistant must take responsibility for the following - startling - suggestion: 'Why not try Mein Kampf instead?'
What?" (See also: "Lawmaker threatened for head scarf comments" (AP/MSNBC, 2006/10/31) and "Literary life" (Mark Sanderson, The Daily Telegraph, 2006/10/31))
"The West's Self-Imposed Censorship" (Amir Taheri, Gulf News/FrontPageMagazine, 2006/10/13)
"In Communist-ruled East Germany, they had a term for it: pre-emptive obedience. This meant guessing the future orders of the politburo and obeying them before they were issued. East Germany was thrown into the dustbin of history a long time ago. However, "pre-emptive obedience" is making a comeback in re-unified Germany and several other European countries.
It was based on "pre-emptive obedience" that the German Opera in Berlin decided to cancel its production of Mozart's Idomeneo after the managers decided that it might anger Muslims. ...
"Pre-emptive obedience" was also at work when the Whitechapel Art Gallery, one of London's major art exhibition venues, decided to withdraw a number of paintings by the surrealist Hans Bellmer. The reason? The management decided that the erotic paintings might "hurt the sensibilities of the Muslim community" which is strongly present in London's East End of which Whitechapel is a part. Again, no Muslim had seen the paintings or would have been able to interpret them as "an erotic assault on the Quran", let alone demand that they be withdrawn. ...
One editor tells me that he has rejected at least 10 manuscripts in the past year alone because he did not wish to "risk controversy or worse" with Muslims. "I don't want to live under police escort," he says." (See also: "UK gallery scraps art, fearing Muslim rage: curator" (Reuters, 2006/10/06))
"La Poupée"
(Hans Bellmer, 1933-45)
"La Poupée, by Hans Bellmer, currently located at the Centre Georges Pompidou, museum of modern art in Paris, France.""UK gallery scraps art, fearing Muslim rage: curator" (Reuters, 2006/10/06)
"PARIS (Reuters) - A London gallery has decided not to show some works of art because it fears they would upset Muslims, a curator said on Friday, a week after a German opera house canned a Mozart production for the same reason.
The director of Britain's Whitechapel Art Gallery decided to remove works by surrealist artist Hans Bellmer from an exhibition the day before it was due to open, one of the museum's curators, Agnes de la Beaumelle, told Reuters.
"The motive was simply to not shock the population of the Whitechapel neighborhood, which is partly Muslim," she said.
The Whitechapel area in east London is home to many ethnic minorities including a large Bangladeshi community.
The gallery issued a statement saying that some works were not included in the exhibition because of space constraints but declined to comment specifically on what Beaumelle said.""Berlin opera house reinstates controversial opera" (DPA/Expatica, 2006/10/05)
"The Berlin opera house which last week cancelled a production for fear of protests by Muslims announced Wednesday it was reinstating Idomeneo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but set no date.
Media and German politicians have accused Deutsche Oper Berlin of practising "self-censorship" and kowtowing to violent radicals. ...
Opera house spokesman Alexander Busche said, "The earliest slot for the production is in December, but first we need an okay about security from the police." City police are expected to mount a strong guard at the theatre if there are any demonstrations outside.""Publisher Pulls Book On Muslim Violence" (Shlomo Greenwald, The Jewish Press, 2006/10/04)
"The latest example of radical Muslim interference with free speech took place without even a hint of a fatwah.
Last week a book publisher told Nancy Kobrin, a psychoanalyst and lecturer on counter-terrorism, that they were withdrawing the publication of her book, "The Sheikh's New Clothes," because they were afraid of fundamentalist repercussions, according to Kobrin.
The book, subtitled "The Naked Truth about Islamic Suicide Terrorism," tackles the psychology of fundamentalist Islamic terrorists and tries to understand the roots of their radical behavior.
Kobrin had been working on the book for about a year, and signed a contract with Looseleaf Law Publications in September 2005. The book was scheduled for publication in about a month. ...
According to Kobrin, Mary Loughrey, a vice president with the book publisher, called to tell her that 'because of security reasons they feared for the safety of the staff and themselves.'" (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch.)"An Opera In the Key Of Denial" (Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 2006/10/03)
"In fact, the fuss over the Deutsche Oper and its bloody heads demonstrates that Germany, like much of Europe, remains totally unprepared for the reality of modern terrorism. ...
In truth, the fact that Germany still hasn't experienced a Madrid- or London-style bombing is thanks to good luck, not good planning. As recently as July, German police discovered two unexploded -- because of poor design -- suitcase bombs on a train.
That Germany contains the kinds of radicals who could and would carry out such a threat is beyond doubt: Mohamed Atta, leader of the Sept. 11 hijackers, studied in Hamburg. That Germans don't want to think about this is beyond dispute, too: More than 80 percent have told pollsters that they don't feel personally threatened by terrorism at all. ...
By contrast, it's not unusual in Germany, or elsewhere in Europe, to hear that the "war on terrorism" is phony, a jumped-up invention of the Bush administration and the American media, a pretend reason for the invasion of Iraq, a laughably stupid way of conning voters -- and a pathetic excuse for limiting artistic freedom.
