This is a bit of poetic justice for the thoroughly loathsome Sacha Baron Cohen, who has grown rich by victimizing and ridiculing decent people, and who has called for Facebook to censor the speech of those whom he hates. In any case, it reinforces the ever-applicable principle: in Muslim countries, one must conform one’s behavior to Muslim sensibilities. And in non-Muslim countries, one must conform one’s behavior to Muslim sensibilities.
So France, despite Macron’s tough words, appears to be choosing surrender and submission.
“French buses remove Borat posters after outcry from Muslims over the near-naked comedy character wearing a ring that reads ‘Allah,'” by Charlotte Mitchell, Mailonline, November 4, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A poster for the latest Borat film on Paris buses has caused anger among some French Muslims for featuring a nearly-naked Sacha Baron Cohen wearing a ring bearing the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic script.
Incensed locals have taken to social media, accusing the city’s authorities of insulting Islam.
While Paris’ main transport network RATP refused to remove the posters, buses on the TICE network, which operates in a largely-Muslim area, no longer feature the advert.
The poster, which can be seen on the side of many Parisian buses, shows English actor Baron Cohen wearing a gold ring with the word ‘Allah’ written on it in Arabic and wearing only a face mask to cover his genitals in tribute to the ‘mankini’ his Borat character wore in the first film.
The upset over the image comes at a time of sky-high tensions in France between the state, which argues that mocking religion is part of freedom of speech, and Muslims in France and beyond who feel especially targeted and disrespected by France’s stance.
Mass protests have taken place in Muslim-majority countries around the world over comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron in defence of controversial depictions of the Prophet Mohammed.
France and other European countries have raised their terror level alerts in response to three recent attacks.
Bus Drivers in Paris, many of whom are Muslim, have appealed to the city’s transport authority to remove the poster.
One driver, named as Django M, reportedly threatened to ‘scratch over’ the poster, saying it was ‘incredible’ that the image had been allowed to adorn Paris’ buses.
RATP refused to remove them, saying it would ‘under no circumstances’ take this campaign off our network, according to French daily Le Parisien.
However, the advert has been removed from TICE network buses which cover Evry, a southern suburb with a large Muslim population, The Times reported.
RATP denied it had removed the posters out of concern for Muslim sensibilities, saying the decision was made because ‘their offbeat humour was judged by the TICE management to be inappropriate.’
It also rubbished reports that had emerged on social media claiming people had thrown stones at the buses over the weekend in areas of the city with large immigrant populations, saying such attacks were common during Halloween….
gravenimage says
France: Muslims enraged over Borat posters showing him wearing ‘Allah’ ring, buses in Muslim areas remove them
…………….
So much for that robust defence of freedom of speech Macron promised…
revereridesagain says
Hunter Biden’s lucky he didn’t choose Allah-themed jewelry to augment his butt-nekkid selfies that were spread all over the internet last few weeks. That would have given “Big Guy” daddy Senile Joe something to worry about besides how to steal the election.
mortimer says
Sacha Cohen needs protection of his rights to mock, belittle and parody … perhaps more than almost anyone I can think of.
Cohen has been savagely lampooning Muslims for years . I’m shocked that no Muslim clerics have put a fatwa on him.
Cohen lampoons Americans and Muslims in that order.
william carr says
I am surprised that RS comes down on Cohen who is a master at mocking Islam. I do not like most modern ‘comedy’ as it relies too much on four letter words and other obscenities. I think SBC is much less obnoxious than say Kathy Griffin and much funnier
Uma Maheswar says
OMG
Isaac Marshall says
Now let’s see if he’s really willing to offend everyone. My bet is complete silence, he’s a partisan hack.
spiro says
Muslims enraged ???? No not Muslims
That’s their normal mood
mortimer says
That ‘mood’ you describe is a religious duty called ‘gheera’ or ‘ghira’ or ‘gheira’.
https://www.islam21c.com/islamic-thought/6240-reviving-our-sense-of-gheera/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghayrah
Protective jealousy or rage … Salafi scholar Muhammad Al-Munajjid indicates that the concept also applies to protecting Muhammad from blasphemy
Hoi Polloi says
That was interesting. Thanks.
