ONCE again criticism of religion has been wrongly equated with racism – which is, of course, a different kettle of fish altogether, and should rightly be condemned.
Nevertheless, it was reported today that legendary sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, 73, has been fined £12,000 for “inciting racial hatred” against Muslims for speaking out against unspeakable acts of cruelty.
Her bizarre conviction by a court in Paris – her fifth – arose as a result of the animal rights campaigner arguing that Muslims should stun animals before slaughtering them during the annual Aid al-Kabir blood-letting festival. (See earlier Freethinker report here).
According to the Daily Telegraph, in December 2006 the retired French film star-turned-animal rights activist wrote a letter to France’s then interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, demanding animal stunning.
She outraged anti-racist groups by saying:
I’ve had enough of being led by the nose by this whole population which is destroying us, and destroying our country by imposing their ways.
She was absent from today’s court hearing in Paris, but wrote to prosecutors saying:
I’m sickened by how anti-racist groups are harassing me. I won’t shut up until stunning is carried out on animals before their ritual slaughter.
Miss Bardot, who shot to word-wide fame in the 50s in the lead role in And God Created Woman, already had four convictions on similar charges.
In 2004 she was fined £4000 for inciting racial hatred in her book A Cry in the Silence.
France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community, estimated at five million people.
You can see other sickening pictures of animals being ritually-slaughtered here.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
June 4th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Since when does being a delusional idiot qualify one to be a member of a certain race?
Her conviction of racial hatred is the only crime that I can see here. Apparently, French citizens can’t voice an opinion without risking arrest.
PC will be the end of us.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Bardot as pin-up to a paper read by barking mad retired colonials – how times change!
Mind you, puts Sarkozy in context too. Ponces about like Van Damme threatening to sort out French ‘inner cities’ (i.e. black people) by force, but given a chance to do something simple and obvious on animal welfare and …oops, must have slipped his tiny mind.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
In a semi-related note, i posted a perhaps none-too-well-worded criticism of Red Ken giving the time of day to an islamic zealot and one response said something along the lines of “carry on like that and even white people will take up arms against you”. They’re getting more subtle, these Guardianistas…
June 12th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I’d disagree with Steve’s remark — I don’t see ANY crime here. Having and voicing an unfavorable opinion of a group of people, whether it’s a religious, racial, national, etc. group, should not be a criminal act of any kind. I think the problems with criminalizing the public stating of unpleasant opinions are becoming evident, what with Muslims complaining about things said about Muslims, or gays complaining about things said about gays, or any other group. Everyone becomes a criminal, with only the popularity and/or political power of the group offended being the difference between being prosecuted or not.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Brian, I think that if you re-read Steve’s comment you will find that he is saying that the only “crime” here was Bardot’s prosecution for “racial hatred”.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Ah, ambiguous parsing. Sorry about that, Steve…