Neither the events of Sept. 11 nor any of the bombings that followed seems to have convinced Europeans that anything important has changed in the world. I only wish they were right.""'Europeans Have Stopped Defending Their Values'" (Der Spiegel, 2006/10/02)
"For years, political scientist Bassam Tibi has been urging Muslims to integrate into European societies and Europe to stand up to Islamists. He spoke with SPIEGEL about the weakness of Europe, the orthodoxy of Islam and what Germany needs to do to open up.":"Tibi: ... When it comes to Islam, there is no freedom of the press nor freedom of opinion in Germany. Organized groups in Islamic communities want to decide what is said and done here. I myself have been dropped from numerous events because of threats.
SPIEGEL: You are trying to say that critics of Islam are systematically silenced in Germany?
Tibi: Yes. Even the comparatively moderate Turkish organization DITIB says there are no Islamists, only Islam and Muslims -- anything else is racism. That means that you can no longer criticize the religion. ...
Tibi: ... Muslims stand by their religion entirely. It is a sort of religious absolutism. While Europeans have stopped defending the values of their civilization. They confuse tolerance with relativism. ...
Tibi: Muslims have to give up three things if they want to become Europeans: They have to bid farewell to the idea of converting others, and renounce the Jihad. The Jihad is not just a way of testing yourself but also means using violence to spread Islam. The third thing they need to give up is the Shariah, which is the Islamic legal system. This is incompatible with the German constitution. There are also two things they need to redefine.
SPIEGEL: Which are?
Tibi: Pluralism and tolerance are pillars of modern society. That has to be accepted. But pluralism doesn't just mean diversity. It means that we share the same rules and values, and are still nevertheless different. Islam doesn't have this idea. And Islam also has no tradition of tolerance. In Islam tolerance means that Christians and Jews are allowed to live under the protection of Muslims but never as citizens with the same rights. What Muslims call tolerance is nothing other than discrimination.
SPIEGEL: How many of the 3 million Muslims living in Germany would agree to these demands?
Tibi: A few thousand perhaps."
"Teacher forced into hiding after attacking Islam" (Jenny Percival, The Times, 2006/09/29)
"Robert Redeker, 52, from Toulouse in south-west France, is receiving round-the-clock police protection and changing addresses every two days, after publishing an article describing the Koran as a "book of extraordinary violence" and Islam as "a religion which ... exalts violence and hate". ...
In an interview with i-TV he said that he had received several e-mail threats targeting himself and his wife and three children and that his photograph and address were available on several Islamist internet sites.
"There is a very clear map of how to get to my home, with the words: ’This pig must have his head cut off’," he said.
Another e-mail says: "You will never again be safe on this earth. One billion, 300 million Muslims are ready to kill you."
And interviewed over the telephone from a safe house by Europe 1 radio, he complained that the education ministry had left him alone and abandoned. He said the ministry "has not even contacted me, has not deigned to get in touch to see if I need any help."
He accepted that his detractors had "already won a victory of sorts."
"I cannot do my job. I have no freedom of movement. I am in hiding. Already they have succeeded in punishing me ... as if I was guilty of holding the wrong opinions."See also:
"France: Philosophy Teacher Receives Muslim Death Threats For Islam Article" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/28)
"Writer of 'anti-Islam' article gets death threats" (Expatica, 2006/09/28)
"What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?" (Robert Redeker, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)
"Tunisia: Muslims Ban French Newspaper For Questioning Islamic Intimidation" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)"Death Threats in Brussels, France (Robert Redeker)" (Paul Belien, The Brussels Journal, 2006/09/29)
"Yesterday the Belgian authorities decided to give police protection to people working in the Brussels prisons of Vorst and Sint-Gillis. The decision was taken after two jailers, on their way to work, were attacked on a Brussels tram. Immigrant youths called them “assassins” and threatened them with knives. All the prison employees are now escorted by the police on their way to the car park or to the nearby train station.
According to the youths the jailers “murdered” Fayçal Chabaan, a 25-year old Moroccan criminal, who was an inmate in Vorst Prison. Chabaan, died last Sunday after having been given a sedative. Sunday was the first day of the Islamic holy month of ramadan when Muslims are only allowed to eat after sunset. Moroccan youths claim Chabaan was holding his ramadan fast and had complained about the food of the evening meal. The situation in the Brussels prisons is tense, with many Muslim inmates blaming the prison authorities for Chabaan’s death.""It's the Idomeneo effect: increase security then watch the consequences" (Mick Hume, The Times, 2006/09/29)
"Who needs book burners or theatre-door protesters when Europe’s cultural elite is prepared to tear up scripts or turn out the lights? ...
The Berlin opera affair has become a cause célèbre for German politicians. The Interior Minister called the decision “crazy”; Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, said that “self-censorship out of fear is intolerable”. But it wasn’t the opera director who invented the notion that Europe’s culture should prostrate itself to avoid offending Islam. She need only have noted the furore surrounding what Pope Benedict XVI said about Islam.