PRCS says
From the gheera link:
“When az-Zubayr married me, he had neither land nor wealth nor slave…”
He didn’t have a slave!! Poor guy.
Westman says
Not being in a nation where stones lie everywhere(many in those nations lying about from the last demonstration), perhaps some enterprising French person could import sized and shaped “Stoning Stones”, with the proper heft, for use by Islamic outrage. After all, what could be more accommodating? For added value, each unit could stamped in the Arabic script, “For Allah”.
Hoi Polloi says
That’s probably next.
Hoi Polloi says
“bit of poetic justice..for..Sacha Baron Cohen, who has grown rich by victimizing and ridiculing decent people.” My first thought, as well. Of course he himself remains at a safe distance. Pity the removals have so swiftly followed Paty’s beheading and Macron’s promise to stand firm.
mortimer says
He got rich mocking Muslims as well as mocking Americans. A lot of Cohen’s mockery against Muslims is in Yiddish, Hebrew and Polish, languages that most Muslims don’t know. Those jokes are understood by his fellow Jews.
Freedom of speech is fine for Cohen, but he won’t share it with people he hates. They should be able to answer back.
Hoi Polloi says
Answer, with words but not machetes, yes. Even at Speaker’s Corner where they are, ostensibly answering verbally, they physically abuse as well and the police aid and abet them extensively.
Martin says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-v1gSIUSeI
Keys says
Thanks for your videos, Martin, including this one.
I see no problem with the picture of Borat in this article, however the picture of Borat on the French bus in the video is inappropriate and distasteful for any public place where there are children.
In the USA I would argue for the removal of that bus picture, but not because of the “Allah Ring”, but because it not something I would want my grandkids to see and consider it as acceptable.
For me it is a matter of public acceptance/morals and community standards of decency. I do not know the law, including case law, on the standard of decency in communities, but this would be offensive to most where I live – not because of the ring.
It may be protected by “free speech”, but that does not make it acceptable in public. This is not to argue that it should be banned from all “venues”, like magazines, etc.
“Anything goes” is destructive.
Brando says
Sacha Baron Cohen is JEWISH, soon the Muslim Death Threats will come.
He will Apologize like the Coward he is.
In YIDDISH he is a SCHLEMIEL ( idiot, fool ). There is a Real Town in POLAND called KHELM / Chelm, and in Yiddish Folklore it is known as the Town of Schlemiels.
gravenimage says
Whatever else you think about Sacha Baron Cohen, he has been spoofing Muslims for ages–first as his character Ali G, then as Borat.
Brando says
Interesting info,gravenimage, since I never watched any of his movies,I can only speak from what I have seen others go through based on how they depicted Muslims.
Since Muslims in the past have not protested much,from what I have learned,and they could EASILY have got Cohen blacklisted and FORCED him to Apologize or be Rejected by the Media,
then it must be he is Useful to Them. For example, Cohen in 2019 made a 40 min speech calling for INTERNET CENSORSHIP in the Ezra Levant Show.
Muslims and Leftists see him as what Lenin called a USEFUL IDIOT ( shlemiel).
ALEXANDRE DEL VALLE has written that:
1.The MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD has told its many,many,many Muslim organizations in the West (for example CAIR, Islamic Society of North America,etc)
to Support Leftist Causes (LGBT, feminism,anti-racism,
anti-neocolonialism,Gender groups,
pro-Open Borders, the Green Movement,
even PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY groups,abortionists )in the WEST,
to thus Gain POWER peacefully.They began,according to Alexandre del Valle, in the 1960s.
2. For TACTICAL reason ( but the END is the SAME) the Muslim Brotherhood is AGAINST Muslim terrorist attacks killing civilians in the WEST,
but it SUPPORTS such attacks in ISRAEL.
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
1.It was founded in 1928 ( 4 years after the END of the Ottoman CALIPHATE in 1924)
2.The founder was Egyptian HASSAN Al-BANNA, he wanted to RESTORE the Caliphate.
