My latest in PJ Media:
They’ve done it again: as the trial of some of those who plotted the Charlie Hebdo jihad massacre begins in France, Charlie Hebdo has republished some of the Muhammad cartoons over which so many people are so enraged. And as always, numerous people are saying that mocking Muhammad is “disrespectful” to Muslims, it’s needlessly “poking the bear,” and the like.
How far we have fallen. Back in 1989, when the Islamic Republic of Iran called for his death for insulting Islam, Salman Rushdie became an international hero of free speech. Later defenders of this fundamental freedom, however, have not fared as well, as The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies) shows.
In Rushdie’s day, Christopher Hitchens noted, “We risk a great deal by ceding even an inch of ground to the book-burners and murderers.” Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz denounced the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death as “intellectual terrorism”—although several years later, under pressure himself from Islamic hardliners (who ultimately stabbed and seriously injured him), he denounced Rushdie’s book as “insulting” to Islam, but he still condemned the death sentence.
Novelist Norman Mailer declared his willingness to die for the freedom of speech, saying of Rushdie: “It is our duty to form ranks behind him, and our duty to state to the world that if he is ever assassinated, it will become our obligation to stand in his place. If he is ever killed for a folly, we must be killed for the same folly.”
That may have been the high-water mark of pop culture support for the freedom of speech.
Over 25 years later, on the evening of May 3, 2015, I was standing next to Pamela Geller at the venue of our just-concluded American Freedom Defense Initiative/Jihad Watch Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in Garland, Texas when one of our security team ran in and told us that there had been a shooting outside. It is safe to say that if the jihadis had succeeded in their aims, we would both be dead.
ISIS quickly issued a communiqué on the Garland attack, including a death fatwa against Geller. The threat was reinforced by subsequent jihadi attempts on Geller’s life.
But the response of Western politicians and pundits was even more disturbing. This time, they were not nearly as disposed to defend the freedom of speech as they had been at the time of the Rushdie fatwa, or even after the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
“Of course we have a right to draw what we want, but we also have an obligation not to be irresponsibly provocative,” said Michael Coren the ex-Catholic author of Why Catholics Are Right.
“It’s needlessly provocative,” said New York Representative Peter King, whose hearings on Muslim radicalization in 2011 had themselves been widely termed “provocative” back in 2011. King said he thought our event was “insulting someone’s religion.”
There is much more. Read the rest here.
Michael Copeland says
It will be interesting to see which politicians and media support this free speech.
Perhaps there will not be any.
b.a. freeman says
oops! U made a mistake, Michael, and started your final sentence with “Perhaps,” when U probably meant “There will *DEFINITELY* not …”
juleonly says
Macron Finally made a statement: ‘Whoever comes to France must live under French Law and that means Free Speech even Criticism and mocking. There will be no Muslim separatism in France.’
I will be interested to see just how this goes.
I have heard him make many strong statements in the past which are ignored and not enforced. I hope he has FOLLOW THROUGH.
gravenimage says
Good to hear this–time will tell…
Seeking Deliverance says
Yet this is utter hogwash on Macron’s part. We returned from Paris last year… Paris is essentially lost to Islam from its roaming Muslim crime groups to its hateful and threatening Muslim city workers. There were no cops in sight and the Paris metro is no longer safe for single travelers of Christian/Jewish appearance. Fact. If Macron truly cared about ensuring his millions of Muslims assimilated he wouldn’t be letting them burn Churches as they have been doing for years now nor waging Jihad within France which they’ve also been doing for many years now. France, under De Gaulle, made a pact with Islam to flood Western Europe with Islam. France has won and now North America has opened its doors to Islam thanks to Democratic President William “I’m a mass murderer” Clinton who (circa 1997) allowed Saudi Arabia and Turkey to begin invasive Mosque building throughout the United States. They haven’t stopped building yet.
j c a reid says
Good for them!
Jayell says
Yes, good for them! Why is anyone supposed to ‘brace themselves’ just because exercising their right to free expression doesn’t happen to suit the religious sensitivities of a small uninvited minority? Who’s supposed to be running the show? Or has there been another takeover in France like there was in 1940?
