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Criminalizing Criticism of Islam

[Wall Street Journal Europe] Elizabeth Samson - The prosecutor general in Amman, Jordan, has charged 12 Europeans with blasphemy, demeaning Islam and Muslim feelings, and slandering and insulting the prophet Muhammad in an extraterritorial attempt to silence the debate on radical Islam. Among the defendants is the Danish cartoonist who drew in 2005 one of the Muhammad illustrations that instigators used to spark Muslim riots around the world. His co-defendants include 10 editors of Danish newspapers that published the images. The 12th accused man is Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. Jordan's attempt at criminalizing free speech beyond its own borders is part of a larger campaign to use the law and international forums to intimidate critics of militant Islam. In December the UN General Assembly passed the Resolution on Combating Defamation of Religions; the only religion mentioned by name was Islam. Amman has already requested that Interpol apprehend Wilders and the Danes and bring them to stand before its court for an act that is not a crime in their home countries. Dutch prosecutors said in July that Wilders' statements are protected under Dutch free-speech legislation. Likewise, Danish law protects the rights of the Danish cartoonists and newspapers to express their views. Unless democratic countries stand up to this challenge to free speech, other nations may be emboldened to follow the Jordanian example. The case before the Jordanian court is not just about Wilders and the Danes. It is about the subjugation of Western standards of free speech to fear and coercion by foreign courts.
2008-09-10 01:00:00
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