My latest over at the Geller Report:
Pakistan’s The Nation reported Saturday that a Christian has been arrested for criticizing Muhammad. That is the sort of thing that happens frequently in a state that enforces Sharia blasphemy laws, but in Europe and North America, we are more enlightened. We value the freedom of speech, and understand that free and unrestricted discourse is an indispensable foundation of a free society. Or at least we used to. A few recent news items show how far Islamic blasphemy laws have advanced in the West.
In Britain last week, a hamburger vendor named Jim Gardiner refused to serve a customer, Piers Palmer, after Palmer disagreed with Gardiner’s Islamocritical views. That was a bit rude, but then Palmer reported Gardiner to the police for “hate speech.” Gardiner went to court, and was fined.
It’s police state behavior to turn in someone to authorities for ideological deviance, perhaps hoping to curry favor by doing so. Piers Palmer will soon be living in the Britain he has chosen and that he wants, and by then he may regret the course of action he has taken, but at that point it will be far too late.
The Belfast Telegraph reported several weeks ago that “three men have been arrested in relation to suspected hate crime in Armagh and Coalisland. Police conducted searches and arrested three men age 31, 38 and 47. They have been arrested as a result of an investigation following reports of anti-Islamic material being displayed in the Armagh area….”
The Belfast Telegraph, sensitive to Islamic sensibilities, does not tell us what this “hate crime” consisted of. If it involved direct incitement to violence, then these men should have been arrested for incitement to violence. But if it consisted solely of criticism of Islam, then the question becomes, would they have been arrested for anti-Christian material? Anti-Jewish material? Or is it a “hate crime” only to criticize Islam in Northern Ireland? If so, when did the U.K. become a Sharia state?
These cases show that the freedom of speech is dead in Britain. It is illegal to hold critical views of Islam or Muslims. If Jim Gardiner or these three Northern Irish had criticized Christianity and Christians, they never would have run afoul of the law.
In France, meanwhile, journalist Éric Zemmour has been charged with “incitement to discrimination and hatred against people of Muslim faith” for the crime of saying that Muslims “have to choose between Islam and France,” and that “Jihad is a religious duty,” and that “Muslims consider jihadists as good Muslims,” and that “moderate Islam does not exist.” These statements are all demonstrably true, but truth appears to be no defense in Sharia France. Zemmour, like Gardiner, would not be facing any charges if he had criticized Christianity or any religion other than Islam.
And in Canada, the American political activist known as “Wild Bill,” Bill Finlay, was invited to speak in Calgary about the impact of Sharia on women and children, and about the freedom of speech. But he never got there: Canadian authorities stopped him at the border and confiscated his iPad, accusing him of attempting to smuggle “hate speech” into Canada.
Can it happen here? Of course. In New Jersey in late June, Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah grew enraged during a contentious Prospect Park Board of Education meeting when board member Emma Anderson stated: “This is not Sharia law, this is an orderly session.” Khairullah called for her resignation, as did the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). So far Anderson has not obliged, but clearly Khairullah and CAIR are trying to set a precedent: even the most offhanded remark, if it is even remotely critical of Islam, is cause for firing and ostracism.
They’re well on their way to success already. All over the West, non-Muslim authorities are willingly adopting Sharia blasphemy norms. Where will it end? Will the West passively acquiesce to the full implementation of Sharia, or will at some point authorities draw the line and say Thus far, and no farther? If they ever intend to do that, they should do it quickly, for as these cases indicate, the freedom of speech is eroding rapidly. No one seems particularly concerned about that now, but they may find that they miss it when it’s gone.
Todd Schiebel says
How about the oldest of laws that works extremely well, Love thy Neighbor as thyself. Sharia Law is from the opposite side.
ploome says
so what can we do?
john spielman says
print more and more anti islamic truth! and get every body into it – they cannot arrest us all!
ploome says
so what can we do?
John Forbes says
This is another VERY DANGEROUS development & needs to be understood & fought in all WESTERN DEMOCRACIES !’
It is a WELL FINANCED & ORCHESTRATED push by ISLAM & ITS leftist Allies to SILENCE anyone who either inspects or Criticizes Islam & has been warned about many times by ANNE MARIE WATERS , DOUGLAS MURRAY , & many others !