Pray Hard says
A “small, uninvited minority”? Seriously?
GOLDMANN says
Dito! Good for them !??Bastard muzzie savages??
Martin says
Thousands in Pakistan rally against Charlie Hebdo reprint of Mohammad cartoons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw0BEydcOvY
Martin says
Pakistan: Thousands protest reprinting of Charlie Hebdo Prophet Muhammad cartoons in Lahore
Thousands rallied in Lahore on Friday to protest French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s republishing of cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad earlier this week.
“If a filthy tongue speaks in blasphemy against our Prophet, we will cut that from the root,” a leader of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party told the crowd.
Protesters called for boycotts of French products and for the country’s ambassador to be expelled from Pakistan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHjLB4SMu-Y
talleyrand says
every one of these fanatics would be related , , the gene pool is shallow and the end results you are watching,no ability to think for them selves and midless chants of destroy
note not one mask being worn many wipeing snoty noses ,in 14 days wonder what the results will be ???
AN Ideology so thin skined ,with no sense of humour and willing to bet 90% + have no idea of what is written in the book of madness they follow or in their case what the mullas tell them
Jayell says
Here we go yet again! When will these ridiculous, ignorant, self-centred bigots ever understand that they don’t have any right to control or dictate what happens outside the limits of their own borders? They don’t control the world yet and almost certainly never will.
Martin says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swVSUzZJ8ww
Martin says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgxjDIrgXUQ
David M says
These Pakis are one step up from cavemen.
Eur says
Respect for cavemen please.
Ade Fegan says
indeed
Martin says
Protest in Istanbul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3EPcxgON4
Michael Copeland says
Remember that these protests are INSTRUCTED in the mosques. They are the predictable Show of Force, or Day of Rage, designed to intimidate governments into conforming with Sharia. They are not in the same category as the recent protests against lockdown in London and Berlin.
revereridesagain says
The news bulletins nearly gave me heart failure the night of that Garland attack. What I first heard was “Two dead in assault on Mohammed cartoon contest in Garland, Texas” after which I sprinted to the computer to get the details, terrified that two of my heroes had been gunned down.
The facts were such a great relief!!
I hope this time that robust armed security protection has been assigned to all concerned.
gravenimage says
That was my first fear, as well.
Keith O says
Love their work.
Standing up and giving Islam the middle finger is a simple but encouraging act, one that needs to be emulated around the world.
Of course, I wonder if some slime ball lawyer will try shutting them down because the cartoons “cause offence” to the poor delicate mudslimes?
peter says
Lot of these protests are stage managed by mullahs as a recent study by an Iranian group finds nearly fifty percent of muslims in Iran have left Islam although they are afraid to denounce Islam publicly given the mullahs injunction against apostasy, Islam is also self destructive . Hopefully Islam will become rubble of history in my life time!
FYI says
Draw a cartoon of allah with his TWO RIGHT HANDS and his ONE LEG and nobody cares*.
muslims:yeah,whatever.
Draw a cartoon of a man in a turban and muslims get enraged.
muslims:allahu akbar,allahu akbar!The prophet will not be ridiculed.
I have just one word for muslims who get angry at cartoons of muhammed which they say bring ridicule on him:BURAQ
BURAQ:muhammed’s winged flying donkey with a woman’s face.
Like THAT wouldn’t bring ridicule on muhammed?
And to add insult to injury, BURAQ is not an infidel invention but comes from islamic sources for that is how muhammad travelled on his Great Journey from mecca to Jerusalem.You can see cartoonish pics of muhammed on his magical donkey on the internet and they come from islamic sources.So once upon a time pics of mo were OK.
*I have tried ,but it always looks like Humpty Dumpty sitting on the Wall before his Great Fall.
