2012-09-30

Sufis not keen on certain free speech

I missed this event in the news, but YouTube (ironically) has coverage: Mr. Moulana Ghulam Ahmed Rabbani leading a protest outside Google's Dublin office:

"We have a right not to be insulted!"
[...]
"If this is not terrorism, what is the definition of terrorism?"
Er, I'm sorry Mr. Rabbani, but I'm afraid you don't actually have that right not to be insulted. Free speech (look it up) is the right to say more or less what you want. This may involve hurting someone's feelings. If I accuse a crash-for-cash solicitor of being a scum-sucking subhuman weasel then I'm going to hurt his or her feelings; that is, however, not a reason to restrict me from saying those things.

Define terrorism:

Noun: The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. Synonyms: terror
Hope this helps, Mr. Rabbani. For what it's worth, I don't seem much violence or intimidation from those publishing the insulting videos.

Kudos to the Irish Sufi Foundation that they didn't actually hurl rocks, set fire to things or assault people during these protests (oh, how low our expectations have sunk that this is grounds for praise). However, they need to realise that the Western World has standards of free speech that are very different from those in the Middle East, and living in Western societies means accepting these consequences.

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