The Catholic Church took 350 years to revoke the historic condemnation of Galileo, with no apology; the current Pope took two days to distance himself from words he used at a German academic event, and apologise for any offence.""France: Philosophy Teacher Receives Muslim Death Threats For Islam Article" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/28)
Robert Redeker II: "And a truly sad letter from Robert Redeker to his friend Andre Gluksmann shows how isolated the philosopher has now become. Such is the price to be paid for exercising one's right to freedom of expression in the modern world. Betrayal (from one's editor) and terrorist threats placing one in fear of one's life. The following is my translation of this letter:Dear Andre, greetings. I am now in a catastrophic personal situation. Several death threats have been sent to me, and I have been sentenced to death by organizations of the al-Qaeda movement.
UCLAT [l'Unite de Coordination de la Lutte Anti-Terroriste, the Anti-Terrorism Coordination Unit] and DST [Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire, the domestic anti-terrorism intelligence service] are busy, but....I no longer have the right to stay in my own home (on the websites condemning me to death there is a map showing how to get to my house to kill me, they have my photo, the places where I work, the telephone numbers, and the death fatwa).
But at the same time there is no safe place for me, I have to beg, two evenings here, two evenings there....I am am under the constant protection of the police. I must cancel all scheduled conferences. And the authorities urge me to keep moving. I am an SDF (of no fixed abode?). From here, there follows an insane financial situation, all costs are at my own expense, including those of rents a month or two ahead, the costs of moving twice, legal expenses, etc.
It's quite sad. I exercised my constitutional rights, and I am punished for it, even in the territory of the Republic. This affair is also an attack against national sovereignty - foreign rules, decided by criminally minded fanatics, punish me for having exercised a constitutional right, and I am subjected, even in France, to great injury
Regards
Robert Redeker"
(Hat tip: The Brussels Journal.)
"Writer of 'anti-Islam' article gets death threats" (Expatica, 2006/09/28)
Robert Redeker I: "SAINT-ORENS-DE-GAMEVILLE, France, Sept 28, 2006 (AFP) — A French philosophy teacher was under police protection Thursday after receiving death threats over an article he wrote in a national newspaper that accused Islam of "exalting violence", school and police officials said.
Robert Redeker has not attended classes at his secondary school near Toulouse in southern France since September 19, when his opinion column appeared in the right-wing daily Le Figaro.
"He received written death threats in the form of emails. On the face of it they were pretty serious," said the lycée's headmaster Pierre Donnadieu.
Police confirmed the threat but refused to comment on the protection Redeker is receiving.
Under the heading "In the face of Islamist intimidation, what must the free world do?", Redeker described the Koran as a "book of extraordinary violence" and Islam as 'a religion which ... exalts violence and hate.'" (Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)"Berlin opera at center of free-speech debate" (David R. Sands, The Washington Times, 2006/09/28)
"Europe found itself embroiled in yet another raging debate over faith and free speech yesterday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against "self-censorship" following the cancellation this week of a Mozart opera in Berlin that producers feared might offend Muslims. ...
"We should watch that we don't keep retreating for fear of radicals willing to employ violence," Mrs. Merkel told the Neue Presse, a Hanover, Germany, newspaper. "Self-censorship based on fear is indefensible." ...
The Danish editor who published the Muhammad cartoons a year ago told the Reuters news agency yesterday that the opera cancellation proved his point about Western self-censorship in the face of Islamist threats.
Bowing to such threats "plays into the hands of radicals," said Flemming Rose of Copenhagen's Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "You are telling them, 'Your tactics are working.'" ...
The Berlin opera house cited the Danish cartoon crisis as one reason behind its decision.
Marcel Furstenau, political correspondent for Berlin's DW Radio, said in a column published yesterday, 'If the Deutsche Oper decision is an indication of future behavior, then it spells the end of artistic freedom and freedom of expression in Germany.'""Afraid of the Fear of Terror" (Henryk M. Broder, Der Spiegel, 2006/09/27)
Opera IV: "The case of the Deutsche Oper is spectacular. When something like this happens in some small town, no one gets upset, because it happens there every day. Cabaret artist Hans Scheibner writes regular features for the daily Schweriner Zeitung. The paper is owned by the Flensburg-based media group sh:z, which publishes 14 dailies in Germany's Schleswig-Holstein region. When the Muhammad caricatures published by various Western newspapers caused such a stir this spring, Scheibner wrote a feature that began: "No, really, my dear Muslims, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but our God here in the Christian West is much stronger than yours..." That was more than the Schweriner Zeitung thought its readers could take. The feature was never published.
When the Pope visited his hometown in Bavaria, Scheibner wrote a feature that was just as harmless. "In Bavaria, the Bavarians have rendered homage to their very own guru, who's always walking around in those funny clothes and with a smoking lantern in his hand." This feature wasn't published either: The editors decided it constituted an "insult to religious sentiment" before even a single Catholic had a chance to complain.
