Oriana Fallaci faces jail. In her mid-70s, stricken with a cancer that, for the moment, permits only the consumption of liquids–so yes, we drank champagne in the course of a three-hour interview–one of the most renowned journalists of the modern era has been indicted by a judge in her native Italy under provisions of the Italian Penal Code which proscribe the “vilipendio,” or “vilification,” of “any religion admitted by the state.”
In her case, the religion deemed vilified is Islam, and the vilification was perpetrated, apparently, in a book she wrote last year–and which has sold many more than a million copies all over Europe–called “The Force of Reason.” Its astringent thesis is that the Old Continent is on the verge of becoming a dominion of Islam, and that the people of the West have surrendered themselves fecklessly to the “sons of Allah.” So in a nutshell, Oriana Fallaci faces up to two years’ imprisonment for her beliefs–which is one reason why she has chosen to stay put in New York. Let us give thanks for the First Amendment.
Carefull Kate, you might get slapped with “promoting religious hatred”. We can’t have bloggers pointing out how people get sent to jail because they don’t agree with Surah 9:29…
Also on Western Standard:
Well, Ontario certainly needs Sharia law for civil disputes amongst Muslims. One would welcome Judy Rebbick’s analysis, especially as it might also relate to the existing possiblility of using Jewish civil law in Ontario.
In the same vein see this from David Frum:
http://frum.nationalreview.com/
‘JUN. 23, 2005: UNSOUGHT PRAISE
You don’t normally see many links to The Nation in this space – and they probably won’t thank me for this one- but if you have not read it already, see this uncharacteristically blunt assessment of Dutch-Muslim relations as seen from a left-wing feminist point of view. Or if you are pressed for time, you can read just this one important extract:
“In Human Visas, a new book that probably points in the direction Europe is going, Norwegian journalist and human rights activist Hege Storhaug argues that strict controls on immigration are the best way to protect European values and Muslim women’s rights. Storhaug, the information director of Human Rights Service, says that Europe’s concept of Muslim integration used to amount to ‘Get the father a job and integration will follow.’ The new motto, she says, should be ‘Integrate the mother and two-thirds of the job is done, because the mother will integrate the children.’
“Storhaug says that to dry up radical Islam, European governments need to break up the ‘parallel societies’ Muslims have established in cities across the continent. Older men in these communities prevent integration by controlling marriages. ‘The families are under tremendous pressure to bring relatives from the home country to Europe,’ she said. ‘Relatives are willing to pay a lot for those residency visas. Especially with young immigrant brides, they become completely dependent on their husbands and in-laws. Young women who are born in Norway are forced to marry cousins who can then come to this country.’ She says that in the ninety such forced marriages her group studied, all but three of the brides said they had been raped.
“Denmark has been widely criticized for passing a law in 2002 establishing a number of tests for citizens or residents who wish to bring spouses into the country from overseas: Both partners must be at least 24 years old. They must demonstrate that the marriage is voluntary. They must have a certain income and own a residence with at least two rooms. And they must show a stronger connection to Denmark than to any other country. As a result, the number of people from outside the European Union who were allowed to join Danish spouses or other close family members fell from 10,950 in 2001 to 3,835 last year.
“In November the Netherlands became the first to follow Denmark’s example, raising the age to 21 to qualify for family reunion. When the Danish measure was proposed, Muslim groups opposed it vigorously. But Storhaug quotes immigrant parents who now say the law has released them from family pressures to use their children as ‘human visas.’ And she says young Muslims can continue their education without fear of being married off. ‘It’s rubbish to say the Danish policy is racist,’ she said. ‘It’s the best policy for women in Europe.'”‘
Mark
Ottawa
The Sharia Law discussion has been ongoing here in Ontario (I vote Conservative!- honest!) It has been spearheaded by Marion Boyd – a former NDP cabinet minister of the Bob Rae government.
Personally, I think that Canadian laws are quite sufficient thank you very much. We do not need some 1500 year old “thou shalt give thine wife a good smacketh upside her headeth should she showeth her nose in public” kind of crap.
Also, I think that, should this ever become a reality, I’m going to start my own religion – I’ll call it ‘Fundamental Realitivism’. Then, I’ll insist that my laws are accepted here. We’ll start with “Thou shalt bloweth up Liberals for they maketh good fertilizer”.
If these people are so keen on bringing their laws into this country,why didn’t they just stay where they were? Or is that a stupid question?
Eurozone’s Growth ‘Is Grinding to a Halt’
Posted by quidnunc
On 06/23/2005 6:11:55 PM PDT � 1 reply � 8+ views
The Telegraph ^ | June 24, 2005 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The eurozone is sliding towards a Japanese-style “liquidity trap” and may have trouble holding monetary union together unless the EU authorities take prompt action, according to a report yesterday by HSBC. The bank warned that eurozone GDP growth was likely to “grind to a halt” as exports weaken in the second half. “The dangers of a liquidity trap are rising in the region,” it said. “Germany is perilously close to deflation. We believe it is only a question of time before there are generalised price falls in the country. This will in turn raise more questions about the rules governing…
freerepublic.com
Eurozone includes Italia, Germania, Franconia; all the ia’s, aka Eurabia.
Isn’t socialism the Answer? Non, nein, ciao.
Nada!
I dare you to start that new religion! Don’t laugh: Scientology was invented on a bet, too.
Kathy, the “Scientology was invented as a bet between Ron Hubbard and Robert Heinlein” thing is a widespread but also widely debunked urban legend. Although I wonder about Heinlein: he didn’t usually suffer fools and was a far better writer, yet his enduring friendship with Hubbard and dismissal of pretty much any of the quite thoroughly justified criticism of him seems to have been something of a blind spot.
Brian M, your assertion that ‘blowing up liberals’ would make good fertilizer would have to be evaluated in the context of the attendant decrease in the quantities of BS emanating from their mouths if they had NOT been blown up.
Just thought that you should be aware of that possible wrinkle in your plan.
ooops. I should have said ‘attendant INCREASE in BS’. Oh well, you probably get my drift anyway.