Free Speech Hypocrisy?

[Drusilla]

We are all aware of the European press claiming the right of 'free speech' during the recent fracas over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet, Mohammed, yet the historian David Irving may well be jailed in Austria for exercising the same freedoms with his Holocaust denials.
Is this hypocrisy on the part of the West?

[Pippa68]

Thank you Trojanfarce, for pointing that out :o)

[noxlumos]

He got three years.Although it's going to appeal I don't much fancy his chances and the more I read of this case the more certain I am that he's been aware of the fact that the holocaust was real all along and has been cynically putting forth a contrary viewpoint merely to sell his tacky inaccurate books.There are 101 excellent books on the Holocaust, but not very many that sensationally claim it never happened. It's one thing to genuinely believe something that isnt right, it's a really disgusting thing to make money from denying the Holocaust in a cynical attempt at financial self promotion.

[joko]

the man seems fairly intelligent so we can only assume he knows very well that his nonsensical statements are utter garbage - but look at how much attention he received for making them!

Can anyone name 3 other current historians who are as well known as him? or even 1 for that matter!

i suspect his 'beliefs' are just a con to gain attention and therefore up his public profile, thereby earning him plenty of cash over the years.

you know what they say, no publicity is bad publicity.

[keyvan]

Trojan, whilst I agree with your rational concerning the cartoons and law in Austria, I believe in REAL freedom of speech..and I believe in RESPECT for every culture,religion and tradition in the world. The rule is the same for all. If it's wrong to deny the holocaust, it is wrong to insult a religion. In other words no double standards.

[Pippa68]

keyvan ~ I do hope by you believing insulting a religion is wrong, you also believe denying Christians their religion is also wrong? this is happening day-by-day in the UK & as it is a Christian country I believe this is wrong.

Muslims do have a say and of course more of a right to their freedom (speech or otherwise) than they may have in their homeland.. & that I believe is right as well as culturally sound. However all this ranting, raving & threatening violence/murder is not.

[keyvan]

Pippa68...... If you have been reading my posts on this forum you would realise that I have no time for prejudices, insults against any religion be it jewish, moslems, christianity or others...

If muslims are denying Christians their religion as you say then yes that's wrong. But I just do not share that sentiment. The panic reporting by media that has us believe it's nearly the end of the world is partly to blame. Whether it is bird flu, global warming or the moslem's takeover over christianity.

[Pippa68]

Thank you for clarifying ~ what I can't understand are the protests going on in the UK because of something that happened in Denmark.

It seems to me that those making the protests are lumping us all in together as the 'evil west'. I am not keen on the fact that these people are either UK nationals or came to live here in supposed 'peace'. It is obvious from their behaviour that integration & the acceptance of the Christian religion practiced in the UK is painfully absent.

I have quite a few Muslim friends ~ one of them is from the Lebanon & his parents were so aware of religious & racial harmony that they chose for him to attend a Christian school. He, like the others friends I have, have said that it has all been blown out of proportion ~ & that isn't down to the media, it is the common belief by the fanatics that the Muslim religion should rule.

[OBonio]

I was in utter disbelief last night when I saw this on the news. Anyone with half an ounce of intelligence knows this man talks garbage. All he is doing is lying through his teeth. There are a lot of people guilty of this, especially by those in government! Do you see them on trial?

One rule for us, another rule for them. We are not all equal in the eyes of the law. Never will be.

[El D]

I am disgusted. The man is entitled to his opinion as are we all. The idea that having a set of opinons and 'daring' to air them is a ******* disgrace to any civilisation that would even claim to be enlightened. When will the jabbering monkeys in government realise that censorship merely increases the power of these people's arguments because it does not reveal it for the mistaken belief that it is, it does not defeat it, as an intelligent society would, through reason and discourse, but covers it up like a scared child would something they didnt agree with or understand. It's pathetic.

[Doggy2]

El D, you have got quite a valid point there. The absence of free speech on this issue creates an atmosphere where people are not allowed an opinion however wrong that may be and defeat it by facts. I think it is an irony that the same tools that are used to ban the discussion on holocaust are the same tools that can contibute to anti-semitism and prejudices against their people.

[yasmin_fa]

freedom of speech and minorities' rights are two criteria by which any successful democracy is judged , respect for others' beliefs is also a very important quality we all human beings should develop in ourselves first then in the future genarations, David Irving violated a law set by a government and he is being punished for that ;the caricaturist in Jyland Posten violated another law in muslims faith (prohibition of portaying all the prohpets ) and there is no law to punish him the argument freedom of speech is raised though the outcome of both actions that of the journalist and the historian is the same :they both harm and cause prejudice to two different comunities !!what to say ?well if there is a law let's respect it but if there is none let' s behave as human beings and not machines for some times our behaviour is dictated by laws we set for ourselves to live in harmony and these laws you can't find any trace of them in any penal code as the respect of other peoples'beliefs is this difficult to bind onself with??