Comments on: “Stifling free speech — globally”

By: Marginalized Action Dinosaur » International anti blasphemy laws. No defaming religions but,… not Judaism or Christianity I’ll guess

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:22:25 +0000

[…] “Stifling free speech — globally” […]

By: Deoxy

Deoxy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:26:47 +0000

While I don’t necessarily support such laws, “Holocaust denial” is a very, VERY different thing from religious slurs.

The Holocaust is one of the most thoroughly documented genocide attempts in the history of man (which is saying something), and as such, is a factual, historical event.

A “religious slur” is something defined entirely by the religion taking offense, and is thus impossible to avoid (among other problems) – I hereby found my religion, which officially takes offense at any utterance by any human being other than myself (for just one quite silly example).

That’s not to say that Muslims are the only one, necessarily (though they are the overwhelming majority of this category), but the example you chose was very, very poor.

By: Anonymous Attorney

Anonymous Attorney — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:30:09 +0000

But let’s not single out Muslims as the only religio-ethnic group pushing for illegalization of words they don’t like. “Holocaust denial” is a crime in some European nations, and there are Jewish groups on record as supporting these measures.

By: Deoxy

Deoxy — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:53:25 +0000

And some people think those advocating withdrawl from the UN are the kooks…

The UN is a dictators club. Why in the world does anyone think anything good will come of such a group? It truly boggles the mind.

By: Todd Rogers

Todd Rogers — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:18:24 +0000

Bill.
I highly recommend you change your locks, start packin’ heat, and never take the same route to work. Oh, and don’t get crazy and try and draw some cartoons, either. I’d say I agree but for the repercussions.

By: Bill Poser

Bill Poser — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:55:53 +0000

What is even more disturbing is the fact that, although the more recent resolutions are cast in terms of defamation of religion in general, it is quite clear that the true aim is to criminalize only criticism of Islam. Indeed, since the Qur’an and other Muslim texts are filled with “defamation” of other religions, even-handed enforcement would require banning the Qur’an and other Muslim publications, a consequence surely not intended by the sponsors.