Islam and Free Speech -- Fighting Back

By The Neville Awards
Posted Feb.14, 2008

Something long dormant in Western societies may be stirring, the urge to overthrow political correctness and fight back against Islamic attempts to silence free speech.

In September 2005, in Denmark, the publication Jyllands-Posten printed a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb protruding from his head set off storms of protest in the Middle East resulting in riots and many Muslim deaths (can't all be bad) and threats of retaliation. Imams made demands that the publication apologize and the cartoonist be fired. There were the usual death threats. And the West cowered in fear. "We mustn't upset them or insult them" was the attitude. Our own pathetic political correctness was driving us into a corner...our own free speech rights were being turned upside down.

Things may be changing...Jyllands-Posten and many other major newspapers - including Politiken and Berlingske Tidende - reprinted the cartoon in recent editions. "We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper will always defend," said the editors. [Read More]

In the United States CAIR has been trying to silence talk show hosts and speakers who expose the Islamic cancer that is infecting public schools, government and daily life in general. One of CAIR's targets is talk show host Michael Savage. CAIR has been using clips from his show for fundraising efforst and promotions. Savage is suing CAIR to get them to stop. [Read More]

In Canada the Canadian Islamic Congress has filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against author Mark Steyn. Steyn adapted a portion of his book 'America Alone' for the magazine Maclean's, Canada's leading news weekly. In his book Steyn makes two important points: first, that the Muslim baby boom around the world will likely result in Christian nations becoming Muslim by weight of demographics; and second that Islam is a political system, not just a religion.

"This article completely misrepresents Canadian Muslims' values, their community, and their religion," said Faisal Joseph, an attorney representing the complainants, in a press release. "We feel that it is imperative to challenge Maclean's biased portrayal of Muslims in order to protect Canadian multiculturalism and tolerance." Blah, Blah, Blah...

Like all of these so-called "human rights organizations" these are left wing fronts that are more concerned with the grievance politics of "victimized minorities" than with human rights in general.

[Read two articles on the Mark Steyn case and the Canadian Human Rights Commission]

In Canada conservative commentator Ezra Levant has been hauled before this same "star chamber" Canadian Human Rights Commission for publishing the same cartoon on his website. Syed Soharwardy, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, filed a complaint after the Western Standard published the cartoons. Levant did not apologize or back down saying he "I don't need to be reasonable. I have maximum rights of free speech."

Not surpisingly, once somebody stood up and said enough, like any bully, Mr. Soharwardy backed down and withdrew his complaint.

[Read the two articles published in NationalPost.com]

Amazingly the commission allowed him to videotape the proceedings...these are now posted on YouTube and linked here:

Opening Statement

I don't answer to the state

The real violence in Edmonton

Entitled to my opinion

What was your intent?

Attributes of free speech

How does the commission make decisons?

Closing argument