In 2009, an Austrian woman conducting a seminar on Islam argued that Muhammad’s marriage to a six year old girl meant he was a pedophile. She was convicted for this by an Austrian court, and now the European Court of Human Rights agrees.
We certainly have free speech issues in the United States, but nothing this surreal. Yet.
DW.com has details:
Calling Prophet Muhammad a pedophile does not fall within freedom of speech: European courtAn Austrian woman’s conviction for calling the Prophet Muhammad a pedophile did not violate her freedom of speech, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday.The Strasbourg-based ECHR ruled that Austrian courts carefully balanced the applicant’s “right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected, and served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace in Austria.”The woman in 2009 held two seminars entitled “Basic Information on Islam,” during which she likened Muhammad’s marriage to a six-year-old girl, Aisha, to pedophilia.Limits of free speechThe marriage according to Islamic tradition was consummated when Aisha was nine and Muhammad was around 50. Aisha was the daughter of Muhammad’s best friend and the first caliph, Abu Bakr.The court cited the Austrian women stating during the seminar that Muhammad “liked to do it with children” and “… A 56-year-old and a six-year-old? … What do we call it, if it is not pedophilia?”
Yale scholar Nicholas Christakis makes an excellent point here:
Amarnath Amarasingam has posted the full decision:
Jim Treacher wrote about this at PJ Media on Friday and noted its chilling nature:
In 2018 Europe, you can’t say that Mohammed was a pedophile or the law will come after you. Punishing you for insulting a man who’s been dead for 1,400 years isn’t a violation of your human rights, because you’ve offended a protected class. You’ve pissed off the wrong people, and now you’ll pay.Think about this phrase: “The right of others to have their religious feelings protected.” Isn’t that wonderful? You’d better watch what you say, because other people have religious feelings and they have the right to be protected from your harmful words. They have the right to “religious peace,” so you’d better not disturb it by saying something you shouldn’t.
Will all faiths in Europe enjoy this new standard of having their religious feelings protected?
And is that really the world the people of Europe want to live in?
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