Insulting Islam

Things like this are daily occurences in the Islamic world. The propensity of muslims to silence their critics is an unpleasant aspect of Islam that needs to be curbed if Islam is to be regarded as civilised, rather than as civilisationphobic.

It may be possible to hope for progress within Islamic culture as it comes to grips with the modern world. There is absolutely no excuse for the UN to participate in the whole sordid business by passing resolutions calling for the banning of "defamation of religion". The UNHRC clearly has nothing to do with promoting human rights and everything to do with eliminating them.

Unbelievably, silencing critics of Islam is gaining traction in the west. The Netherlands is prosecuting Geert Wilders for offending Islam. How is it that a country with a long tradition of fostering free speech has sunk so low?

In case you think that this could not happen in Australia, recall that two clerics were tried for offences against Islam in Victoria. The matter was eventually resolved after a number of hearings, and three years of wasted time. The process was the punishment.

We need a National Desecration Day where people can publicly desecrate scriptures of the various religions. It is time people stood up for free speech.