Speaking of Humpty Dumpty,he had his Great Fall…like islam is having{what with all the evidence showing muhmmad to be a False prophet-the Bible Deut 18:20,the koran 69:43-46,’my AORTA IS CUT'{Sahih Bukhari 4428} his own admission he was a fraud[al tabari 6:111},its koran found to have HOLES IN THE STANDARD NARRATIVE etc}
“all allah’s scholars
and allah’s men
Couldn’t put the Holey koran
back together again.
Thanks to the internet.
And the discovery that the STANDARD NARRATIVE HAS HOLES IN IT”
Raja says
“:How dare they reprint” ? Don’t they know how to treat the enemies of free society “respectfully”?
The Commie loonies will be more than happy to jump into the “ring” and say that Charlie Hebdo” is bigoted and full of hatred” . The “:all knowing” Commies/ socialists want to remove the word hatred from dictionaries. Good luck to them. . Isn’t hating evil good.? Aren’t we programmed to be repulsive to evil? Perhaps the Commies, like Islam does not want mankind to survive.
Taking on the evil Islam makes some interesting news. Cartoons might be good but the WORLD NEEDS TO TALK ABOUT Islam.
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make your free” John 8:32
Myron J. Poltroonian says
As I’ve been saying ever since September 11, 2001, “If you want to know what life would be like living in a Caliphate and/or under Sharia Law, ask an Armenian”.
Seth says
First misread that as ‘ask an American’…
b.a. freeman says
what!!??? Myron, U actually *found* a living armenian??!!!??? i thought that the pirate cult killed all of them back in the 1920s!!!
seriously, U are *so* correct. probably a lot more hindus have lost their lives to the genocide practiced by the ummah, but that’s only because there were a lot more hindus than armenians, and the f***ing cult had many more centuries to murder innocents there. the armenians were almost wiped out over a *very* short span of time, and *this* by the kemalist turkish ummah!
gravenimage says
Some Armenians do survive–but not many, and *very* few in Turkey itself.
Mike says
Islam will be if not already going ape shit and they are already trying to push blasphemy laws
and for those who do not know what they are
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/blasphemy
gravenimage says
Brace Yourself: Charlie Hebdo Publishes Muhammad Cartoons Again
………….,……
“Riss” and the rest of the staff of Charlie Hebdo are very brave. Hope they all stay safe.
b.a. freeman says
amen to that, GI; they’ll have to illicitly arm themselves, because it is apparently *very* hard to carry concealed in france without actually *being* a bodyguard. and since the nazi left won’t allow the police to actually protect citizens, they have no other choice other than to publish, then flee the country for some other nation that protects its citizens, or at least allows them to protect themselves.
wait, there aren’t any such countries …
tim gallagher says
They are very brave people, that’s for sure. Why do Muhammad, and his followers, the Mohammedans, deserve respect? If Muhammad did ever actually exist ( I doubt that he did), then he was a murdering warlord and a paedophile, who at 50 years old, had sex with the 9 year old Aisha. Oh yeah, definitely the type of creature that deserves respect. “Disrespectful”!! It is exactly what Muhammad and his followers deserve. It is definitely a very brave move though and I hope the Mohammedan barbarians don’t come after them again. Of course, the problem is, as usual, having Muslims in a civilised country. It can’t possibly work. Christians and Buddhists wouldn’t go after satirists who mock their religion.
James Lincoln says
tim gallagher says,
Muhammad deserves about as much respect as:
Ted Kaczynski
Charles Manson
Timothy McVeigh
Jim Jones
Jeffrey Dahmer
Son of Sam
Etc.,
Pray Hard says
All of islam and moslems …
Pray Hard says
Odd, isn’t it, how we have such a hard time escaping the comparisons of the savages and savagery of islam to white people? All of those murderers pale in comparison to the murderers of islam. Even Jim Jones doesn’t begin to come close. You see, this is the result of being indoctrinated with the white self-loathing of leftism for the past, at least, six decades. Even Hitler, Mao and Stalin combined don’t come close to the murderous savagery of islam.
Ade Fegan says
Not in the same league ..
Mo is responsible for more atrocities than anyone before or since
peter says
Please do not disrespect any of these by comparing to mohamed .
James Lincoln says
Agree Pray Hard, Ade Fegan, peter.