ISLAM CANNOT TOLERATE INSPECTION BECAUSE THE ABUSIVE TEACHINGS IN THIS SERIES OF HOLY BOOKS ( THAT CANNOT ACCORDING THIS FASCIST IDEOLOGY BE ALTERED) ARE THERE IN VERY PLAIN VIEW !
THIS IS WHY THE WEST CANNOT AFFORD BLASPHEMY LAWS!!!
ploome says
so what can we do?
Anne Smith says
Well get rid of Sharia May for a start.
Under her imbecilic rule as Home Secretary the number of Sharia Courts quadrupled and she allowed women’s rights to be subject to their rulings.
The woman is either lazy and ignorant or acting on some higher authority.
Now she is our useless Prime Minister. Can things get any worse – probably if Corbyn and his anti Semitic Labour Party get in they will, this is the only thing which keeps her in her job. She has been demonstrably proved to be utterly worse than useless.
Tom says
In British Columbia Canada we have similar problems. Our last election saw a result so close that only 1 vote in our legislature separates the parties.
This occurred because we had a Liberal female premier whio was disliked as much as May and Liberals stayed home instead of voting to keep out the leftist NDP.
Now a coalition of the radical left NDP and Green party is going to unleash huge spending and debt as well as appeasement of radical enviromentalist agenda’s and Islamic demands.
Sometimes it is better to keep the devil you know than to accept the devil you don’t know.
Steve says
Hey Tom, another Canuck here from Ontario. Everything you say is true. Canadians must not vote for the three main parties. They’re all in on flooding the country with Muslims. Our main problem is a Prime Minister who is an avowed Globalist. And like all Globalists, he must attack the native population with entities guaranteed to destroy a sense of national togetherness and who we are, making it easier to control us.
Paul F Austin says
There’s appear to be a proliferation of Lawyers willing to defend, represent and also protect Muslims throughout the West. Perhaps ONE (?) could be found to question the decisions of some of the Courts who have found in favour of blasphemy decisions which appear to go contrary to our current laws and ensure that these decisions do not become ‘case law’ and so hasten the introduction, by stealth of new laws on blasphemy. Or could I be accused of p*ssing against the wind by the more poetic of our readers?
Bob says
More, Paul, in the UK the ‘lawyers’ defending islamists’re all toomoften paid by the non-muslim taxpayer through ‘legal aid’!
Bob says
More, Paul, in the UK the ‘lawyers’ defending islamists’re all too often paid by the non-muslim taxpayer through ‘legal aid’!
XXXXXXXXXX says
I would not at this time want this comment published with my name. I have read some of your books and others.
I have come to the conclusion that the Muslim religion seems to be a male-genital-centric religion- everything revolves around male privilege, female domination, and promise of guilt free sex in many, many ways. And the punishment of non-believers serves to protect this ideology.
gravenimage says
You can use a username that is not your given name. This is what I and many others who post here do.
Tangata says
More fundamentally, this is social Marxism at work where the “oppressor” majority liberals go to extreme extents to blindly “protect” the privileges of the “oppressed” minorities. Not realising in this case, the “oppressed” minority is Islam and is Islamists activists hold on to the most oppressive ideology known to man. Only one teen to use to describing the liberals… Dick heads.
brane pilot says
Saudi money has been flowing into Western institutions of higher learning for decades.
Communications (Journalism), so-called ‘Social Science’ and Humanities departments of Western universities are stuffed with Saudi funded shills presenting Islamist propaganda as fact. People who question Islamist doctrine receive failing grades that are career enders. Those who succeed are those who provide the required obeisance to Islamist thought, and these academic success stories enter our societies and find their way to positions of authority.
It needs to be illegal for foreign governments to fund chairs in Western Universities.
It needs to be illegal for foreign governments to fund ‘houses of worship’ and staff them with foreign nationals.
There is your solution. Will it happen?
No.
Lydia says
Exactly. In fact, foreign governments funding houses of worship, doesn’t that go against the establishment of religion in the constitution? Anyway, that is how this is going.
See other comment further down.
Fordstar says
Brane Pilot: You are correct in stating that the islamization of America began with the first flow of Saudi petro dollars to our universities, government and any other institutions that influence a culture. The last 8 years under the big muslim accelerated it at a frightening pace. Now islam has a secure foothold in our culture and are extremely efficient in exploiting the PC culture and hiding under religious laws protection. America is heading in the same direction as Western Europe. We have a small window of opportunity to correct this problem now, but if you examine the psychology of the left and their alliance with islam it will not happen without a big shift in thinking of our government. Will that happen?
