Human-rights court upholds Austrian woman’s conviction for disparaging the Prophet
#1
Human-rights court upholds Austrian woman’s conviction for disparaging the Prophet
Apparently, the European Court of Human Rights thinks that free speech is not a human right.
I'm so glad I was born in the U.S.
I'm guessing that no one here at DVD Talk will agree with this ruling, although my guess could turn out to be wrong.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-ruled/574174/
In Europe, Speech Is an Alienable Right
A human-rights court upheld an Austrian woman’s conviction for disparaging the Prophet Muhammad
Oct 27, 2018
A few years ago, I appeared on a live Egyptian television show hosted by a conservative Muslim with jihadist sympathies. He lured me on by offering to answer any question I had about Islam, including, he said, “whether the Prophet Muhammad was a child molester.” The host seemed awfully open-minded, I thought, given how humorless jihadists tend to be about the Prophet. When the lights went up and the program began, I mentioned the child-molester issue, and the host remained true to his word, neither bursting into a rage nor chiding me for my impertinence. (I wrote about the experience for the November 2012 issue of this magazine.)
Around the same time, a woman referred to as E.S. was convicted in Austria for, in effect, not phrasing her identical curiosity in the form of a question. On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld her 2011 conviction for “disparagement of religious precepts,” a crime in Austria. The facts of what E.S. did are not in dispute. She held “seminars” in which she presented her view that Muhammad was indeed a child molester. Dominant Islamic traditions hold that Muhammad’s third wife, Aisha, was 6 at the time of their marriage and 9 at its consummation. Muhammad was in his early 50s. The Austrian woman repeated these claims, and the Austrian court ruled that she had to pay 480 euros or spend 60 days in the slammer. The ECHR ruled that Austria had not violated her rights.
Predictably, the ECHR decision has rekindled old debates about freedom of expression, the perceived inability of some Muslims to handle polemics against their religion with grace, and—an issue that has gained new salience since Brexit—pan-European legal institutions and their tendency to foist outrageous decisions on member states. If you believe, as I do, that the free expression of ideas, including bad ideas, is a human right that no government can legitimately infringe, then you will probably find the ECHR decision appalling, and a bad sign for civil liberties in Europe. You can share this concern whether or not you think Europe’s Muslims will riot at hearing an unkind word about the Prophet.
I'm so glad I was born in the U.S.
I'm guessing that no one here at DVD Talk will agree with this ruling, although my guess could turn out to be wrong.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-ruled/574174/
In Europe, Speech Is an Alienable Right
A human-rights court upheld an Austrian woman’s conviction for disparaging the Prophet Muhammad
Oct 27, 2018
A few years ago, I appeared on a live Egyptian television show hosted by a conservative Muslim with jihadist sympathies. He lured me on by offering to answer any question I had about Islam, including, he said, “whether the Prophet Muhammad was a child molester.” The host seemed awfully open-minded, I thought, given how humorless jihadists tend to be about the Prophet. When the lights went up and the program began, I mentioned the child-molester issue, and the host remained true to his word, neither bursting into a rage nor chiding me for my impertinence. (I wrote about the experience for the November 2012 issue of this magazine.)
Around the same time, a woman referred to as E.S. was convicted in Austria for, in effect, not phrasing her identical curiosity in the form of a question. On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld her 2011 conviction for “disparagement of religious precepts,” a crime in Austria. The facts of what E.S. did are not in dispute. She held “seminars” in which she presented her view that Muhammad was indeed a child molester. Dominant Islamic traditions hold that Muhammad’s third wife, Aisha, was 6 at the time of their marriage and 9 at its consummation. Muhammad was in his early 50s. The Austrian woman repeated these claims, and the Austrian court ruled that she had to pay 480 euros or spend 60 days in the slammer. The ECHR ruled that Austria had not violated her rights.
Predictably, the ECHR decision has rekindled old debates about freedom of expression, the perceived inability of some Muslims to handle polemics against their religion with grace, and—an issue that has gained new salience since Brexit—pan-European legal institutions and their tendency to foist outrageous decisions on member states. If you believe, as I do, that the free expression of ideas, including bad ideas, is a human right that no government can legitimately infringe, then you will probably find the ECHR decision appalling, and a bad sign for civil liberties in Europe. You can share this concern whether or not you think Europe’s Muslims will riot at hearing an unkind word about the Prophet.
Spoiler:
#2
Re: Human-rights court upholds Austrian woman’s conviction for disparaging the Prophe
Just because you read an article, doesn't mean you need to post it. Especially when its close to two months old.
Last edited by dex14; 12-11-18 at 02:16 PM.
#3