Saturday 25 June 2005

The face of Hate Speech Laws


Here's what Hate Speech Laws look like in practice:

Oriana Fallaci ...one of the most renowned journalists of the modern era has been indicted by a judge in her native Italy under provisions of the Italian Penal Code which proscribe the "vilipendio," or "vilification," of "any religion admitted by the state."

In her case, the religion deemed vilified is Islam, and the vilification was perpetrated, apparently, in a book she wrote last year--and which has sold many more than a million copies all over Europe--called "The Force of Reason."

Story here from the 'Wall Street Journal'.

1 comment:

Rick said...

"Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder," the historian Arnold Toynbee wrote

Tell that to Archimedes et al. But otherwise, yeah.

I believe it's a false alarm. We're seeing the death of Western imperialism here, not of Western civilisation- so it's okay. I don't claim to know, but I believe it and when I see Europe for myself then I'll know.