What's next? Hamburg Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke, a liberal Catholic, isn't the only one who believes religious feelings shouldn't be hurt. If this attitude prevails, drama, art and literature will have a hard time in the future. Voltaire, Spinoza and Heine will be banned from the libraries. Even a drama as harmless as Lessing's "Nathan the Wise" could cause outrage. The play features a dialogue between a Christian, a Jewish and a Muslim character. But it doesn't present them as absolute equals." (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch.)"Fear of offending Islam spurs hot debate in Europe" (Mark Trevelyan and Mike Collett-White, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/27)
Opera III: "'Here we go again. It's like deja vu...This is exactly the kind of self-censorship I and my newspaper have been warning against,' said Flemming Rose, culture editor of Denmark's Jyllands-Posten paper, which met a storm of Muslim protest after publishing satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad last year.
He said bowing to fears of a violent Muslim reaction would only worsen the problem: "You play into the hands of the radicals. You are telling them: your tactics are working. This is a victory for the radicals. It's weakening the moderate Muslims who are our allies in this battle of ideas." ...
Some analysts fear a climate is developing in which people are afraid to speak out publicly. In a speech to the annual conference of think-tank Oxford Analytica last week, its head, David Young, said political correctness posed a threat to free expression for journalists, politicians and academics alike.""Merkel warns against bowing to fear of Muslim violence" (Madeline Chambers, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/27)
Opera II: "BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Wednesday not to bow to fears of Islamic violence after a Berlin opera house canceled a Mozart work over concerns some scenes could enrage Muslims and pose a security risk.
"I think the cancellation was a mistake. I think self-censorship does not help us against people who want to practice violence in the name of Islam," she told reporters. "It makes no sense to retreat."
Merkel's comments, which echoed those of other senior German politicians, fueled a row over the cancellation of Mozart's "Idomeneo" which overshadowed a government-sponsored conference to promote dialogue with the country's 3.2 million Muslims. ...
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters after the conference the participants were united in their call for the opera to restart performances of "Idomeneo."
"I am glad that we all agreed we would like the production to resume," Schaeuble, who has no authority over the opera house, told reporters after the conference. "To send a signal, we could all go to the performance together," he said.""Opera Canceled Over a Depiction of Muhammad" (Judy Dempsey, The New York Times, 2006/09/27)
Opera I: "BERLIN, Sept. 26 — A leading German opera house has canceled performances of a Mozart opera because of security fears stirred by a scene that depicts the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, prompting a storm of protest here about what many see as the surrender of artistic freedom. ...
Wolfgang Börnsen, a culture spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc in Parliament, accused the opera house of “falling on its knees before the terrorists.”
“It is a signal to other stages in Germany, or even elsewhere in Europe, to put no works on their programs that criticize Islam,” he said. ...
The cancellation of the performances fanned a debate in Europe about whether the West is compromising values like free expression to avoid stoking anger in the Muslim world. ...
Michael Naumann, a former German culture minister, said, “It’s a slap in the face of artistic freedom, by the artists themselves.” Mr. Naumann, now the publisher of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, added, 'The pope showed the way by being so extraordinarily apologetic.'" (See also: "Politicians slam Berlin opera for canceling Idomeneo" (Noah Barkin, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/26), "Opera withdrawn over Islamist threat" (Bertrand Benoit, Financial Times, 2006/09/26) and "German opera house dumps Mozart opera depicting Mohammed" (DPA/The Raw Story, 2006/09/25))
"King Idomeneo..."
(El Pais, 2006/09/26)
Reuters: "In the production, which is directed by Hans Neuenfels, King Idomeneo is shown staggering on stage next to the severed heads of Buddha, Jesus, Poseidon and the Prophet Mohammad, which sit on chairs. 'To avoid endangering the public and its employees, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin has decided to refrain from showing 'Idomeneo' in November,' the opera house said.""Politicians slam Berlin opera for canceling Idomeneo" (Noah Barkin, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/26)
Opera II: "German politicians denounced the opera house's move, deputy parliamentary speaker Wolfgang Thierse saying it highlighted a new threat to free artistic expression in Germany.
"Has it come so far that we must limit artistic expression?" he told Reuters. "What will be next?"
Peter Ramsauer, head of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) in parliament, said the move pointed to a "naked fear of violence" and called it an act of "pure cowardice."
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also criticized the decision. "We tend to become crazy if we start to forbid Mozart operas being played. We will not accept it," he told a news conference during a visit to Washington.""Opera withdrawn over Islamist threat" (Bertrand Benoit, Financial Times, 2006/09/26)
Opera I: "Indignation erupted across Germany’s political spectrum on Tuesday after a renowned opera house said it had dropped a controversial production of Mozart’s Idomeneo from its programme because it feared becoming a target of Islamist extremists.
Wolfgang Schäuble, interior minister, attacked the decision by Berlin’s Deutsche Oper not to show the 200-year-old work as “crazy”, “ridiculous” and “unacceptable”.