I didn’t hit “Mo” nearly hard enough …
tim gallagher says
Thanks for the comments, James, Pray Hard, Ade and peter, and I agree with the sentiments expressed.. It is definitely something that bugs me, this nonsense about Islam ,or Muhammad, deserving respect. To my mind, it deserves as much respect as Nazism does. By any civilised standards, Muhammad was an appalling, low life type of human being. I keep thinking that most of the people who tell us to respect islam and Muhammad must know absolutely nothing about islam. To me, islam, which tells Muslims to go out and kill people who don’t happen to agree with their version of what god is, and says 8 year old girls can be married off, etc, cannot possibly deserve respect. islam is outdated garbage that should have left the human race long, long ago. We live in a weird world where a creed such as Islam deserves respect. This is a very brave move by the French magazine and I hope the staff stay safe. I can imagine all the rabid Muslims out there planning to murder the people from the magazine and thinking that, no matter how long they might have to wait, they’ll get those people.
Vipeka says
Where can a video of it? These murders think they can do whatever they want….add on to the picture with little Aisha
Walter Sieruk says
As this Jihadwatch article mentioned that Pamela Geller draw a picture of Muhammad cartoon contest on May 3, 2015 which incited to jihad minded Muslims to drive to Garland, Texas with the intention to kill the “disbelievers” who insulted the prophet and founder of Islam. Still the main topic of that article subject is January 15,2015 Islamic terror attack-n Paris,France when two brothers who were devote jihad -minded Muslims actually carried succeeded in their murderous massacre because they felt that their prophet was disrespected of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons.
In both cases in Garland and Paris it’s seen that those Muslims took up firearms in defense of their prophet because, it’s very obvious , the god of that prophet ,Muhammad, the god of Islam,Allah, ,must be a weak powerless god, ,even a nothing god ., For this Allah needs Muslims to act violence for him because he is such a weak god that he needs his followers to help him out in striking down dead “disbelievers.”
In great contrast the God of the Bible doesn’t need the “help'” of Christians if someone makes a cartoon drawing making fun of Jesus. This is because the God of Christianity is able to handle a situation of disrespect to Jesus by Himself .
As the Bible informs its reader “Do not be deceived , God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7. [N.K.J.V.]
b.a. freeman says
+1
Pray Hard says
There is no “allah”. There was probably no “mohammed”. Death to islam.
curious george says
Pray Hard,
It appears that there is an Allah, he is better known as Satan. As for Muhammad, he may be a compilation of personalities. Islam, I think that it is a religion created in the pit of hell as demonstrated by the horrendous acts of evil.
FYI says
@Curious George
Most muslims don’t know this but allah’s greatest enemy is not ‘shaitan’ as one would expect.
It is a MAN called “the King Of Kings”{Malik al Amlak}
The greatest enemy of allah the god of islam is a MAN with this title.
You know who has that title:Revs 19:16.
Look who is the god of the muslims!That explains islam’s Doctrine of Hate{al walaa wal baraa},the missing Golden Rule,the missing 2 chief commandments in islam,the missing Genesis 1;27 teaching that people are made in the image of God{and thus equal,as women must be equal to men not HALF the value as in islam}
You cannot follow the sunnah of muhmmed and be a morally good person.
The koran CURSES Christians for believing in Jesus Christ koran 9:30 and classifies them as inferior to muslims{in fact christians etc are ‘the WORST of created beings” koran 98:6}
This is an authentic{sahih} hadith.
