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France arrests 54 in crackdown on hate speech; Charlie Hebdo's new issue sells out

33 Comments
By LORI HINNANT

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But what do they want to do about the the hate speech contained in the Koran and the Haddith? They continue to ignore the elephant in the middle of the room.

4 ( +12 / -8 )

WilliB,

Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones

Psalm 137, King James Bible

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

@WilliB: Have you ever read Koran or it's authentic translation yourself ? Can you tell which verse, section or chapter in Koran contains hate speech ?

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

@WilliB 'But what do they want to do about the the hate speech contained in the Koran and the Haddith? They continue to ignore the elephant in the middle of the room.'

You certainly won't get any argument from me about the horrors found in 'holy' books which some of the faithful call upon to give hatred and bigotry protection but I wonder what you are proposing here. A ban on these books?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The West has been turned the other cheeks for too long. This wake up call is only the starting point of more things to come. Many religions have outgrown their experiences to contextualize with democracy and modernity. Islam equipped with new found wealth and weapons instead of swords are imposing their beliefs on others (infidels!). We are not living in the age of who has no sin casting the first stone anymore, rather the age of inclusiveness, regardless how drastic it may be. The West must identify the real enemy and stand up against all forms of intimidation and deception to move forward.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

France ordered prosecutors around the country to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism...

"Hate speech" is a part of "Freedom of speech" so why only against anti-Semitism ? In any case, there are limits to everything and "jokes" in poor taste are not really that funny.

1 ( +3 / -3 )

Escalation in the "war". Will be seen as another reason for young disaffected Muslims to fight back.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Glad they arrested that very unpleasant man Dieudonne. Don't think it will dent his popularity much though, and its worrying that a man like that can be so popular in today's France.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

another reason for young disaffected Muslims to fight back.

Many of the killers are from comfortable, affluent backgrounds, while others lived comfortably off the state benefits of their despised Western countries. The 9/11 bombers were wealthy or middle class Muslims, who had the freedom to travel and study in the West.

"Jihadi John" reportedly hails from Maida Vale, where most Britons cannot afford the 7-digit price tags of the homes there, although his family lives there for free thanks to state welfare support. If people are "disaffected"under such circumstances, then THEY and their hateful ideology are the problem, not the West.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

aaaa,another joke of the century..it is OK, everyone understand it

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Tragedy and hypocrisy all rolled into one. a hallmark of relations between radical Islam and "the West" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabias-history-of-hypocrisy-we-choose-to-ignore-9978493.html

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

All the brouhaha over protecting offensive cartoons under freedom of speech tenets, and now France arrests a comedian for defending terrorism.

Where's the outrage?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

"Some who had supported Charlie Hebdo after the terror attacks felt betrayed and others feared the cartoon would trigger yet more violence."

Trigger more violence?

Slaughtering innocent moms and dads in their place of work over a cartoon is about as violent as one can imagine. If Islam wants to be taken seriously, not as just a jackass motive for any slaughter, then Islam has to get their own house in order.

This idea that slaughtering innocent people is a "godly", a la Allah, thing is getting pretty played.

These all so certain few, who want to kill o' so many, to prove o' so much faith? Every time they kill they make Islam a tragic clown, full of bitter knowledge with only slaughter as proof of the peace of Islam.

Wake up. You are wrong and killing children for your god is a total embarrassment. Unless the Islam belief includes killing children, then, good job, kill children for your god, idiots. It is just so stupid. Islam, we kill children, our god say it's cool. What a bunch of dumb fks. Sorry, stupid dumb fks. The whole thing is just so sickening. Islam, kill, kill, kill. What a great idea! Sick. Well, it's their faith, kill on o mighty faithful, because of a cartoon. How sick does one have to be?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Should have arrested Le Pen first.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Islam is not something that you can appease. If you are nice to them and try to avoid offending, they will still come after you anyway.

Just go to any Muslim majority country and talk with the minority Christian or other religious group. You have whole villages running religious apartheid (complete with signs), dividing the place up. The demoralized minority wouldn't and doesn't dare harass the Muslims, but they are persecuted regardless by baseless rumours threatening to burn their houses down. All the houses end up getting marked, passover style, into muslim/non-muslim, to the point where Christians hang Quranic verses on their wall to ward away threats.

... and I witnessed this in so-called "moderate" Indonesia.

When there are no more Christians to persecute, then Muslims turn on themselves... calling each other apostates.

So please world media, post more Mohammed cartoons. Nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

will be put on trial next month for justifying terrorism

Is that really the charge? If so, we are in pretty dangerous territory as far as free speech is concerned

1 ( +2 / -1 )

SenseNotSoCommon:

" Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones Psalm 137, King James Bible "

You should read the Koran and Haddiths. Boths are chock-full of condemnations of Jews and Christians (while the Torah and Bible say nothing about islam). Maybe you can correct me in that, but to my knowledge, islamic scripture is the only religious scripture that is full of condemnations about other, currently existing, religions. Is it not?

