The Islamist attack on free speech

Islamists around the world continue to harass and intimidate their critics. Though in Europe and America they haven’t resorted to systematic murder (yet), they are well on their way to silence those whose views they dislike – and they have no shortage of post-Christian bureaucrats, judges, journalists and lawyers to aid them.

Two new cases come to mind. The first is at San Francisco State University, where the school investigated student who stomped on a Hezbollah flag at an anti-terrorism rally last October. The supposed crime: Hezbollah means “Party of God” and because it appears on the terrorist group’s flag (see illustration), the student insulted Muslims by stomping on the name of Allah.

Thanks to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the university cleared the student of wrongdoing and issued a formal statement yesterday.

In France, where free speech isn’t quite so free, the editor of a satirical magazine faces the prospect of half a year in prison for publishing the infamous Muhammad cartoons. French Muslim groups demanded his prosecution – and President Jacques Chirac agreed – because the editor supposedly had committed the sin of “publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion.”

The Grand Mosque of Paris and the Union of French Islamic Organizations demanded that comedian and singer/songwriter Philippe Val, editor of Charlie Hebdo, be tried for – get this – “inciting racial hatred,” according to The Muslim News. The whining hordes got their way. (We looked through the French press to find out if the Islamic Inquisitors had demanded similar prosecution of those responsible for the deadly riots and such, but found nothing.) Val writes about the issue in today’s Wall Street Journal. A court is to decide his fate today.