|
|
| Line 293: |
Line 293: |
|
| |
|
| {{Quote|2=In today's discussion, we all agreed that all Malaysians must respect and uphold the Constitution of Malaysia, which allows freedom of religion to be practiced in peace and harmony.}} | | {{Quote|2=In today's discussion, we all agreed that all Malaysians must respect and uphold the Constitution of Malaysia, which allows freedom of religion to be practiced in peace and harmony.}} |
|
| |
| ==Islam and Self-Censorship==
| |
|
| |
| The aforementioned incidents involving Islam and its followers, has lead to wide-spread self-censorship and obfuscation of facts among the media in the west. A good example of this, is the UK media handling of the 2001 "race riots" by "Asians" in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley. In reality, these outbreaks of violence had little to do with race. The government, and the then home secretary David Blunkett, were warned by the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Gurbux Singh, that more violence was to be expected from "Young ''Muslims'' who feel disenfranchised" living among the many "''Muslim''" hotspots in the UK.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/dec/28/communities.freedomofinformation 'Summer of race riots' feared after clashes in 2001] - Alan Travis, home affairs editor - The Guardian, December 28, 2006</ref>
| |
|
| |
| The same thing occur in 2011, amid the news of widespread grooming of young 'white' girls by 'Asian' men.<ref>Chris Brooke - [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344218/Asian-sex-gangs-Culture-silence-allows-grooming-white-girls-fear-racist.html Top detective blasts 'culture of silence' that allows Asian sex gangs to groom white girls... because police and social services fear being branded racist] - Daily Mail, January 11, 2011</ref> It was eventually brought to light that these 'Asians' were not only targeting white girls, but also young girls from Hindu and Sikh communities.<ref>Yudhvir Rana - [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Not-just-White-girls-Pak-Muslim-men-sexually-target-Hindu-and-Sikh-girls-as-well/articleshow/7254035.cms 'Not just White girls, Pak Muslim men sexually target Hindu and Sikh girls as well] - The Times of India, January 10, 2011</ref>
| |
|
| |
| Well-known political impressionist, Rory Bremner, during an interview with Sir David Frost on the BBC documentary, Frost on Satire, admitted he feared joking about Islam.
| |
|
| |
| {{Quote|1=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7828813/Rory-Bremner-afraid-to-joke-about-Islam.html Rory Bremner 'afraid' to joke about Islam]<BR>Nick Collins, Telegraph, June 15, 2010|2=When [I'm] writing a sketch about Islam, I'm writing a line and I think, 'If this goes down badly, I'm writing my own death warrant there.' Because there are people who will say, 'Not only do I not think that's funny but I'm going to kill you' – and that's chilling...If you're a Danish cartoonist and you work in a Western tradition, people don't take that too seriously. Suddenly you're confronted by a group of people who are fundamentalist and extreme and they say, 'We're going to kill you because of what you have said or drawn.' Where does satire go from there, because we like to be brave but not foolish.}}
| |
|
| |
| Across the seas in the US, Comedy Central, after receiving threatening statements from the Islamic website ''Revolution Muslim'',<ref>{{cite news| last = Bates | first = Theunis | title = Pakistan Bans Facebook Over Muhammad Cartoons| work =AOL News | language = | publisher = www.aolnews.com | date =May 19, 2010 | url = http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/pakistan-bans-facebook-over-muhammad-cartoons/19483123 | }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last =Rodriguez | first =Alex | title = Facebook dark in Pakistan amid uproar over Muhammad caricatures|work=Los Angeles Times | publisher = www.latimes.com | date = May 19, 2010 | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-facebook-20100520,0,4071401.story | }}</ref> self-censored episodes of South Park by removing the word "Muhammad" and a speech about intimidation and fear. Ironically, cartoonist Molly Norris, who created the original piece of artwork which inspired the first ever "[[Everybody Draw Mohammed Day]]" in response to Comedy Central's self-censorship, eventually disassociated herself from it. Regardless of her u-turn, it was reported in July, 2010, that the American-Yemeni Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had put her, along with eight other cartoonists, on an execution hit list. The FBI have said that Norris and the other cartoonists have been warned of the "very serious threat."<ref>James Gordon Meek and Katie Nelson - [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/07/11/2010-07-11_cleric_anwar_alawlaki_puts_everybody_draw_mohammed_cartoonist_molly_norris_on_ex.html Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki puts 'Everybody Draw Mohammed' cartoonist Molly Norris on execution hitlist] - NY DAILY NEWS, July 11, 2010 </ref>
| |
|
| |
| In an interview with Las Vegas Weekly, The American magician, comedian, musician and writer, Penn Fraser Jillette, who was judged the number one personality who defines Vegas, said he does not tackle Islam due to having a family:
| |
|
| |
| {{Quote|1=[http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2010/jun/24/celebrity-issue/ A Uniquely Weekly ranking of the personalities who define Las Vegas]<BR> The Las Vegas Weekly, June 24, 2010|2='''Are there any groups you won't go after?'''