It’s time for a new term—“Americaphobe” that should be applied to anyone who will not have a discussion of anything related to islam. Keeping in mind that the islamic doctrine of “Taqiyya” or deception is not only permitted but encouraged to both protect individual muslims but also to further the spread of islam. In other words, how can you ever know when a muslim is telling the truth? YOU CAN’T
Another point I make is this………..The so called “moderate” muslims, which in itself a misnomer, are totally irrelevant and useless in the effort to “modernize” the radical element of islam. Just as the “moderate” Germans, Russians, Chinese, North Vietnamese, Cubans, Iranians, etc. and all other groups of moderate people failed to prevent the radical and violent factions of their societies from taking power and invoking mass murder and the total suppression of individual freedoms. America, the choice is yours—freedom or Sharia law.
lebel says
“Anti-Jewish material?”
Of course, look up Sine and Charlie Hebdo. He had worked at the journal for years but was fired for “anti-jewish material”
And France is soft on Zemmour compared to what happened to Dieudonne who was persecuted by the Prime Minister himself for anti-jewish material.He has also been fined for hundreds of thousands of Euros while Zemmour is all over French TV. You know all this of course but most of your readers have no idea (they likely dont care but its worth a try)
gravenimage says
One need not agree with Zemmour on all matters–I *sure as hell do not*–to be deeply disturbed about the crushing of freedom of speech in so much of Europe, especially when it comes to speaking the truth about Islam.
mortimer says
Piers Palmer is an idiot. He will eventually be left with no one who will defend his right to have a political opinion… because everyone who can save him from jail will have been arrested. When that happens it will be TOO LATE to try to get out of the straight jacket that PIERS PALMER and others like him buckled on Western countries.
Piers Palmer is a GREAT FOOL. Disagreeing about politics and saying so is EXACTLY what previous generations FOUGHT FOR.
Doesn’t Piers Palmer have any respect for the fallen on Remembrance Day? Is Piers Palmer one of those people who can’t be bothered to salute the fallen soldiers and think about how they sacrificed their lives for freedom.
Mr. Palmer, does freedom have no meaning to you? Will someone who knows Piers Palmer please talk some sense into that fool?
Michael Copeland says
All credit to Robert Spencer the educator.
In the UK in 2012 a man was imprisoned for displaying “religiously aggravated hate material” against Islam in his ground floor window (https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/03/uk-man-gets-year-in-prison-for-posting-material-offensive-to-the-islamic-faith-in-his-front-window).
A subsequent Freedom of Information Request to know what it was was refused as being not in the public interest. No-one is allowed to know.
That is the state of the UK.
Cretius says
The leftist majority Canadian Parliament recently passed Motion M103 that is designed to shut down any real debate or criticism of the Islamic belief system. M-103 is a direct attack on free speech. Ideas have no rights. Islam is not a race.
The Muslim term Islamophobia refers to any and all discussion of Islam by non-believers. Even Imams admit that Islam is totally incompatible with the values and institutions of western secular democracies. Politicians and leftists that deny that truth have betrayed the values of a secular democracy and the right to discuss and criticize ideas.
Lydia says
Just against plain old democracy and any other religion at all. Basically, it is against anything and everything else not muslim.
gravenimage says
Robert Spencer: The West Adopts Sharia Blasphemy Laws
…………………….
Creeping Shari’ah is more like galloping Shari’ah in much of the West today. Deeply disturbing.
Lydia says
Here’s what to do about it, and that’s what it’s all pretty much coming down to, you won’t change anything in the world, and here’s what matters in the end:
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10; 32-33
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10; 38-39
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16; 25-26
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Matthew 24; 9
“But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10; 17-20
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12; 11
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” Romans 12; 17, 1 Peter 3; 9
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28; 18-20
Never stop evangelizing. Never stop your witness and testimony of Jesus. Never deny Jesus but always affirm your faith in Him. Don’t go along with their ideology, no matter what. Don’t give in to their ways, no matter what. Be kind, love your enemies. Don’t repay evil for evil. Use self defense as is biblical. Don’t resist the government coming to arrest you. But always obey God’s law when man’s law contradicts it. That is why we will be arrested. Follow the example of our Lord Jesus.
And believe it or not, that is all we need to know and to do. There’s pretty much nothing else we can do. Just do right by the Lord, that is all that will matter in the end.
