,,, Rowan should forget about religious jokes for a while - it's high time he saw the opportunity staring him in the face... it's clear the biggest joke of all is government.
What an utterly unworkable standard! People should just remember the old adage, "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never harm me." Our First Amendment jurisprudence with its "clear and present danger" standard is much better and more protective of free speech.
The muslims are probably being a lot kinder to the comedians than they realize. Remember that Salman Rushdie had a bounty put on his head by muslims when he blasphemed Allah (or was it Mohammed?).
The muslims just want to force comedians to hold their tongue (least it be cut out entirely).
Shaira Law anyone?
When your rights are endowed by men, then men can take them away. Twits!
Sure, that's what he means but how would it play out in practice? Didn't that Swedish pastor spend time in jail for preaching the bible? Wasn't there a case in Canada that was similar?
I guess what they really mean is that they won't prosecute people who ridicule Christianity (which is fair game, in my opinion) but they will prosecute Christians who ridicule other religions.
If a free society begins to legislate people into politeness, it is no longer a free society. I would not want to criminalize satire based on religion, race, sex, or anything else. And Atkinson is missing a fortune if he doesn't start making fun of Zapatero immediately.