You really can't make this stuff up. Gregorius Nekschot Update. "Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist," by Andrew Higgins for the Wall Street Journal, July 12:
On a sunny May morning, six plainclothes police officers, two uniformed policemen and a trio of functionaries from the state prosecutor's office closed in on a small apartment in Amsterdam. Their quarry: a skinny Dutch cartoonist with a rude sense of humor. Informed that he was suspected of sketching offensive drawings of Muslims and other minorities, the Dutchman surrendered without a struggle.
"I never expected the Spanish Inquisition," recalls the cartoonist, who goes by the nom de plume Gregorius Nekschot, quoting the British comedy team Monty Python. A fan of ribald gags, he's a caustic foe of religion, particularly Islam. The Quran, crucifixion, sexual organs and goats are among his favorite motifs.
Mr. Nekschot, whose cartoons had appeared mainly on his own Web site, spent the night in a jail cell. Police grabbed his computer, a hard drive and sketch pads. He's been summoned for further questioning later this month by prosecutors. He hasn't been charged with a crime, but the prosecutor's office says he's been under investigation for three years on suspicion that he violated a Dutch law that forbids discrimination on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. [...]
"This is serious. It is about freedom of speech," says Mark Rutte, the leader of a center-right opposition party. Some of Mr. Nekschot's oeuvre is "really disgusting," he says, "but that is free speech." [...]
How to handle Muslim sensitivities is one of Europe's most prickly issues. Islam is Europe's fastest-growing religion, with immigrants from Muslim lands often rejecting a drift toward secularism in what used to be known as Christendom. About 6% of Holland's 16.3 million people are Muslims, and nearly half of Amsterdam's population is of foreign origin. Some predict the city could have a Muslim majority within a decade or so.
The contrasting Danish and Dutch responses "show that there is a serious struggle of ideas going on for the future of Europe," says Flemming Rose, a Danish newspaper editor who commissioned the drawings of Muhammad in Jyllands-Posten. At stake, he says, is whether democracy protects the right to offend or embraces religious taboos so that "citizens have a right not to be offended."[...]
Afshin Ellian, an Iranian-born history of law professor at Holland's Leiden University, says he fled Tehran to escape religious taboos and now worries that Europe is "importing problems from the Middle East." He understands why Muslims, Christians and other devout believers might take offense at certain cartoons, paintings or texts, but he calls it "a matter of aesthetics not criminal law." [...]
If formally charged and taken to court, Mr. Nekschot risks up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of €16,750, or about $26,430, says his Amsterdam lawyer, Max Vermeij. He thinks the odds on his client being prosecuted are better than even but draws some comfort from recent Dutch court rulings in discrimination cases that mostly came down on the side of free speech. [...]
Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin, when grilled about the cartoon affair in Parliament, promised to protect Mr. Nekshot's anonymity so as "to guarantee the suspect's safety." (The Wall Street Journal also agreed not to publish Mr. Nekschot's real name.)
But the minister, a devout Christian, added fuel to a mounting political furor by revealing the existence of a previously secret bureaucratic body, called the Interdepartmental Working Group on Cartoons. Officials later explained that the cartoon group had no censorship duties and had been set up after the 2006 Danish cartoon crisis to alert Dutch officials to any risks the Netherlands might face. The group examined Mr. Nekschot's work, say officials, but played no part in his arrest. Headed by a senior bureaucrat from a national agency coordinating counterterrorism, it draws from the intelligence service, the interior minister, the prosecutor's office and various other government bodies....
"But the minister, a devout Christian, added fuel to a mounting political furor by revealing the existence of a previously secret bureaucratic body, called the Interdepartmental Working Group on Cartoons. Officials later explained that the cartoon group had no censorship duties and had been set up after the 2006 Danish cartoon crisis to alert Dutch officials to any risks the Netherlands might face. The group examined Mr. Nekschot's work, say officials, but played no part in his arrest. Headed by a senior bureaucrat from a national agency coordinating counterterrorism, it draws from the intelligence service, the interior minister, the prosecutor's office and various other government bodies...."