3.He sent his SON-IN-LAW SAID RAMADAN to Europe to began work to help make Europe ready to one day be Under Muslim Control.
4.Said’s SON is the famous TARIQ RAMADAN.
FOR EXAMPLE
Daniel,of The Muslim Skeptic, has Denounced ILHAN OMAR and LINDA SARSOUR ,2 female Muslim politicians in the US, for SUPPORTING the LGBT movement. They are secretly following the Muslim Brotherhood directives.
He has more intellectual integrity than other Muslim youtubers,he 3 hrs ago,in his latest video(about the US ELECTION),he actually says:
TRUMP is ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT,even though he dislikes him,and he has been a Better President than a Democrat President or establishment Republican, and one of the good things he has done is
NOT get into a Foreign War and DOMESTICALLY Trump is Good for Muslims,etc,etc.
gravenimage says
Brando, I was not supporting everything Sacha Baron Cohen has said and done, just noting his poking fun at Muslim characters.
Brando says
There is even a famous book by FRENCH writer called,originally CHAUMISSON, but he changed it to CHAMISSO and her wrote,GERMAN, a novel
about a man who Sold his SHADOW to the Devil, “Peter Schlemiel”.
Brando says
My Error:it was CHAMISSEAU,not Chaumisson
Keith O says
Mudslimes are offended by everything.
Perhaps, if we convince them that oxygen is offensive they will stop stealing it from everyone else?
DavidR says
What do you do when someone cuts in the queue and starts loudly and harshly arguing with anyone who dares speak at all about it? What do you do if you knew by his appearance, and the content of his speech that he was one of “those” people. Is it worth the bother? It’s a long queue and everybody is within earshot. You know they are accustomed to going unchallenged and, sadly, your own country and many of your neighbors are also compliant. Probably not worth the bother since you might get arrested or go viral and get doxed.
gravenimage says
If no one speaks out it will keep getting worse–their cutting in line will be the least of it.
Antiislamicman says
The Koran is offensive and evil. Muslims offend everyone but if they are offended its the crime of the century. Islam is nonsense
Fred van de Bunt says
In the Netherlands the education union brings the topic of freedom of speech in an euphemistic style:
” Freedom of speech is a hot topic. Last week a teacher on France got decapitated, because he showed some controversial Mohammed cartoons. The education union noticed the subject was very much alive among teachers, that handle things excellent. We think it is unimaginable a teacher now had to go into hiding for this in the Netherlands.”
https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2020/onderwijsbond-leraar-cartoon/
Reading further, they excused themselves already by stating submissively “The cartoon for which the teacher had to go into hiding wasn’t even a Mohammed cartoon, but just a head chopper dressed like an old style Islamite!”
Then the usual amount of platitudes follow, an elaborate amount of citations of political leaders and Dutch congressman: “Awful”, “Intolerable”, “I stand behind the teacher!!”, “Unacceptable”, “Support the teacher”, “No place for extremists that indoctrinate hate among youngsters!”
Quite so, but absolutely no analyses, or further contextual explanation can be found concerning the “hot topic”, that, who knows, might become very trending?
The Education Union also does not mentioned that many teachers feel seriously threatened at the same school, and that more schools received serious threats already in the Netherlands.
Mark Rutte, our leader, like usual, will say: “First, we need more EU, and second, this is a matter for government at lower levels to handle, since each of these unique incidents need their own unique treatment.”
Many people will say: “Hear, Hear”, others might think, and again one ignores it and again the highest authority is passing the buck on…
Andrew says
The poster is indeed somewhat offensive but not because of the Ring but because of the state of undress as that would seem rather disgusting for most people to look at every day.
I sure am glad that I am a man that doesnt get his feeling so butt hurt like muslims do.
They need to grow a pair,
They need to leave Europe.
GOLDMANN says
Yes agree Andrew ?? but what’s your bottom got to do with anything ????
Walter Sieruk says
So they are “enraged.” So what ? Who cares. Tough beans.