More Muslim calls for censorship – when will they learn?

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the 56-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), reckons there's a growing "campaign of hate and discrimination" against Muslims by a small number of individuals and organisations. Well, it's not surprising, considering how much moaning and whining they do.

This International Herald Tribune story tells us that he wants Western governments to condemn acts that insult poor, hard-done-to Islam. The story says:

In a speech to a conference in Kuala Lumpur on improving ties between Muslims and the West, Ihsanoglu praised Western nations for criticizing acts such as the recent release of an anti-Quran film by a Dutch lawmaker [Geert Wilders], but said more should have been done.

This would-be censor and denier of free expression goes on to say, "Mere condemnation or distancing from the acts of the perpetrators of Islamophobia will not resolve the issue, as long as they remain free to carry on with their campaign of incitement and provocation on the plea of freedom of expression."

The story goes on to talk of the Wilders film: "Earlier this year, the release of the film Fitna by Dutch politician Geert Wilders sparked protests by Muslims for showing images of terror attacks interspersed with text from the Quran."

Correction. It didn't spark protests "for showing": it was made, it was released and Muslims decided to jump up and down about it instead of just entering into dialogue and showing up Wilders's film with argument and logic (they don't find that easy, I know, but they could try). And it wasn't only terror attacks. Click on the video at the end of this story to see part of the film. And just below it is Pat Condell's take on matters Islam (see his link in the sidebar).

Ihsanoglu also urged the media to reject "proponents of hatred and intolerance totally", citing other incidents such as the republishing in Denmark of cartoons considered an insult to the Prophet Muhammad.

Oh, yes, the Jillands-Posten cartoons. The ones Muslims thought it was worth killing for, with some imams even faking cartoons to inflame the situation.

We've published the cartoon they particuarly hate on this blog at least twice, and no doubt it will feature again, as it does on blogs all over the world when these moaners moan. It's not a case of playing silly buggers: it's restating the principle of free expression, as we do by linking again to the Wilders film.

"It requires a strong and determined collective political will to address the challenge," Ihsanoglu said. "It is now high time for concrete actions to stem the rot before it aggravates [the situation] any further."

Ihsanoglu did not suggest what action should be taken. But the threat is always there: you print cartoons we find offensive, make a film, criticise our "holy" book, and there just may be a bit of a misunderstanding between us. And we know what that could lead to, don't we? It could just aggravate the situation further, as the man says.

No wonder there's "hate and discrimination" in some Western minds, you blithering nincompoop. Grow up!



And here is Pat Condell's recent take on the matter: