Posted on 06/22/2005 9:24:16 PM PDT by quidnunc
New York – Oriana Fallaci faces jail. In her mid-70s, stricken with a cancer that, for the moment, permits only the consumption of liquids — so yes, we drank champagne in the course of a three-hour interview — one of the most renowned journalists of the modern era has been indicted by a judge in her native Italy under provisions of the Italian Penal Code which proscribe the "vilipendio," or "vilification," of "any religion admitted by the state."
In her case, the religion deemed vilified is Islam, and the vilification was perpetrated, apparently, in a book she wrote last year — and which has sold many more than a million copies all over Europe — called "The Force of Reason." Its astringent thesis is that the Old Continent is on the verge of becoming a dominion of Islam, and that the people of the West have surrendered themselves fecklessly to the "sons of Allah." So in a nutshell, Oriana Fallaci faces up to two years' imprisonment for her beliefs — which is one reason why she has chosen to stay put in New York. Let us give thanks for the First Amendment.
It is a shame, in so many ways, that "vilipend," the latinate word that is the pinpoint equivalent in English of the Italian offense in question, is scarcely ever used in the Anglo-American lexicon; for it captures beautifully the pomposity, as well as the anachronistic outlandishness, of the law in question. A "vilification," by contrast, sounds so sordid, so tabloid — hardly fitting for a grande dame.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
bttt, i'll be catching this one in the AM
The true voice of freedom. Maybe this will turn a few.
Perhaps the homosexual married couples in Europe will stand up to defend against the invading Islamo-fascists. [irony]
Do yourself a favor and read the whole article.
Very perceptive. So many pundits can't see past their noses, she sees across the centuries.
My Dad bought all of us her book. She speaks the truth all of us know, and she speaks from experience. Anyone who believes what America is doing is right needs to read her.
BUMP.......And....we have people concerned over our coddling terrorists at Gitmo....
I wish she could be saved. She is a hero, a treasure. Few have such courage and insight. Shame about the atheism, of course.
2nd half gets real good
bookmark
Fallaci was a socialist most of her life and may still one. But her eyes have been opened, though late in her career, to the greatest danger Europe faces. Perhaps it is her approach to death from cancer that allows her to see now the approaching death of Europe. But she proclaims this with the same vigor that she promoted left-wing politics with in the past. That she sees Ratzinger, a conservative pope, as one of the few men in Europe in whom she finds comfort, is astonishing.
Oriana Fallaci, salute!
WOW! Ping to --->
A magnificently honest interview, and a fabulous woman of penetrating vision. She has come nearly full circle in her life, almost to the extent that W. Chambers had.
Just damn! {said in a tone of admiration}
A.A.C.
islam is my enemy. the enemy of my enemy is my FRiend. it's that simple!
astonishing, perhaps a matter of opinion. Reading the journal piece, within she proclaims what we know here, that forgetting the past dooms the future. Yet, within that same statement, she condemns herself by only going half-way; forgetting the past and forsaking God (which she chooses to do via her atheism) is the death knell of any nation of the West.
She freely admits to admiring "Ratzinger" - the atheist in her won't call him "Papa". Her admonishment about losing our history is notable for the absence of reference to Christianity which is core to Western Civ Culture...
Such incredible irony!!! If she were an astro-physicist, she could use the above "absence of light" in her observations of the universe to prove the existence of the "black hole" that she cannot (or wishes not to, as is more likely the case...) see!!!
Great piece. The logical conclusion of political correctness is societal extinction.
Oriana Fallaci has traveled the long road from leftist communism to the Conservative right.
She is one of the most eloquent voices speaking on Europe, and the coming decline and downfall of Western Culture as Eurabia and Islamo-fascism rise.
Our prayers are with this great lady.
Orriana F. is a hero.
Extremely well written article. It may be too late for Europe. America better wake up!
An activist judge in Bergamo, in northern Italy, took it upon himself to admit a complaint against Ms. Fallaci that even the local prosecutors would not touch. The complainant, one Adel Smith--who, despite his name, is Muslim, and an incendiary public provocateur to boot--has a history of anti-Fallaci crankiness, and is widely believed to be behind the publication of a pamphlet, "Islam Punishes Oriana Fallaci," which exhorts Muslims to "eliminate" her. (Ironically, Mr. Smith, too, faces the peculiar charge of vilipendio against religion--Roman Catholicism in his case--after he described the Catholic Church as "a criminal organization" on television. Two years ago, he made news in Italy by filing suit for the removal of crucifixes from the walls of all public-school classrooms, and also, allegedly, for flinging a crucifix out of the window of a hospital room where his mother was being treated. "My mother will not die in a room where there is a crucifix," he said, according to hospital officials.)
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