Two Decades of the Rushdie Rules [important!]

Commentary via DanielPipes.org ^ | October 2010 | Daniel Pipes

[Enchante]

I shall argue two points about this sequence. First, that the right of Westerners to discuss, criticize, and even ridicule Islam and Muslims has eroded over the years. Second, that free speech is a minor part of the problem; at stake is something much deeper – indeed, a defining question of our time: will Westerners maintain their own historic civilization in the face of assault by Islamists, or will they cede to Islamic culture and law and submit to a form of second-class citizenship?

[Enchante]

this is an incredibly important article and issue -- we have been made 2nd-class citizens IN OUR OWN COUNTRIES!

The levels of cultural and political onslaught aka jihad against us are disgusting, and our own political and cultural "leaders" have acquiesced (and worse).

[Sans-Culotte]

“Liberals are cowards who will not protect us or our way of life” bump.

[arkady_renko]

will Westerners maintain their own historic civilization in the face of assault by Islamists, or will they cede to Islamic culture and law and submit to a form of second-class citizenship?

The answer seems to be 'roll over', if Europe is any indication. When you lose the ability to criticize, you are doomed.

[LibLieSlayer]

I wrote five responses to this article... but none of my responses say it any better than:

**** islam!

LLS

[Tribune7]

What really should be of concern is the decline of our civilization, not the threat of Islam.

We have devolved to where we think it somehow virtuous to ridicule God and religion . It's not.

It's gotten so the only way we know how to debate is via cliches and mocking and "shock".

We are not going to survive if we can't explain why things are right and wrong which is impossible to do if one takes God out of the picture.

Why is it wrong to kill Rushdie for what he wrote or Molly Norris for what she drew?

The answer most Westerners, including Americans, would give is something like "well, because!"

They can't say "don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you" because they've never read First Corinthians -- and most likely have been taught to think that Paul is a misogynist "homophobe" anyway -- which means they can't tell the imans that any offense given by these artists is infinitely less than the offense given to God by murdering them.

Rather than insult Muslims or whine to those who control popular culture about how they don't insult Muslims as they do Christians, we ought to be able to articulate why we value freedom, and challenge Muslims to read the Bible which strangely enough most of them are afraid to do since they claim to revere the Book.

And while we are doing that should also point out to those that control culture and academia that refraining from a gratuitous insult is far different from true cowardice, and that if they themselves read the Bible maybe they wouldn't be such cowards.

[frposty]

Talk, reasoning, arguing, diplomacy are of little value against the Islam desire to dominate. They employ force. If we don’t employ force against that force, we lose.

[Cacique]

btt

[epic stache]

Jihadis seek to impose Sharia throughout the world. In numerous ways at once they demand that Islam be privileged over all other religions and traditions. Throughout the West, government at all levels is cooperating with this. It is up to free individuals to draw the line in the sand. Whether it is Everybody Draw Mohammad Day, or Worldwide Burn a Koran Day, or whatever, we must stand firm on the principles of free speech and equality under the law. The next Pastor Terry Jones needs to be treated as a hero rather than a pariah.