-- from the article above
Could it be, might it be, that this "Interdepartmental Working Group on Cartoons" is intended to encourage the production of material that will make Muslims uneasy, and convince at least some of them that the Netherlands is not the place for them, and that it's time to raise Muslim children free from "blasphemy" and -- why not, let's enroll it on our side if we must endure it anyway -- "pornography" and all the other things that the flesh of Western man is heir to?
Could it be that the Interdepartmental Working Group was actually employing Crumb-like cartoonists to mass-produce the stuff?
Nah.
Despicable cowardice in the face of the enemy, otherwise known as dhimmitude.
But all of that and more will finally come to a head when the judiciary is taken over by Muhammedans who will then 'interpret' the law in such a way that it doesn't offend them anymore.
In american public schools we hear every once in a while some zero tolerance policy where a student is suspended from school for drawing a picture of a gun. So this type of lunacy, investing drawings with some sort of importance is not limited to Europe and Muslims.
"national agency coordinating counterterrorism"?
Sounds more like enforcement of virtue and prevention of vice on behalf of Muslims and their terrorist shocktroops... Europe is in the sewer.
So, we are not supposed to communicate amongst ourselves Mookie's words:
"Let those fight in the cause of Allah Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah, - whether he is slain or gets victory - Soon shall We give him a reward of great value".
Mookie was a philanderer. He was a rapist. He was a pirate.
But we are supposed to allow the adversaries free rein as they plot against us. Oh, we might offend them.
This is the same line of thinking that prevents coercive interrogations against headchopping types in order to potentially save thousands of civilians or soldiers.
Because we might offend a potential adversary.
Insane.
Sketch pads?
If you want to save trees, do not let your children grow up to draw catoons.
Thats the sign post up ahead, your next stop...
The law under which Nekscot is being persecuted is exactly the kind of law that the likes of Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and U.N. Special Rapporteur "on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance" Doudou Diène have been pressing Western countries to adopt in order to combat what Ihsanoglu has called the "scourge" of "Islamophobia." That such laws would run roughshod over the fundamental human right to free expression is no concern of theirs; the protection of Islam and its adherents from exposure, analysis, criticism and mockery trumps any such trifles. Moreover, as I note at
http://greenspiece.blogspot.com/2008/07/nekschot-across-our-bow.html
Barack Obama's rhetoric bespeaks his sympathy with this goal.
Papa W., "free expression" and the notion that it is a fundamental human right is precisely the concern of the OIC. It is it not by neglect but by conscious and articulated aim that it seeks to stop such expression, in particular any depiction of islam other than with veneration, any study of islam by kuffirs etc.
OT: -- any reactions to a classic Eurabian agitprop, http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=11707183
"The Economist"'s current cover story?
In Euarabia, the future base of muslimdom...
Freedom of Speech will mean being able to say whatever you want, as long as the muslim overlords don't find it offensive. Those who may find islamist practices offensive (Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, free thinkers, most everyone else) are out of luck.
Freedom of Religion will mean that anyone can have the faith of their choice, as long as it is islam. Any other religion will need to be practiced in the privacy of one's home, if one is lucky enough. Europe's cathedrals will be overshadowed by larger, grander mosques. Even wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" might be construed as politically insensitve remark subject to punishment by sharia law.
Freedom of the Press will mean the press can print whatever news they care to, as long as the islamists find that it follows their religious (party) line.
European political leaders will still be "freely elected" as long as they have the blessing of imams and ayatollahs. Those already "elected" will need to confer with the muslim "religious" leaders prior to making any decisions.
Denmark's GNP takes a hit as its pork production goes down the toilet due to the new (islamic) government restrictions regarding offensive food products.
Likewise France's famed vineyards will no longer produce Chardonnays, or Pinot Noirs. Not halal, ya know.
Elsewhere, Interpol continues its round up of free thinkers, cartoonists, and political leaders based on fatwas from Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The female consent age in the majority of Eurabian nations drops to nine years old.
Topless sunbathing will still be allowed at the beaches...but only for men. Women who go to the beach will need to wear a head-to-ankle body suit.
