Posted on 09/18/2002 1:39:22 AM PDT by Happygal
FRANCE'S Most controversial writer, Michel Houellebecq, appeared in court in Paris yesterday to defend his right to call Islam a "stupid" religion.
During a raucous hearing, which was interrupted at one point, marked by a protest inside the courtroom by free speech activists and by the shouts of Right wing demonstrators outside, Mr Houellebecq refused to apologise to the Islamic groups who have accused him of inciting religious hatred.
The rector of the Paris mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, said: "Words have a price. One can kill with a word. Freedom of expression stops at the point at which it does damage and the Muslim community feels insulted."
Under French law Mr Houellebecq who lives in the west of Ireland could be imprisoned for up to a year if found guilty.
Mr Houellebecq told the court: "I have never shown the slightest contempt for Muslims, but I have always held Islam in contempt."
In an interview with the Parisian literary magazine Lire last year, Mr Houellebecq was described as hating Arabs and Muslims and failing to distinguish between the two.
He was quoted as saying: "I had a kind of revelation in the Sinai desert, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Suddenly, I experienced a total rejection of monotheism.
"In this very rocky, inspiring land, I said to myself that the idea of believing in only one God was cretinous. I could not think of another word. And the stupidest religion of all is Islam."
The scandal may have boosted sales for his book Plateforme, which came out that month.
The book tells of a disillusioned young bachelor, Michel, who finds sexual and personal fulfilment in the fleshpots of Bangkok. Finally, he meets a woman with whom he sets up a hedonistic sex resort for tourists, which is a roaring success until attacked by Islamic activists.
The answer to your first question is that it did get a lot of press, but I think most people just dismissed them as crackpots. I am disagreement with this attitude as I regard these people as being dangerous.
The second question is more subtle. David Blunkett, the Home Office Minister, said that immigrants should learn English and feel British. Now how heavily he applies this policy to the Muslims remains to be seen. Overall, Labour is a prisoner of political correctness however.
Regards, Ivan
Thanks for the correction.
'Nuff said...
So now the question is, when does this limit on "freedom of expression" make its way to the U.S.?
Both espouse hate and call for the death of their enemies. Neither is a valid religion IMO.
Anybody want to silence me???
He then rolled his eyes and added, "...yeah, like that's ever really happened. That's why we have a special part of our prayer meetings dedicated to the use of bombs and explosives, duh!"
An insult is not damage to people with strength and courage. Therefore, Muslims must have neither.
A rip-snorting read, no doubt.
"Clash of Civilizations" bump.
I'd prefer to SECOND you!
ISLAM IS STUPID!
Islam is a religion of peace my foot.
Last time I checked, Christianity was still a monotheistic religion, too. Then again, with the reformers and radicals in our Protestant denominations and the outright Revolutionaries in the Catholic Church, that may not be the case much longer. Perhaps someday, the poor, prodigal Mssr. Houellebecq will be welcomed back into the church, which by that time may even view his Sexual Resort as a sort of missionary work. After all, the Unitarians (always ahead of the curve!) are already sponsoring conferences on the joys of "polyamory," right Larry?
On a more serious note, I wonder why anyone would bother to describe Mssr. Houellebecq as the "most controversial writer" in France? Even here on FreeRepublic, his outright dismissal of "monotheism" as "cretinous" is so unremarkable as to go virtually unnoticed amid all the cheerleading for his anti-Islamic tirade. Controversial? Give me Erich von Kuehnelt-Leddihn! Give me John-Paul II! Give me...oh, I don't know...Rich Lowry for crying out loud! When we start calling people who merely state the overwhelmingly dominant view in a louder voice "controversial," the word loses all meaning. In fact, I think this word already has done so. "Controversial" now is nothing more than a masturbatory and self-congratulating accolade for morons who have achieved a measure of celebrity.
I find myself these days longing for a Savonarola. Of course, the poor priest wouldn't have a chance in today's world. Not "controversial" enough to get noticed, I'm afraid.
HUH??? OHHHH, you mean, "One on't cross beams gone owt askew on treddle." Had trouble translating your American into English.... :-)
/s/ Dennis Moore, somewhere on horseback
Your "clash of civilizations" is also rather wry given the fact that a strong civilization surely would not be cowed by one man's -- or even tens of thousands of men -- calling it names.
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