Free expression?

The war against Islamofascism proceeds apace. “A pace” being different depending what you think the word “freedom” means. Perhaps Bill Clinton could assist.

Agora interviews (tries to) Tariq Ramadan. Ramadan can be found here in his “own” words, here in a softball interview, and here and here in a more skeptical light.

On the evidence, suspending Ramadan’s visa is the least the US could do. Minimally, he cannot now launch Notre Dame into the same Islamofascist apologee (apology+apogee) as Yale and Harvard. Is free speech threatened?

Let us stipulate that free speech is important at Universities. It is important enough that “academic freedom” has been made hostage to the faction who can mount the greatest sense of having been offended at the moment. The pendulum doesn’t swing, it flails; and it is flailing at freedom of expression. Generally, this is because Universities are overwhelmingly composed of narcissist statists who confuse their outrage about how the universe is unfolding with reality. Thus “Political Correctness” has been embodied in the formal speech restriction codes of Western Universities. That doesn’t stop the tea-pot controversy, of course. In Canada there’s talk of shutting down a student newspaper over an anti-Christian cartoon. In Illinois they fire an editor over a caricature of Muhammed.

But, real issues require real statist governments, not just some University dilettantes.

In Egypt they jail a blogger and then expel him for “his writings about Islam’s reform, lack of freedom for women in the Muslim world and how few have hijacked the religion to carry terrorist crimes”.

In Yemen they threaten an editor with the death penalty.

In Iran you spend 6 years in jail for suggesting unnamed government officials may have been involved in assassination.

Free speech is apparently not implemented equally world-wide and seems to be more threatened where Islamists hold sway. ACLU, please take note that defending the public employment of Umar Abdul-Jalil;

The head of Islamic chaplains in the New York City Department of Correction [who] said in a recent speech that the “greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House,” Jews control the media, and Muslims are being tortured in Manhattan jails.

…does not defend freedom of speech in the long run – the long run being when the Dhimmi are entirely subjugated.

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