Bernd Neumann, culture minister, said it showed “the democratic culture of free speech is in danger”. ...
Equally vociferous counter-reactions in Germany highlighted mounting fears that the country’s postwar culture of secularism, tolerance and democracy may be under attack from the very minorities that have thrived under its protection.
Unlikely bedfellows have been united in protest at Deutsche Oper’s decision. Conservative MPs from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party found themselves agreeing with Dieter Wiefelspütz, a Social Democratic security expert, calling the cancellation “a concession to terrorists” and a “shameful” move, respectively." (See also: "German opera house dumps Mozart opera depicting Mohammed" (DPA/The Raw Story, 2006/09/25))"Intimidating the West, from Rushdie to Benedict" (Daniel Pipes, New York Sun/danielpipes.org, 2006/09/26)
"The violence by Muslims responding to comments by the pope fit a pattern that has been building and accelerating since 1989. Six times since then, Westerners did or said something that triggered death threats and violence in the Muslim world. Looking at them in the aggregate offers useful insights.• 1989 – Salman Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses prompted Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a death edict against him and his publishers, on the grounds that the book "is against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran." Subsequent rioting led to over 20 deaths, mostly in India.
• 1997 – The U.S. Supreme Court refused to remove a 1930s frieze showing Muhammad as lawgiver that decorates the main court chamber; the Council on American-Islamic Relations made an issue of this, leading to riots and injuries in India.
• 2002 – The American evangelical leader Jerry Falwell calls Muhammad a "terrorist," leading to church burnings and at least 10 deaths in India.
• 2005 – An incorrect story in Newsweek, reporting that American interrogators at Guantánamo Bay, "in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur'an down a toilet," is picked up by the famous Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan, and prompts protests around the Muslim world, leading to at least 15 deaths..
• February 2006 – The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten publishes twelve cartoons of Muhammad, spurring a Palestinian Arab imam in Copenhagen, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, to excite Muslim opinion against the Danish government. He succeeds so well, hundreds die, mostly in Nigeria.
• September 2006 – Pope Benedict XVI quotes a Byzantine emperor's views that what is new in Islam is "evil and inhuman," prompting the firebombing of churches and the murder of several Christians. ...
No conspiracy lies behind these six rounds of inflammation and aggression, but examined in retrospect, they coalesce and form a single, prolonged campaign of intimidation, with surely more to come. The basic message – "You Westerners no longer have the privilege to say what you will about Islam, the Prophet, and the Qur'an, Islamic law rules you too" – will return again and again until Westerners either do submit or Muslims realize their effort has failed."
"Pope Benedict (L) shakes hands with ambassadors of Islamic nations..."
(Osservatore Romano, 2006/09/25)
"Pope Benedict (L) shakes hands with ambassadors of Islamic nations and Italian Islamic leaders in a room at his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, outside Rome, September 25, 2006.""Text of Pope's speech" (BBC News, 2006/09/25)
"The following is the text of Pope Benedict XVI's speech to Muslim envoys":
"Continuing, then, the work undertaken by my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, I sincerely pray that the relations of trust which have developed between Christians and Muslims over several years, will not only continue, but will develop further in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue, based on ever more authentic reciprocal knowledge which, with joy, recognises the religious values that we have in common and, with loyalty, respects the differences.
Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a necessity for building together this world of peace and fraternity ardently desired by all people of good will.
In this area, our contemporaries expect from us an eloquent witness to show all people the value of the religious dimension of life.
Likewise, faithful to the teachings of their own religious traditions, Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings, in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence; as for us, religious authorities and political leaders, we must guide and encourage them in this direction.""Pope says Christians, Muslims must reject violence" (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/25)
"CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Monday that Christians and Muslims must reject violence, in an unprecedented meeting with Islamic envoys to defuse anger at his use of quotes saying their faith was spread by the sword.
The Pope expressed his "esteem and profound respect" for members of the Islamic faith in a speech to diplomatic envoys from some 20 Muslim countries plus the leaders of Italy's own Muslim community at his summer residence south of Rome. ...
"Christians and Muslims must learn to work together ... in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence," the 79-year-old Pope said at the meeting in a frescoed hall of the papal summer palace.
It was the fourth time he has tried to make amends to Muslims, without actually apologizing directly, for a speech at a university in his native Germany on September 12. ...
"I sincerely pray that the relations of trust which have developed between Christians and Muslims over several years, will not only continue, but will develop further in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue ...," he said.""German opera house dumps Mozart opera depicting Mohammed" (DPA/The Raw Story, 2006/09/25)
"Berlin - One of Germany's leading opera houses, Deutsche Oper Berlin, announced Monday that it was cancelling a controversial production because of the likelihood that it might offend Muslims. The original opera, Idomeneo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, makes no reference to Islam, but director Hans Neuenfels introduced a scene to his production that depicts the decapitated heads of the Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, the Buddha and the Greek god Poseidon.