Production at Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW stops at a regular basis during the day due to the call to prayer.
OBL's birthday will be declared a Eurabian holiday.
Posting comments like this at Jihad/Dhimmi Watch will be considered an internet crime.
The handwriting on the wall is clear. Unless things change, sooner or later, it's only a matter of time.
the prosecutor's office says he's been under investigation for three years on suspicion that he violated a Dutch law that forbids discrimination on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation.
This is laughable -- muslims EVERY DAY beat the snot out of homosexuals, and NOTHING IS EVER DONE TO THEM!!! They'll even come right out in the open and tell you that they are doing it!
For the record, I am not for homosexual rights. I am, however, against hypocrisy. And clearly, the Dutch authorities are spineless and hypocrites.
BTW, muslims also clearly discriminate on the basis of race (Jews) and religion EVERY DAY. But nothing is ever done, and apparently nothing will ever be done.
PersonOfTheBook
Precisely! A large part of Islamic teaching is the encouragement of crimes against the un-believers, i.e. hate-crimes. Yet Moslems are "offended" by the words of others! There's that line in the Bible about casting out the beam in one's own eye before complaining about the mote in another's. Very appropriate here.
Under any fair enforcement of these types of laws the larger part of the Islamic holy books and many mosque sermons would be banned.
What an appalling state of affairs. Investigating free speech as a crime...
Ezra Levant put up yesterday a timely article on the wordgames our 'friends' are playing:
http://ezralevant.com/2008/07/defamation-of-islam-is-a-code.html
PorkFatRules said
Posting comments like this at Jihad/Dhimmi Watch will be considered an internet crime.
Don't worry it soon will be when the new law to combat Racism and Xenophobia comes into law next year, I am not joking.
I've said it once, I've said it a million times. As Muslim populations rise the only way to combat unrest around free speech and Islamorage will be to curtail free speech around Islam not Islam around Free speech. As time goes by you will see more, and more native Europeans imprisoned for Speaking their minds on the subject of immigration, and Islam. Honestly, if you were a government rendered spineless by liberal multicultural attitudes, who would you go after? A largely pacifist non-militant native population, or a potentially violent militant one? These laws will become more stringent and onesided as Islamic populations rise to avoid civil unrest until the threat broadens to all out civil war, which is the inevitable out come of all of this Islamization happening in Europe. We will see the Balkinization of Western Europe witin our lifetimes .... will the Serbs save us ... no probably not.
"n"pr alert.. Ooohh.. the *handwringing* over FISA!! Oooh, the torture chambers!! The waterboarding..!!
quelle rage, que desespoir!!
They don't care that the islamos want to take away our rights, but if the government moves against our enemies the great lament begins!
Good grief, are they getting paid from SOWdi barbaria?!
Oh and they are talking about "journalists" becoming - get this - EVEN MORE IMPORTANT than they were prior to FISA!
I can't believe what I am listening to here.
The guy is a "professor" at George Washington University.. LOL
Maybe should be renamed Osama bin Laden madrassity.
This was taken from the comment section on:
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/
I thought it deserved reposting, because El just summed this up with perfect simple clairty and foresight. In my opinion.
El said...
absolutely perfect example of the positive feedback loop the apparatus of state is likely to get caught in at least some european countries, as per surrender, genocide, or what.
muslims cause trouble. government makes big political/emotional investment in trying to appease them. muslim population grows, situation is now worse. desire to appease grows, muslim expectations and confidence also heighten. government cannot reverse course, cannot bite the bullet that is twice as big as it was ten years ago and write off its investment in its present paradigm. government continues to appease. 'troublemakers' cause more 'trouble,' prompting the release of inexhaustible muslim outrage. rinse and repeat until discontinuity is reached.
in the terminology i have used in the past, i think we are now seeing which countries have the potential to avoid the discontinuity i have predicted awaits at least some european countries. italy is one. denmark is another. the netherlands, sadly, is not. they're already sliding down the slide, the only question is when they hit the bottom.
that is, unless islam reforms itself in the next couple of years, which i am reasonably confident it will do.