Carolyne says
Right. Just pray and God will take care of it. I don’t see that that is working right now though. Doing nothing but pray is what the Muslims are counting on.
Dajjal says
Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, Antonio Guterres and Archbishop Bernardito Auza spoke on the occasion of the issuance of the Fez Declaration and Plan Of Action.
They demanded censorship. They expect Imams to preach against Jihad. They spouted the usual boilerplate. I should not be the only one to ream them new holes.
Phil Copson says
Bill Finlay’s experience isn’t unique of course; here in the UK three Christian bishops from Iraq and Syria were refused entry in December 2016 to attend the consecration of a cathedral. (The authorities were apparently concerned that “they might not have the means to support themselves, and may not return home afterwards” !!! This while allowing in 650,000 immigrants with little or no ability to support themselves or any intention of ever going home…….)
The banning of Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller and Terry Jones, we all know about, but this year you can also add on several speakers from around Europe – including a Polish priest – who were denied entry to Britain to speak at a rally. I believe that this was a Pegida rally in Birmingham, the Sunday Telegraph was so craven as to report on the speakers being denied entry, but gave no coverage to the rally itself.
James Stamulis says
Just like they protect their pedophile elites now they protect their hit squad known as Islam! Thank God for Trump!
Tom says
If we lose the right to criticize Islam or any other religion then we lose democracy and eventually our very freedom. Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment will become common place and fear will grip the general population. Beatings in the street and possibly even public floggings will become a common occurance.
Sound familiar? Try Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and almost any other muslim majority country. THAT is where we are headed if we don’t stand up en mass and shout a resounding NO MORE !!! at our politicians and DEMAND that they protect freedom of speech.
Walter Sieruk says
First, the only real reason that Muslim nations, as Pakistan, have “blasphemy laws” enacted is because Islam, with its many falsehoods, is such a weak and fragile religion that it can stand up to or hold up to criticism, at all. No matter how very mild those criticisms might be.
Second ,be the Muslim clerics the imams of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia , be they the mullahs of Afghanistan of Iran they all attempt to brainwash the people in the mosques into the mindset of a firm but blind and unquestioning faith in Islam. part of the blind and unquestioning faith is no doubt of Islam are allowed. Likewise,the Quran is not to be doubted in any way.
Third, since Islam with it’s Quran ,which a the main foundation of all Islam, are not to be doubted. the Muslim clerics and other in power in Muslim nations allow criticism of Islam is allow by the force and law. “Blasphemy laws.” For faith in is based on strong emotions and powerful feeling and not logic and reason . .To explain this another way , faith in Marxism is is based on feeling and emotions and not logic and reason. So in Communist nations criticism of Marxism is forbidden by government force since the Communists in power in no rational valid arguments to defend and uphold Marxism.. Likewise ,since the Muslims in power in Islamic nations have no rational valid arguments to defend and uphold Islam governmental force , Blasphemy laws , are enacted.
Walter Sieruk says
Concerning the subject of “Blasphemy laws” to protect Islam since Islam must be so weak in it might collapse under criticism , the following short essay may apply to this topic of “blasphemy laws.”
In classical work of ancient Greek literature, by Plato, entitled THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES it in written that Socrates had said that “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Likewise, in may also be said that “An unexamined religion is not worth believing in.” This is said about all religions. Yet to be specific, in this case, the topic is about the religion of Islam. Furthermore, one man who was as a former a Muslim and had lived in one of the Islamic nations of the Middle East but now he is Christian and an American citizen had explained in a book he wrote that “Driving into depths of the word of reasoned thinking and research in Islamic societies has always been costly. Some Muslim who have done this have even been excluded from their social rights and even sentenced to death.” [1]
[1] ISLAM AND THE SON OF GOD by Daniel Shayesteh page 70.
UNCLE VLADDI says
ALL liberal “hate-speech laws” ARE crimes!!!
“The whole concept of “hate speech” (laws against hurt feelings) is political correctness run amok, a leftist anti-free-speech tool that provides an unlimited excuse to shut down and punish anyone who openly disagrees with establishment dicta. Every totalitarian state has similar laws designed to protect the rulers. Such laws have no place in a free society.”
– Patrick1984 –
But Terminiello v. Chicago (1949), Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), National Socialist Party v. Skokie (1977), R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992), Virginia v. Black (2003), Snyder v. Phelps (2011) These SCOTUS cases show that unpopular speech is still protected speech.
