Permitting Radical Rage:

Despite what the title of this post might suggest, I don't mean to lay specific blame on any particular party for the specific incident related below.

I do, however, wish to draw parallels between this sort of threat and the responses to those now-famous Danish Cartoons, the Pope's recent remarks, and the myriad of other examples of this sort of thing.

To make my point, we in the West must stop pandering to the Muslim world - we must stand up for our freedom of speech, we must make it abundantly clear that rather than worrying about Muslim sensitivities, Muslims must grow accustomed to our freedom of thought and expression. No more apologies for unwarranted hurt or perceived insult. I do not wish to excuse bigotry or dedicated insensitivity, but there must come a time when those who claim to be insulted should be told, simply "deal with it."

How much more of this posturing and intimidation will the civilized world take? At what point will enough people wake up and realize both that we are engrossed in a war (and not Iraq or Afghanistan) and the stakes of this war? I hope the answer is soon, for I begin to worry about what might happen if not.


Philosophers demand help for teacher on run from Islam threats
From Charles Bremner in Paris The Times (London) October 03, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2385684,00.html
INTELLECTUALS are rallying around a philosophy teacher forced into hiding after he wrote an article describing the Prophet Muhammad as a ruthless warlord and mass murderer. Robert Redeker, a writer who teaches at a lycée near Toulouse, has been under police protection, moving between secret addresses, since threats against him appeared on Islamist websites last week. His home address was published with calls to murder. “You will never feel secure on this earth. One billion, 300 million Muslims are ready to kill you,” one message said. One threat came from a contributor to al- Hesbah, an internet forum that is viewed as a channel for al-Qaeda. Despite the threats the Government has offered M Redeker, 52, only limited support.

More than 20 stars of the French intellectual world appealed yesterday to the Government to do more to help. They included the philosophers Bernard-Henri Lévy, Alain Finkielkraut and André Glucksmann. M Redeker, who is on the editorial board of Les Temps Modernes, a review founded by Jean-Paul Sartre, has said that he cannot afford to pay for his accommodation and other costs in hiding. “I cannot work, I cannot come and go. I have to hide,” he said. “So . . . the Islamists have succeeded in punishing me on the territory of the Republic as if I were guilty of a crime of opinion.” …