Tuesday 20 March 2012

"Penalizing Criticism of Islam Threatens Free Speech and Reforms"


... Defamation was reworked as incitement to discrimination, at the U.N. World Conference against Racism (Durban II) in April 2009. In their 4th Annual Report on Islamophobia in April 2011, the OIC defined incitement by applying the "test of consequences," so that criminal liability only fell on the instigators and not on the responders. In this way, any perceived provocation, insult or "defamation" could be penalized on the grounds that it led to incitement...
Interesting.... if the test of "defamation" is if you -- the alleged "defamee" -- go on a rampage when someone criticises you (or even comments on your religion), then the clear message is that you ought to go on a rampage, because then you'll be protected; protected by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, at least.  Because "clearly" the fact that there were consequences (your rampage) means that by definition what you said was "defamatory".
Oh dear.... A post-modern Catch-22....
This is an interesting post by Ida Lichter, critical of the attack on free speech by the OIC, especially interesting in that it's in the Huffington Post, a leftie site more often known for posting Islamopologist pieces.
Good on them for doing this!