Wednesday, December 05, 2007

It's Only Free Speech If They're Saying What You Want To Hear

This news story makes me so... annoyed.

Muslim Students File Rights Complaint Over Maclean's Article.

I read that article and while I won't fawn over Mark Steyn's use of the english language, it wasn't particularly negative. It wasn't particularly positive either, but it was basically outlining what he saw as an inevitable shift in the predominance of Western Christianity and governments/cultures based on that foundation to a culture founded on the tenets of Islam.

The article discusses the high birth rate among Muslims and speculates that Islamic people could become the majority population in Europe. It also says some Muslims are violent radicals...
"To say that we share the same basic goals as terrorists … if you look at the theme of the article in the context, it is putting that label on all of us and I felt personally victimized," he said.


Maybe it's just me, I wouldn't feel personally victimized if someone wrote an article on radical Christianity and people who do crazy things in the name of faith.

At least a few people have their heads bolted on straight in this whole affair.

But Sohail Raza, a representative of the Muslim Canadian Congress, said Maclean's had the right to publish the article.

"This is Canada, not Sudan, Egypt or Pakistan, where the press is stifled," he said. "There is absolute freedom of expression and people have an opportunity to voice their opinion."

Alan Borovoy of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the organization is concerned about the human rights complaints process.

It's too easy to claim an article may subject a group to hate or contempt under commission rules, Borovoy said.

"Even truthful articles describing some of the awful situations in this world could run afoul of this law, it is so broad and such a potential threat to freedom of speech," he said.

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