It caused outrage at the premiere in 2003. The opera company said it was cancelling plans to revive the show next month after advice from security authorities in Berlin that the performances posed an "incalculable" security risk. ...
The original Mozart opera, first performed in 1781, revolves around resistance to human sacrifice to the gods.
But Neuenfels, famed for his provocative interpretations, turned Idomeneo into an attack on world religions, reviewers said back in December 2003." (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch.)"Barroso disappointed at lack of EU support for Pope" (Reuters/The Washington Post, 2006/09/23)
"European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was quoted as saying on Saturday that more European leaders should have spoken out in support of the Pope after he made his disputed comments on Islam.
"I was disappointed there were not more European leaders who said 'naturally the Pope has the right to express his views'," Barroso was quoted as saying to the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"The problem is not the statements of the Pope but the reaction of the extremists," the paper quoted him as saying in a preview of an article to appear on Sunday. ...
Barroso said the caution on the part of European leaders was probably due to "worries about a possible confrontation" as well as a "certain form of political correctness."
"We have to defend our values," he said. "We should also encourage the moderate leaders in the Muslim world -- and they're the majority -- to distance themselves from this extremism," Barroso was quoted as saying."
"A Palestinian protester holds an unflattering picture..."
(Muhammed Muheisen, AP, 2006/09/22)
"A Palestinian protester holds an unflattering picture showing Pope Benedict XVI during a demonstration against his recent speech about Islam, following prayers in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, Sept. 22, 2006. Thousands of Muslim worshippers staged anti-pope marches in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza on Friday, waving green Hamas banners and denouncing the pontiff as a coward. The Arabic writing on the poster reads, 'There are many lies that go out of their mouths.'""Pakistanis protest, cleric says Pope should be crucified" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
Pope III. But remember, what might seem like inflammatory language is actually not inflammatory:
"Hundreds of Pakistani Islamists held street protests to condemn Pope Benedict XVI for remarks they regard as anti-Islamic, with one leader saying the pontiff should be crucified.
Demonstrators Friday poured out of mosques after the main weekly Muslim prayers in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore, the capital Islamabad and other urban centres.
"If the pope comes here we will hang him on the Cross," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior leader of Pakistan's main alliance of radical parties, told around 200 noisy demonstrators in Islamabad." (Hat tip: Gateway Pundit.)"Thousands rally against pope in Mideast" (Sarah El Deeb, AP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
Pope III: "Thousands of Muslim worshippers staged marches against Pope Benedict XVI in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza on Friday, waving green Hamas banners and denouncing him as a "coward" and an "agent of the Americans." ...
At Islam's third-holiest shrine, the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, hundreds of worshippers hoisted black flags and banners that read, "Conquering Rome is the answer." Protesters chanted, "The army of Islam will return." The march dispersed peacefully. ...
"If I get hold of the pope, I will hang him," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior MMA leader, told protesters in Islamabad, who carried placards reading "Terrorist, extremist Pope be hanged!" and "Down with Muslims' enemies!" ...
Malaysia's opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party staged demonstrations outside mosques nationwide, calling for the pope to fully retract his remarks. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, some 150 party members chanted "Stop the insults" and held a banner that read 'We Muslims are peace-loving people.'""Pope to meet Muslim envoys after speech offends" (Philip Pullella and Stephen Brown, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/22)
Pope II: "VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will meet Muslim ambassadors to the
Vatican and Italian Islamic leaders on Monday to try to calm lingering anger over his use of a medieval text saying their religion was spread by violence.
"The purpose of this meeting is to relaunch dialogue with the Islamic world," said a senior Vatican official on Friday, after invitations were sent for the meeting on Monday at the Pope's summer palace in Castelgandolfo, outside Rome.
Islamic diplomats accredited to the Holy See hoped it would help restore trust between the Roman Catholic Church and Muslims offended by the Pope's speech last week in his native Germany.
"We welcome it and are definitely going to participate," said Iran's deputy ambassador to the Holy See, Ahmad Faihma.
"This is a positive signal from the Vatican. I know that this will improve relations with the Islamic world," he said.""Confronted by the Islamist threat on all sides, Europe pathetically caves in" (Gerard Baker, The Times, 2006/09/22)
"But the scale of Europe’s moral crisis is larger than ever. Opposing the war in Iraq was one thing, defensible in the light of events. But opting out of a serious fight against the Taleban, sabotaging efforts to get Iran off its path towards nuclear status, pre-emptively cringing to Muslim intolerance of free speech and criticism, all suggest something quite different.
They imply a slow but insistent collapse of the European will, the steady attrition of the self-preservation instinct. Its effects can be seen not only in the political field, but in other ways — the startling decline of birth rates across the continent that represent a sort of self-inflicted genocide; the refusal to confront the harsh realities of a global economy.
It may well be that history will judge that Europe’s decline came at the very moment of its apparent triumph. The traumas of the first half of the 20th century have combined with the economic successes of the second half to induce a collective loss of will. Great civilisations die not in the end because of external force majeure but because internally the will to thrive is sapped.""Tolerance: A Two-Way Street" (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 2006/09/22)
Pope I: "'How dare you say Islam is a violent religion? I'll kill you for it' is not exactly the best way to go about refuting the charge. But of course, refuting is not the point here. The point is intimidation. ...
And the intimidation succeeds: politicians bowing and scraping to the mob over the cartoons; Saturday's craven New York Times editorial telling the pope to apologize; the plague of self-censorship about anything remotely controversial about Islam -- this in a culture in which a half-naked pop star blithely stages a mock crucifixion as the highlight of her latest concert tour.
In today's world, religious sensitivity is a one-way street. The rules of the road are enforced by Islamic mobs and abjectly followed by Western media, politicians and religious leaders.""What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?" (Robert Redeker, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)
Robert Redeker II. A translation of Redeker's "Face aux intimidations islamistes, que doit faire le monde libre?" (Robert Redeker, Le Figaro, 2006/09/19):
"The reactions caused by the analysis of Benoit XVI on Islam and violence highlight the underhanded maneuver carried out by the same Islam to stifle what the West has of more value than anything which exists in any Moslem country: the freedom to think and to express oneself.
Islam tries to impose on Europe its rules: opening of swimming pools at certain hours exclusively for women, prevention of caricaturing this religion, requirement of a particular dietary treatment for Moslem children in canteens, the battle to wear the veil at school, accusations of Islamophobia against free spirits. ...
Hatred and violence inhabit the book with which every Muslim is brought up, the Koran. As in the Cold War, where violence and intimidation were the methods used by an ideology intent on forcing hegemony, so too does Islam, to place its leaden cloak over the world. Benedict XVI suffered a cruel experience. In these times, one must call the West the "free world" compared to the Muslim world, for in these times, the enemies of the "free world", zealous functionaries of the Koran's vision, are swarming at its center.""Tunisia: Muslims Ban French Newspaper For Questioning Islamic Intimidation" (Giraldus Cambrensis, Western Resistance, 2006/09/20)
Robert Redeker I: "Today, according to Deutsche Presse Agentur via The Raw Story and also from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) news comes that the French right-leaning newspaper Le Figaro has been banned in Tunisia. The reason for the ban is an article by French philosopher Robert Redeker ..., entitled: "Face aux intimidations islamistes, que doit faire le monde libre?" or "What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?".
The decision was announced by an official from the Tunisian government's interior ministry. RSF claims that the piece is aggressive against Muslims, but having spent nearly two hours translating it into English, I do not think it is aggressive. It is honest.
RSF states: 'Without taking a position on the content of the op-ed piece, which was very aggressive towards Muslims, we point out that it is up to Tunisian readers to form their own opinion and not for the Tunisian authorities to filter information.'""The Pope and the Prophet" (Sean Matgamna, Workers' Liberty, 2006/09/20)
Pope II: "He is forced to deny that he said what he said, and what he clearly intended to say! Just like a heretic of old, in the torturing hands of the Catholic Inquisition! Like, say, Galileo Galilei, who, in the late 17th century, was forced, under threat of being burned alive, to deny his belief that the earth moved around the sun.
I repeat: if political Islam can do that to the Bishop of Rome, what can it not do to secularists, male and female sexual rebels, infidels, apostates from Islam, and socialists in the countries where it is dominant, and in the communities in Western Europe where it is immensely powerful? What does it do? Everywhere it is repressive, often murderously. ...
All the more shameful then, for the Guardian, the chief “organ” of British invertebrate liberalism, to editorialise, magisterially about Islamic-Christian relations (18-9-06). What needs to be done is to defend free speech, without weaseling equivocation! The Guardian? It argues, essentially, that the sensibilities and demands of political Islam should be pandered to. Theirs is liberalism rendered helplessly unprincipled, denuded both of historical perspective and historical memory. It is without even a spark of the will to defend the liberal values it professes to hold.
The “revolutionary” kitsch-left, of course, is even worse than the invertebrate liberals. It has made itself into the bigots-cheering advocate of the cause and the demands of Islamic clerical fascism. ...
When both the “revolutionary” kitsch-left and the backbone-free liberals do what they are doing, then secularists, consistent liberals and socialists who haven't lost their wits or their historical perspective, should make their voices heard." (Hat tip: Melanie Phillips.)"Mum's the Word, Lest We Provoke a Lethal Tantrum" (James Lileks, NMS, 2006/09/20)
Pope I: "Clip and save, for this may come in handy:
If you mock Islam with a drawing or a novel, you get riots and dead people. News of mishandled holy books yields riots and dead people. Insufficiently reverent short films by a Dutchman yields a dead person, specifically the Dutchman.
Now we add this detail: Quoting medieval religious colloquies is a reasonable justification for burning churches, shooting a nun and holding up signs demanding that the pope convert to Islam or saw off his own head. (There have been reports of carpal tunnel syndrome among radical Islam's enforcers, and they have requested we all help out.)
