Comments on: Possibility of Muslim violence forces a rethink over scholarly cartoons book

By: Awani Kumar

Awani Kumar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:55:44 +0000

In Persian, it reads, “Ba Khuda Diwana Baso Ba Muhammad Hoshiyar”.

It means, you can take liberty with Allah, not Prophet.

Remember this, before publishing any thing which muslims may perceive as offensive to their dearest Prophet. Don’t blame others if you lose your life (or limbs) for not following it.

By: MelM

MelM — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:33:50 +0000

Good for the Duke! I don't expect a U.S. leader to say such a thing; Bush didn't say it and I don't think Obama would either. After a little whine about freedom of speech, Bush sided with Islam!

By: MelM

MelM — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:20:46 +0000

"Inspire" and "instigate" are not the same. All kinds of views "inspire"–which is a form of thought; instigation, I believe, must be part of an act of violence. You may recall the murder of the abortion doctor Tiller in the U.S. a few months ago. In news story comments by readers, there were people who wrote that Tiller got what he deserved. One was even more explicit saying that such doctors should be shot. These are thoughts and opinions but are not instigations even though inspiring to some nutters. I think the last would have to be said as part of an act of violence or threat of violence directed at a doctor before it should be considered instigation. I'm coming from the view that thoughts don't violate rights–only acts can violate rights.

By: MelM

MelM — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:57:13 +0000

Exactly! The innocent publisher gets the blame for what the Islamists instigate. A moral inversion thought up by the innocent: incredible.

By: MelM

MelM — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:57:30 +0000

Re: Hitchens' Slate article. (linked by David Lawson). I quote the worst outrage:

"…His reply took the form of the official statement from the press's public affairs department. This informed me that Yale had consulted a range of experts before making its decision and that '[a]ll confirmed that the republication of the cartoons by the Yale University Press ran a serious risk of instigating violence.' "

If the view is accepted that such publication is "instigation", freedom of speech is dead. Someone, somewhere, can take any inportant speech and decide to harm himself or others. If YUP had said that they pulled the material because of fear for their lives, I wouldn't have objected. But it's gross to blame a publisher for the deaths that the Islamists themselves actually instigate. To lose a right, just take the blame for anything someone else does if we exercise a right. (In my view, speech is instigation if it's part of an intended act of violence or the threat of violence.)

The cartoons should be published, and I think a good approach is the "I am Spartacus" tactic.

I sent an email to YUP at: customer.care@triliteral.org

By: William Harwood

William Harwood — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:49:22 +0000

So Muslims can only put a fatwa on other Muslims. For non-Muslims they have to be content with putting a hit. Interesting distinction.
According to Wikipedia (admittedly a less-than-reliable source) a fatwa is a decree concerning some point of sharia law issued by an accepted authority. When Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, it was a decree that he had committed apostasy, one of Mohammad's myriad of capital crimes., and therefore all Muslims were under the prophet's own orders to murder him on sight. In other words, it was not the hit that constituted the fatwa, but the reasoning behind the hit. Again, an interesting distinction.

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:11:29 +0000

Oh, I don't mind being accused of being off-topic sometimes, (isn't that what makes blogging so enjoyable at times?), or even plain wrong-headed, but I would never consciously parrott the remarks of another poster, and thus give the impression that what I was writing was so much superior to what he had said on the subject, for whatever reason!!

By: remigius

remigius — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:16:13 +0000

Chuckle!

By: Broga

Broga — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:32:59 +0000

barriejohn. If I may say so, you are too hard on yourself. We all feel "stupid" from time to time: me more than most, I guess. I enjoy your contributions and if you are a bit off track from time to time then join the club.

Regards,

Broga

By: Stoneyground

Stoneyground — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:17:42 +0000

By being so spineless these people give the Muslim world a genuine reason to despise them.