The French neo-feminist-republicanist-secularist-leftwing-con representative

Caroline Fourest sur Channel 4
envoyé par SALHIAnasse

Interesting how she claims to be unbiased, because her paper publishes cartoons criticising Israel. She makes the same 'mistake' of comparing Israel to a religion as the west's super-zionists. Israel is a state, with a government which is responsible for its acts of terror, and therefore open to criticism and/or ridicule. Islam and Judaism (and christianity, for that matter) are faiths, and the few muderous thugs who profess to act in the name of religion do not represent that religion. I believe in total free speech (as long as it does not constitute a libel or a direct call to murder or violence). I also believe we should not be surprised when provocation brings a reaction (be that reaction violent or intellectual).

the whole debate can be viewed here

The debate is not be about free speech (it should not be in my opinion), though such a debate is important. I have said it before, I believe in free speech. In that respect, I agree with Caroline Fourest and Gijs Van de Westlaken for example. The debate in my opinion is about hypocrisy. It is about censorship - legal censorship (as in France, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Iran...) or self-censorship in the main stream media. If we can criticise and ridicule one religion and its believers, or a state, its government, its thinkers, then we can criticise others as well. If we can show cartoons depicting Muhammad as a terrorist - and I wish Channel 4 had - then we can if we so wish - and I would not wish to do so not least because I am the grandson of a jewish refugee - deny the Shoah and we can definitely criticise the terrorist actions of the State of Israel without being accused of anti-semitism.
Furthermore, the debate is about balance of power - political and media. If there was strong and continuous uproar over how muslims are treated in the West and in their own countries by western powers and their clients, then perhaps there would be less ill-feeling on the part of muslims.