Freedom of Speech and Radical Islam: A Head On Collision!

     On Wednesday November 2, early in the morning, while I was in Paris, the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo was firebombed and its website hacked, leaving a picture of mecca along with multiple verses from the Qu’ran.
     The reason for the attack was the cover of the magazine depicting the prophet Mohammed saying:“100 lashes if you don’t laugh your heart out!”. Additionally, the magazine had been retitled Charia Hebdo for the occasion. I am not necessarily a big fan of Charlie Hebdo, yet the magazine’s bombing is a symptom of a deeper problem plaguing Europe and already threatening the rest of western civilization: A complete lack of courage!
     Freedom of speech is a right that civilized countries have enjoyed for several hundred years, France is a perfect example of it. France has had a longstanding reputation of being prone to satirical literature. And yes, the staff at Charlie Hebdo has often pushed the envelope too far, which has gotten them in trouble before.
  On the other hand,  Numerous cartoons are published weekly all over the middle east depicting Jewish people and Israelis killing, eating, maming and abusing Palestinians. Some of them are extremely graphic and offensive as those making fun of the Holocaust or using the crucifixion to depict what Jewish people are doing to the Arabs.
     Yet, to date we have not seen ONE Arab embassy bombed, we have not seen ONE Arab newspaper destroyed, we have not seen ONE person hurt as a result of the Arab media’s vitriol constantly thrown at Israel. Why? Because even though in very bad taste, freedom of speech is such that a lot and often too much can be said about someone without risking any punishment, it is still FREEDOM of speech!
     Organization such as the Anti-Defamation League are usually quick to denounce such acts, and rightfully so, but their cries only go as far as asking for an apology and/or a retrieval of the insulting cartoon.
     The Arab world in general and radical muslims in particular know this very well. As a matter of fact, they [islamists] use freedom of speech every single day to promote their destructive agenda. Western civilization created an environment condusive to freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of religion, but that goes against the grain of Sharia, so for radical Islam, it must be stopped.
     The problem is that those who will do anything to nip freedom of speech in the bud live in countries where they have been welcome for decades but have refused to integrate, slowly recreating a retrograde society based on a system that hasn’t evolved in 1400 years. And very few people will do anything to stop them.
     Many countries of Europe are succumbing under the pressure of radical Islam. France is way up on the list with England. As a matter of fact, France has the largest community of Muslims in Europe and it is now a recognized fact that that very community has become an unavoidable voting block. The result is that President Sarkozy, who is months away from a second presidential race, must tread lightly when reprimanding any Muslim act of violence or destruction. Voting “YES” for the inclusion of Palestine into the UNESCO might help his numbers as well, and of course, calling Benyamin Netanyahu a liar in a (not so private ) conversation with President Obama during the G20 summit in France, will go a long way towards appeasing the muslim vote and possibly putting Sarkozy back in the Elysee Palace for a second term.
     France needs the chutzpah to corral the muslim community into the ideological arena that most of the western world is in, but I fear that multiculturalism and tolerance, the very tools that they thrived to use to create a better world are now bitting them back.
     The French still know how to live and how to eat but they have forgotten how to stand for truth and freedom of speech…ANY FREEDOM for that matter!
     Sharia welcome, Israel beware!