SO: What is “hate-speech” and why should it be considered a crime if it’s NOT already: a) a threat; and b) slander (fraud)?
If it’s not either PHYSICALLY threatening speech – or emotionally threatening BECAUSE it could physically impact one’s life, like how fraudulent slander causes other people to react to one as if one were a criminal in need of hating and beating – then it’s THE TRUTH: and so it SHOULD cause one the emotional distress of ‘hurt feelings!’ So it isn’t objectively “offensive,” but is, in fact, socially beneficial in that it helps defend society from criminals, whether or not said predictably victim-blaming criminal is subjectively “offended” by their victims being notified about THEIR offenses!
Having no facts to justify their aggressive hypocrisy, all criminals will resort to using emotive ‘arguments’ to justify their crimes by playing the victims. So they (liberals, muslims) can be relied on to try to criminalize hurt feelings and to make offending people, (i.e: the criminals, by accusing them of their crimes) illegal, too!
ALL “Hate-Speech Laws” ARE CRIMES!
“Progressive” criminals – who like all criminals desire an equality of outcome over a true equality of opportunity, and to get it will always try to socially engineer ever-more rights and ever-less responsibilities for them selves, by offloading their responsibilities onto their victims by stealing their victims’ rights – pretend to hold submissive masochism as the highest virtue (for their victims to hold, not them) and the ultimate crime to be causing offense and hurting other people’s (criminal’s) feelings, (i.e: by accusing them of their crimes).
So they want to make it illegal to accuse criminals of their crimes, since that might hurt their feelings and in offending them with the often-painful truth, “make” them commit even more crimes!
Is there anything which really ought to qualify as hate speech and be banned?
NO – not because it’s “hateful” (because that sort of nonsense is only making subjective assessments based on emotions;) and “HATE” is really only the perfectly natural human response of perpetual anger towards ongoing crimes (like islam); without ‘hate’ we would never bother to accuse criminals of their crimes in order to stop those crimes.
Unreasonable false displays of hatred and anger on the other hand, are what the Left is good at – but that’s already illegal, not because of the anger displayed – that’s just the outrageous holier-than-thou virtue-signalling packaging used to disguise their preposterous extortion attempts – but because it’s fraudulent slander.
Such criminal leftists who try to make “hate” into a crime, only ever make it ‘illegal’ to hate crime itself!
Speech which is already disallowed is incitement of immediate violence and death-threats … and even those aren’t illegal, if say they call for the police to use violence to counter ongoing mob violence and looting, or call for the death-penalty for murderers!
UNCLE VLADDI says
Further, ALL politicians who craft “hate-speech laws” and ALL cops who arrest people for “hate-speech crimes” and ALL lawyers and judges who prosecute people for them, should themselves be fired and JAILED for putting “hurt feelings” over FACTS!
Especially in the case of islam!
Everyone who defends islam and muslims endorses crime.
Endorsing crime IS a crime, so those doing it are criminals.
Right in the Qur’an is: the permission to murder Jews and Christians (Surah 9:29), to terrorize all non-Muslims
(8:12), to rape young girls (65:4), to enslave people for sex (4:3), to lie about one’s true goals (3:54), and
the command to make war on all the infidels (9:123) and subjugate the entire world to Allah (9:33).
Are death-threats legal? NO.
Is extortion legal? NO.
Is slavery legal? NO.
Is murder legal? NO.
Is rape legal? NO.
THEN ISLAM IS ILLEGAL!
Rape, slavery, robbery, extortion and murder are never OK!
Everything muslims pretend to see as “holy” is already a crime!
So nobody has a legal right to practice islam anywhere on earth!
b.a. freeman says
of course they’ll miss it, but as others have noted, when the new islamic government tells them to put a** in air to allah the demon god or lose their heads, they’ll put it up in the air. their children will grow up as islamic gangstas, and freedom will be dead.
Dattatreya says
I DEMAND that world adopts all the Vedic Vaishnava Aryan laws … now …
On the double !!!
CharlyT says
…but in Europe and North America, we are more enlightened. We value the freedom of speech, Rollocks. Why would I got jail for 5 years in Europe if I publish this? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDOq9LkUwAAkAth.jpg
Dattatreya says
The ” zi ” in ” nazi ” stood for ” zionist ” !!!