About 6% of Holland's 16.3 million people are Muslims, and nearly half of Amsterdam's population is of foreign origin. Some predict the city could have a Muslim majority within a decade or so.
--
Worst-case scenario: during WW2 Paris was full of SS troops and half of France occupied.
So what?
I reject this idea of inevitability.
I think that 94% of Dutch can handle 6% of moslems if it came to a showdown.
Ditto for all other European countries.
Tic Toc Tic Toc 6% today 10% in a few years, by the middle of this century some analysts predict 20% average Muslim population in Europe and a Muslim majority by the end of the century. The birth rate stats are out there and easy to find. Look at age, birthrates etc. Demographics are tricky, but the demographic jihad is well underway. Ummah Gummah I hope too that this is not inevitable, but spell out what will reverse the trend. For now real solutions would be politcal suicide. There isn't a lot of time left for non-radical measures ... in my opinion.
How about the following deal
He agrees
1) Mock only Christians and the Jewish people
2) Mock US, Israel
3) Mock Europeans immigrating to other lands as racist, but not the reverse.
In exchange
1) He is hired by a major Dutch TV station
2) he gets a car
3) he gets a corner office
4) he gets a large salary
*~@):~{>
tick...tick...tick...
Lemmings...stupid dhimmi lemmings, throwing themselves , and us , up on the beach. It's coming from everywhere infidels are in charge. Some more, some less, but they are all doing it. In the US/west everyone is trying to get in on the act of social engineering and re-engineering. The entire second act has been sickening. We are living a 1950's B movie. Muslims did not create this, but they take full advantage of it. Obama will move us up to the 60's but it will still be a B movie...
A vote for Obama is a vote for a black and white B movie with a lousy script and bad actors...
I think that 94% of Dutch can handle 6% of moslems if it came to a showdown.
Before making up my mind I'd like to see the statistical distribution among young men, i.e. the combat-ready parts of Dutch and enemy population. I'm not so sure those numbers would be comforting.
otranto
with modern weaponry, old geezers and grannies can fight, too, to defend the chance of a future for their grandchildren; if you've lived your life, you've got nothing left to lose.
It was middle-aged men who tramped all night over a secret trail, laden like camels, to bring emergency supplies to a starving Jerusalem, during the 1948 war.
Think of Kurt Westergaard, 73 years old, in Denmark: "I am an old man with a stiff neck, I don't know how to bow"..."I have turned my fear into anger". Me, I hope he's got a double-barrelled shotgun and is learning how to use it.
Cranky old geezers with shotguns; cranky, CUNNING old geezers, who spent their childhood outsmarting the Nazi occupiers, in Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Grannies who know that their throats will be slit if the Mohammedan hordes take over, because they're too old to be harem-fodder.
If the worst came to the worst, the Dutch could always breach their dykes again and let the waters in, like they did to make life difficult for the Nazis.
Meanwhile: let's just hope that Geert Wilders and his party can evade the assassins, survive, and thrive, and dodge the law suits, and get themselves into government.
"...a previously secret bureaucratic body, called the Interdepartmental Working Group on Cartoons...."
===============================================
I'd think it was Monty Python, similar to their Ministry of Silly Walks...
The world has gone mad... the "politically correct" believe it's impolite to accuse those who want to murder us of ... well, wanting to murder us. We're supposed to resolutely ignore that the vast majority of berserkers around the world are fervent Muslims who cite Quranic chapter-and-verse in the suicide videos they leave behind, and shout "Allahu Akbar!" as they self-detonate. We have to pretend there's no such thing as "honor killing", only isolated instances of "domestic violence" all societies experience (though some cultures DO seem to dispatch their wives and daughters rather more frequently than others). We shouldn't associate "jihad" with "Islam", or "train bombings" with Muslims.
Screw that. Truth is truth. The truth is, Islam was created by a psychopath; the "god" he invented mirrors his pathology, and the "holy book" of his revelations is contradictory at best, descending from repetitive to misogynistic to vile. Mohammed was -- and therefore Islam is -- obsessed with power and control, sex and vengeance.