Sahih Muslim vol 5 hadith #5611
Boycott Turkey says
I think somebody should write a Koran with pictures in it of the events that took place like what Mohammed did to his enemies like beheading looting kidnapping women as slaves
b.a. freeman says
*EXCELLENT* idea, BT!
sadly, whoever does do that must provide for his own security, since not only will the pious monsters infected by the brain disease of islam be gunning for them, the nazi bureaucrats running western nations will *not* provide any protection, and the nazis themselves will try to kill them! said nazis have already shown that they are willing to kill non-socialists to further their depraved cause; i am sure that worse is coming.
for a long time now (at least 20 or 30 years, if not *far* longer), the left has encouraged the ummah to trample the rights of free people, and hidden the attacks from the victims, with the ummah thus serving as a proxy army working hard for the destruction of free peoples that does not have any association with the left in the eyes of the indoctrinated victims (the free, but indoctrinated, free citizens). with the successful beginnings of the civil war here in amrikistan, the left has learned that its dependence on its proxy army is lessening by the day, and it, too, will no doubt soon be gunning down free people to silence them on a far larger scale as well. the leftist army is only a guerilla army as yet, and furthermore is spending large amounts of money moving its troops from one gutted city to another, but they will learn quickly, and there is no dearth of volunteers from among the ranks of the indoctrinated nominal leftists “graduating” from indoctrination centers at every level ever year with which to replenish slain leftist troops (american traitors). i encourage all patriots in every western and westernized nation to arm themselves and prepare for the coming attacks. since free nations of *any* sort, whether republic, constitutional monarchy, or whatever, can only survive when most people obey most of the laws most of the time, i also encourage all to arm themselves *LEGALLY* with *LEGAL* weapons. remember, if U smack somebody in the head with a tire iron, they die, even though the tire iron isn’t usually considered a weapon. if guns are illegal in your locale, then look into IEDs and such. and just because *U* don’t want combat (as *i* certainly do not!) does not mean that hard-core leftists will leave U alone. be prepared, and get that way *now*!
Boycott Turkey says
In my opinion the islamophiles are not just on the left they are also in the right to and those bureaucrats that run our governments are complicit with genocide of Christians I even hold the Pope patriarch Kirill and the Archbishop of Canterbury accountable for Christian genocide for there silence I feel the best way to fight is to tell the truth through protest and boycotts of countries that persecute Christians in the end the truth will prevail also I noticed not many people trust the media nowadays and go to alternative news sources which is a positive thing it’s why I read jihad watch it’s only source I read about the genocide of Christians in Nigeria Ethiopia and Middle East You won’t read about it on the BBC CNN Sky New Fox News I noticed that the BBC is losing viewers and less people now are paying for there TV licences also the Guardian newspaper is always begging people for money when you visit there site as nobody buys there newspapers best way to fight is boycott tv licences and don’t buy newspapers that are silent on Christian Genocide also boycott countries that persecute Christians don’t visit Turkey Egypt UAE Malaysia its best to hit them in the pocket.
gravenimage says
Actually, cartoonist Bosch Fawstin is illustrating such a Qur’an, and I am planning an illustrated life of Mohammed–I won’t be issuing this under my own name, though, for this very reason.
Boycott Turkey says
Thats great illustrations in books helps some people to understand better there should also be films and documentaries books with illustrations of the crimes that Muhammad did as I noticed lately when Muslims debate Christians and the Christians question them about a violent verse they just say it means some else
End PC says
So why is PJ Media cowardly covering up the cartoon face of Muhammad? To not be provocative? When forbidden to express something you have a Constitutional (& human right) to express then so expressing is not reprehensible but practically a duty – as was the case with laudable Muhammad cartoon contest in Garland Texas. Shame on PJ Media.
gravenimage says
This is in the original Charlie Hebdo cartoon–this isn’t censorship by PJ Media.
Here’s a closer view:
https://resize-parismatch.lanmedia.fr/r/940,628/img/var/news/storage/images/paris-match/culture/medias/tout-ca-pour-ca-charlie-hebdo-publie-a-nouveau-les-caricatures-de-mahomet-1700827/27725172-1-fre-FR/Tout-ca-pour-ca-Charlie-Hebdo-publie-a-nouveau-les-caricatures-de-Mahomet.jpg
No need to falsely claim that PJ Media are cowards–in fact, they are very brave for carrying this work.
OLD GUY says
Freedom of speech and the press are at hanging by a thread. These left wing politicians are allowing the islamic world to dictate their rule. Islam is a “religious” dictatorship.
Pray Hard says
Death to islam.