dirty whore:I LOVE savage
YOUR SAY
Read our digital edition!
Browse Boulder real estate by neighborhood, school and zip code along with other homes for sale in Colorado on COhomefinder.com.
Home / Articles / News / National Today / Why is anti-Semitism illegal and Islamophobia not in Europe?
Why is anti-Semitism illegal and Islamophobia not in Europe?
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com
We all know that the recent YouTube trailer The Innocence of Muslims and the repeated publishing of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are tests of free speech.
Do writers, cartoonists and filmmakers have the right to insult a religion's beliefs and history? Almost all of us would say, clearly, yes. The First Amendment in the U.S. and similar principles of free speech abroad protect those expressions.
Then what about anti-Semitic expression? In many European countries, laws specifically prohibit anti-Jewish speech, particularly Holocaust denial. European countries have thrown people in jail for questioning the Holocaust. So why isn't Islam afforded the same protection?
See the story at Slate.
Also in National Today:
NSA director defends surveillance, saying it has stopped terror plotsWhy Jeb Bush's 'immigrants are more fertile' is so puzzlingUS to arm Syrian rebels after chemical weapons claimSupreme Court: DNA swabs allowed upon arrestFBI still fumbling its story on Tsarnaev's friend's deathR.I. Gov. Chafee to join Democratic partyIn-depth: Reading Michele Bachmann's retirement speech closelyIRS whistleblower won't answer questions from CongressNew federal data reveals huge disparities in health costs at different hospitalsBoston Marathon bombing and terrorism like it is nearly unpreventable
Also from none:
NSA director defends surveillance, saying it has stopped terror plotsIn wake of leak, tech companies race to appear transparentBoulder among top 10 most inventive citiesAs divestment from fossil fuels grows, why environmentalists should do moreWhy Jeb Bush's 'immigrants are more fertile' is so puzzlingOil spill damages trees in 104-acre area in CanadaUS to arm Syrian rebels after chemical weapons claimReel to reel | Week of June 13, 2013Upcoming Events | Week of June 13, 2013Letters | Marijuana over martinis
There's difference between making fun of an idea or icon (like a religious practice or a prophet) and demonizing of a people based on their immutable characteristics (like Jewish ancestry). I could make a cheap film portraying Moses as a war-mongering firstborn-baby-killing genocidal tyrannical fascist delusional maniac (which is not too far from the Moses of biblical fiction) and that would not come anywhere close to anti-Semitic, as the term is commonly understood. All Innocence of Muslims did was crassly ridicule a religious icon. That does not come close to condoning, covering up or inciting violence on Muslims themselves.