Therefore, the French government addresses nothing, as long as they excempt religious literature from their hate speech laws.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

'Boths are chock-full of condemnations of Jews and Christians (while the Torah and Bible say nothing about islam).'

Islam didn't exist at the time.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

It has become a very complicated issue and it will get more difficult with the rise of the Muslim population in Europe..

"Hate speech" is a part of "Freedom of speech"

Perhaps, but NOT when it glorifies the killing of innocent, that is beyond freedom of speech.

3 ( +2 / -0 )

Why you have these hate speech laws, Europe? You are just giving fuel to the authoritarian crowd that doesn't respect freedom of speech.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Authorities said 54 people had been arrested for hate speech and defending terrorism since terror attacks killed 20 people in Paris last week, including three gunmen.

thanks God i'm living in Russia - and I never knew - what does it means "hate speach"???

So as far as I understand - to protect freedom in France, French people should keep their mouths shut....

Ah pauvre France.....

Egalite Liberte ... Te Te Te

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Jimizo:

" Islam didn't exist at the time. "

That is true, but that does not change the situation: Only islamic scripture contains aggressive condemnations of other, existing religions. And I don´t think any other religions do that.

Therefore, we are stuck with the same problem: We have political hate speech being protected under "religious freedom". I think it should not. If is political, it should be treated as political. Religion should only deal with esoteric, unprovable topics such as gods and our relation to them. Where religious texts contain political content, it should be treated as political.

But France does not go there, hence the problem is not addressed.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@WilliB "Only islamic scripture contains aggressive condemnations of other, existing religions."

From Deuteronomy

“Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God”

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I am glad France has strict laws on Hate Speech while preserving freedom of press.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Albaleo and others, you can quote Bible scripture till the cows come home but come on really??? Is there any comparison?? If you don't see (and you won't) any Christians reading the Bible and killing people, why even throw it out there?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Sorry, but most of you here are really not in possession of the facts to be able to comment. Is it right to antagonize others to the point of violence to prove that free speech trumps all other rights? If you haven't read Charlie Hebdo then it is impossible for you here to know how graphic and insulting it is to Muslims. In fact, it has content that would ban it from sale here in Japan!And I couldn't keep it on my table here at home as my child would be shocked by it! If the same content were directed against Jews and in such volume as Charlie Hebdo has, it would have been shutdown long ago.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

WilliB:

the Torah and Bible say nothing about Islam

Jimizo:

Islam didn't exist at the time

WilliB:

that is true, but that does not change the situation

24 carat Comedy Gold. Thanks!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@daveyc "why even throw it out there"

WilliB was making the interesting point that religious literature is exempted from hate speech. But he implied only Islamic literature contained such writings. That is not the case.

I posted on another thread recently that most ancient religious texts are littered with lists of violent, hateful punishments. But I said that isn't really an issue for me if religious organizations no longer teach those writings as correct. I would be unhappy if my government (UK at the moment) gave special special status to religions that do teach such hateful things. As far as I know, no mainstream religious organization in the UK, including Islamic groups, does so. But I may be wrong about that. Recently, I was trying to find whether any UK Islamic groups endorsed the death fatwah on Salmon Rushdie which I understand is still in place by some Iranian clerics. I couldn't find anything that says they do.

As far as I know, none of my Muslim acquaintances have ever killed someone because of something they read in a religious text. But, of course, I read that there are others who do. On the other hand, I know of cases in Glasgow where people have been killed for wearing the wrong team's football scarf and therefore, by implication, follow the wrong religion.

I miss attitudes to religion in Japan, where generally it's all teated as a kind of harmless superstition.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Jimizo:First of all, the books themselves are written words and it is how those words are expressed in a public forum to incite people to openly commit violent and physical harm. Even the Old Testament is an fill with extreme hate and violence to others.@Bgood41: You stated it is time for the west to stop turning the other cheek. The west has never turned the other cheek and this can be verified by their actions in the past and throughout history.It is amazing how the followers of these religions always states and prays to almighty merciful God but yet shows no mercy to those that does not agree with them. It is the greatest trick ever done, to have billions believe in the invicible being.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

the holy books once read it is engraved in the mind you did to deprogram the person itself

0 ( +0 / -0 )

WilliB:

the Torah and Bible say nothing about Islam

Ha-ha. Too much Fox News?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

kurisupisu: Sorry, but most of you here are really not in possession of the facts to be able to comment. Is it right to antagonize others to the point of violence to prove that free speech trumps all other rights?

Well the issue is that some are using violence to overturn free speech, and the question is whether we are going to allow that to happen. And this won't be an isolated issue. We need to set a precedent for the future.

Also, you might be thinking that "offensive" is that way Mohammad is being drawn, but the core of the issue is that you can just draw any kind of picture and get into hot water. Comedy Central wouldn't let any drawing of Mohammed be shown because they were afraid. There's a great video of Sky News quickly jerking the camera up when someone was about to show the most recent cover, then they apologized for offending anyone who might have seen the half that actually got shown.

That's not being decent, that's simply fear that someone might come and kill you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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