The Issue Has Become Crystal Clear

Back from the Pim Fortuyn conference in the Hague where leading critics of Islam spoke, and where an unprecedented degree of security was in place for an intellectual conference, just below the level of “national emergency,” with participants required to use fake names and be individually accompanied by security guards, Douglas Murray writing in the Times of London says that fear of Muslim death threats has stifled the most basic freedoms in the Netherlands. The most dramatic illustration of this is that a year and a half into their ordeal, politicians Geert Wilders and Hirsi Ali are still receiving death threats and still must live surrounded in a wall of security, sleeping in secure locations such as prisons and army bases. And where Netherlands has gone, Murray observes, Britain and the rest of Europe are following:

Holland—with its disproportionately high Muslim population—is the canary in the mine. Its once open society is closing, and Europe is closing slowly behind it. It looks, from Holland, like the twilight of liberalism—not the “liberalism” that is actually libertarianism, but the liberalism that is freedom. Not least freedom of expression.

British police tell a paper they cannot protect it from terrorist threats if they publish the Muhammad cartoon, while 500 police are assigned to protect Muslim protesters calling for the murder of those who insult Islam. Orianna Falacci is about to go on trial in Italy for defaming Islam, and the British government is still trying to get a law passed that would make criticism of Islam impossible. The truth is as clear as daylight. Where Muslims exist in sufficient numbers to have influence, normal Western freedoms cannot long survive. Freedom for Muslims to come to the West and live freely here means the end of our freedom. The practical alternatives are therefore also as clear as daylight. Either we remove the Muslims’ freedom to enter our society and live here and practice their religion here, or we will lose our most basic freedoms—to speak, to write, to express our opinions, to move about, and to maintain a society familiar and recognizable as our own.

The Boston Phoenix tells the truth about why they won't publish the cartoons. They don't want to get killed.

Boston,Mass. has plenty of Muslims and a Mosque. It is one thing to threaten people when you are thousands of miles away,but the Muslims are here amidst us, and can meet you on the street. Especially in Boston. - Tom

There are three reasons not to publish the Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed with his turban styled as a bomb (to view the cartoons, click here) and the other images that have sparked violent protests and deaths throughout Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and Indonesia:

1) Out of fear of retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do. This is, frankly, our primary reason for not publishing any of the images in question. Simply stated, we are being terrorized, and as deeply as we believe in the principles of free speech and a free press, we could not in good conscience place the men and women who work at the Phoenix and its related companies in physical jeopardy. As we feel forced, literally, to bend to maniacal pressure, this may be the darkest moment in our 40-year publishing history.

2) Out of respect for the millions of faithful and peace-abiding believers throughout the world who are deeply disturbed by the violation of their religion’s proscription against the pictorial representation of their prophet.

3) And in the hope that restraint shown by those who believe deeply in the sanctity of free speech will be able to stand side by side with those who believe with equal fervor in the dignity of religious expression to oppose the forces of darkness and evil in the Islamic world.

OMG. They had to use fake names just to talk about Islam! And Britain is thinking of passing laws to make it illegal to publish negative articles/cartoons about Islam.

I can't post what I'm thinking except to say that it appears Europe in general has learned nothing from their Neville Chamberlain days. Nothing at all.

Thanks for the ping, Txsleuth.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.