Mere ytringsfrihed

Mens jeg surfede lidt rundt i den sublimt hadefulde ende af spektret, fandt jeg en gammel artikel om islamistisk censur...

Bemærk datoen: Juni, 1998

Der er mange perler i den artikel, der demonstrerer, hvad fornuftigt tænkende mennesker i dag ganske udemærket godt ved:

Pressure is sometimes applied in private. A well-known Belgian psychologist, Herman Somers, published a book, A Different Muhammad, that contains a detailed analysis of the words and acts of the prophet and concludes that his prophethood is a typical case of paranoid delusion nourished with sensorial hallucinations. The psychiatrists and specialists on Islam who helped Somers do his research, it bears noting, did so only on condition of strict anonymity. Somers also wrote bestselling studies of Jesus, Biblical prophets, the Jesuit order, and Jehovah's Witnesses, all of which were widely discussed in the media. This time, however, his book met with a deafening silence. Reviewers looked the other way, scholars of religion strictly avoided mention of the book, and even the publisher failed to publicize the book. It sold poorly and quickly became unavailable. Without any law being violated or any ban issued, Somers' thesis was effectively prevented from entering the public discourse. These cases contain not a hint of Islamist threat nor government pressure.

Censur? - Nej da... vel... ikke rigtigt... så'n... altså... nåh... eh... bøh...

[...] fear of physical violence probably does not account for the silence of Western intellectuals. Rather, it is a matter of careerist calculations. Criticism of Islam is easily associated with a retrograde Christian fanaticism or anti-immigrant xenophobia—and being tagged with such labels is disastrous publicity, whether or not they accurately apply.

Diagnosen er: islamofobi - og fugleskræmslet virker...

Per