| |
|
| |
| We haven't tackled Scientology because Showtime doesn't want us to. Maybe they have deals with individual Scientologists—I'm not sure. And we haven't tackled Islam because we have families.
| |
|
| |
| '''Meaning, you won’t attack Islam because you’re afraid it’ll attack back...'''
| |
|
| |
| Right, and I think the worst thing you can say about a group in a free society is that you’re afraid to talk about it—I can’t think of anything more horrific. [...]
| |
|
| |
| '''You do go after Christians, though...'''
| |
|
| |
| Teller and I have been brutal to Christians, and their response shows that they’re good f**king Americans who believe in freedom of speech. We attack them all the time, and we still get letters that say, “We appreciate your passion. Sincerely yours, in Christ.” Christians come to our show at the Rio and give us Bibles all the time. They’re incredibly kind to us. Sure, there are a couple of them who live in garages, give themselves titles and send out death threats to me and Bill Maher and Trey Parker. But the vast majority are polite, open-minded people, and I respect them for that.}}
| |
|
| |
| Norwegian cartoonist, Finn Graff, who was known for his satirical drawings of [[Jesus]], has also said that he does not draw pictures mocking Muhammad “out of respect.”<ref>Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson - [http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/668 Scandinavian Update: Israeli Boycott, Muslim Cartoons] - The Brussels Journal, </ref> According to Mark Goldblatt at Reason:
| |
| {{Quote|1=[http://reason.com/archives/2010/05/14/the-poet-versus-the-prophet The Poet Versus the Prophet On standing up to totalitarian Islam]<BR>Mark Goldblatt, Reason, May 14, 2010|2=Americans characterize our collective deference towards the feelings of Muslims as “political correctness.” The phrase may be apt with respect to certain ethnic and religious minorities, but our tip-toeing around Islamic sensibilities is nothing more than plain, old-fashioned cowardice. MSNBC stooge Lawrence O’Donnell, for example, repeatedly slandered Mormonism during the 2008 presidential campaign as a sidebar to his creepily obsessive verbal jihad against then-candidate Mitt Romney. But when asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would insult Muhammad the way he’d insulted Joseph Smith, O’Donnell replied with rare candor: “Oh, well, I’m afraid of what the... that’s where I’m really afraid. I would like to criticize Islam much more than I do publicly, but I’m afraid for my life if I do.... Mormons are the nicest people in the world. They’ll never take a shot at me. Those other people, I’m not going to say a word about them.”
| |
|
| |
| That’s the problem in a nutshell. But it’s not just O’Donnell’s problem. It’s our problem. America’s problem. The West’s problem. We lack the moral courage to walk the walk, to put our individual lives on the line in order to defend the principles of free thought and free expression—the very principles that allowed the Judeo-Christian West to leave the Islamic East in the dust, literally and figuratively, three centuries ago.}}
| |
|
| |
|
| ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |