I Suppose We Ought to Celebrate This For Free Speech

A well-known Australian Muslim cleric has called for the beheading of Dutch anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders, a newspaper said on Friday.

Wilders’ Freedom Party scored the biggest gains in June 9 polls and is currently negotiating to form a new minority government with the Liberals and Christian Democrats. Polls show Wilders would win a new election if one were called now.

Wilders demanded to know why he had learnt about the threat from the newspaper and not from Dutch authorities who are guarding him after a film and remarks he made angered Muslims around the world.

De Telegraaf, the Netherlands’ largest newspaper, led its front page on Friday with a story on the speech by Feiz Muhammad.

I find the following disconcerting:

Many liberals passionately defend the building of the mosque on ground zero as an act of tolerance. Yet, the same liberals didn't want the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed printed in newspapers and magazines because it would "needlessly offend Muslims." How does this make sense other than a reactionary defense of a perceived persecuted group? If you insist on "rights" and tolerance, isn't Free Speech pretty goddamn important? So why - at the threat of both violence and offense - ought newspapers pull those cartoons? Likewise, no one argues against the "right" to build a mosque on ground zero - but how can one not see how such a statement is purposefully provocative, unnecessary, and will serve as propaganda to extremists in the Muslim world.

If there is any question on where I stand on the issue -



Bring on the Fatwah!