Religious Tolerance, Free Speech, and Blogging
Due to the receipt of death threats against PoliGazette staff and their families, the post discussing a Dutch movie critical of Islam made by an anti-Muslim bigot has been suspended and its comments thread closed. I am sorry to have to do this and I detest bullying, but this is just blogging and it is not worth risking innocent people’s lives, even if the threat is low probability.
Here above the fold, I must say this: Islam is a great religion with a justifiably proud tradition. Those who claim to be acting in its name while making threats or acting with violence are the only ones who taint it. They do more damage to Islam than Geert Wilders ever could.
The truth is, the PoliGazette staff do not criticize Islam. One PoliGazette staff member is going to marry a Muslim and has taken it upon himself to study the Koran. Another PoliGazette staff member has a 20-year history of working for religious tolerance and respect, specifically including Islam from the very beginning (long before this was a “politically correct” project).
But in a world after Theo Van Gogh and other murders and acts of violence resulting from the mere perception (even when it is wrong) of insult towards Islam, we simply cannot take the risk nor can we subject our families to it. Because the IP address of the threatening comments is being manipulated to conceal their true origin, we are forced to treat these threats as if they were credible.
This is a blog. We enjoy posting our analysis of current events and we hope that you enjoy reading it, at least some of the time. But this is not something that should be a matter of life or death. By doing this, are we allowing the possibly idle threats of anonymous people to interfere with our speech? Yes, I am afraid that we are. But I don’t see a responsible alternative, knowing what we know to be possible.
I will say this: Those who threaten death against those who have been allies of Muslims merely for posting a story talking about an anti-Muslim bigot are doing more for that bigot than for anyone else. Those who wrongly believe Muslims to be intrinsically violent or intolerant gain ammunition when such irresponsible and intolerant threats are issued. Those who actually hate Muslims win when those who love Muslims are wrongly targeted for threats.
Again, I hate to do this, but I think we have little choice.
Comments regarding this decision will be welcome, but any comments that redirect the discussion to general comments about Islam or which attempt to bring up the discussion of the Dutch movie may have to be deleted for the safety of PoliGazette staff. Unlike most commenters, we are not shielded by anonymity. We regret the necessity of this action.
Yes, that threat was pretty explicit.
It’s absurd that it has to be this way, but I certainly can’t blame you. It’s one reason I don’t like to use my name on the internet..though I realize that is not that great of a protection either.
Unbelievable.
I pray every day. God never tells me to kill. God never tells me to hurt anyone. Only people seem to want these things. If God really doesn’t care for someone, He has an infinite number of ways to take care of it that don’t involve me.
What is harder and therefore divine, is to love the unlovable. admin: editing in accordance with announced policy
Perhaps the folks who object to the absolute right to free speech should think very carefully and hard about this event. A country which does not or will not protect the right - absolute and unimpeded right - of its citizens to say what they believe, no matter how much it offends some one else, is not really a free and open society. In numerous countries that proclaim themselves to be open and civilized, it is illegal to make comments which offend against certain political, ideological or religious groups. While many of the defenders of these policies claim that they are creating a tolerant and diverse society, it seems that they are simply giving strength to the undemocratic and extremist elements.
Good luck. I do not blame you for doing what you need to do for your safety. But before anyone complains about the nasty comments legal under the First Amendment in the USA, read and reflect on the paragraph above, and ask yourself: Is my ability to say what I believe adequately protected by my government? If not, how can I work to change this? Good Luck. I fear the entire world will need it.
Freedom of speech and freedom of expression cannot survive this way. If people stop speaking the truth because the truth hurts, then darkness is winning the day.Whilst I understand full well why you have taken this decision (you have to look after yourselves and your family), it is truly a sad state of affairs. The West would have done well not to have allowed so many Muslims into our countries. This decision you have made is a direct consequence of this foolhardy decision.Sadly, the worst is yet to come.Our difficulties with Islam are not going to go away by allowing them to have their way and shutting us up. This is the direct route to a new dark age. admin: edited in accordance with announced policy
It will be put back up shortly. We’re not giving these people what they want (= deleting articles).
Once you start giving in, you can’t ever bring up Islam again. I’m not quite willing to censor myself like that.
Considering the circumstances Jason was right, and the comment section will remain closed, but the post will be put up again shortly.
Thank you Michael. I feel the same way, but I didn’t want to insist because it’s very easy to ask for bravery when it’s not you that’s under threat. Huge kudos for taking a principled stand
I receive death threats every now and then. They don’t impress me much anymore, but you always have to take them seriously; you never know. Theo van Gogh always said "they’ll never kill me, they don’t mean it, they’re just threatening." But he was killed.
We’ll have some minor changes, and then it will be put back up.
The post is back up
The post is back up? What’s the title? I’d like to read the posting.