This is a new twist: Now history itself cannot be discussed. Since it's difficult to predict what else will enflame the devout, Islam has to be treated with unusual deference, like a 3-year-old child with anger management problems. ...
In the meantime, we will learn to say less and less about more and more. As the grim cliche has it: If you say Islam isn't always a religion of peace, the Islamicists will kill you. This doesn't make them hypocrites, of course. The grave is a very peaceful place.""Pakistan calls for ban on 'defamation of Islam' in veiled attack on pope" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/19)
Pope IV: "UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called for a ban on the "defamation of Islam" in a speech to the UN General Assembly in which he took a veiled swipe at Pope Benedict XVI for his remarks linking the Muslim faith to violence.
"We also need to bridge, through dialogue and understanding, the growing divide between the Islamic and Western worlds," Musharraf told the 192-member assembly. "It is imperative to end racial and religious discrimination against Muslims and to prohibit the defamation of Islam."
And in an indirect reference to Pope Benedict XVI, he added: 'It is most disappointing to see personalities of high standing oblivious of Muslim sensitivities at these critical moments.'""Terror group threatens Gaza Christians" (Khaled Abu Toameh, The Jerusalem Post, 2006/09/19)
Pope III: "A previously unknown group calling itself the Huda [Guidance] Army Organization threatened on Tuesday to target all Christians living in the Gaza Strip unless Pope Benedict XVI apologized for his remarks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammed.
"We will target all Crusaders in the Gaza Strip," the group said in a leaflet, "until the pope issues an official apology."
The group also threatened to attack churches and Christian-owned institutions and homes. "All centers belonging to Crusaders, including churches and institutions, will from now on be targeted," it said. "We will even attack the Crusaders as they sit intoxicated in their homes."
The group said preparations had been completed "to strike at every Crusader and infidel on the purified land of Palestine." It also threatened "to strike with an iron fist anyone who dares to defend the Crusaders."
The latest threat is the second of its kind against Christians in the Gaza Strip over the past few days.""Angry Turk workers urge Pope's arrest during visit" (Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2006/09/19)
Pope II: "Employees of the state body that organizes Muslim worship in Turkey asked the authorities on Tuesday to open legal proceedings against Pope Benedict and to arrest him when he visits the country in November. ...
Employees of Ankara's Directorate General for Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, presented a petition to the Justice Ministry asking it to launch a probe into the Pope's remarks and to detain him when he arrives, the Anatolian news agency said.
They said the Pontiff had violated Turkish laws upholding freedom of belief and thought by "insulting" Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.
The protesters held banners that read 'Either apologize or don't come.'""Enough Apologies" (Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 2006/09/19)
Pope I: "Instead, Western politicians, writers, thinkers and speakers should stop apologizing -- and start uniting.
By this, I don't mean that we all need to rush to defend or to analyze this particular sermon; I leave that to experts on Byzantine theology. But we can all unite in our support for freedom of speech -- surely the pope is allowed to quote from medieval texts -- and of the press. And we can also unite, loudly, in our condemnation of violent, unprovoked attacks on churches, embassies and elderly nuns. ...
Maybe it's a pipe dream: The day when the White House and Greenpeace can issue a joint statement is surely distant indeed. But if stray comments by Western leaders -- not to mention Western films, books, cartoons, traditions and values -- are going to inspire regular violence, I don't feel that it's asking too much for the West to quit saying sorry and unite, occasionally, in its own defense. The fanatics attacking the pope already limit the right to free speech among their own followers. I don't see why we should allow them to limit our right to free speech, too."
"Iraqis burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI..."
(Nabil Al- Jurani, AP, 2006/09/18)
"Iraqis burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI during a demonstration, in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Monday Sept.18, 2006.""Rushdie, Hirsi Ali, the Pope -- Who's Next?" (Claus Christian Malzahn, Der Spiegel, 2006/09/18)
Pope VIII: "The pope has apologized for the outrage amongst Muslims sparked by his recent comments. But the episode proves once again that criticizing Islam is dangerous.
Twenty years ago in the German city of Bremen, Dutch comedian Rudi Carrell's life depended on police protection. His offense? In a satirical program on German television, he let fly with a lewd joke about the then leader of the Iranian revolution Ayatollah Khomeini. Mass demonstrations in Iran -- orchestrated, no doubt, by the government -- were the result. The threats of violence led to an apology by Carrell, and he never again made a joke about any Muslim -- at least not on television. ...
But the attacks against the pope are especially grotesque. The severe criticism -- often coupled with threats of violence -- directed at the speech held last Tuesday by Benedict XVI is not just an attack on the head of the Catholic Church. The malicious twisting of the pope's words and the absurd allegations made by representatives of Islam represent a frontal attack on open religious and philosophical dialogue.
That so many in the Muslim world joined the protests against the pope merely show just how influential Islamist extremist groups have become. The political goal of the Islamists is clear: any dispute between Christianity and Islam must obey the rules handed down by political Islamism.""If the Pope said it here, he'd be arrested" (Richard Littlejohn, The Daily Mail, 2006/09/18)
