Speech & Censorship – Page 8

CAIR MN backs student who says she was hurt by instructor showing image of Muhammad At a press conference held by the Minneapolis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the student said she was shocked and pained by an art history instructor.

January 11, 2023 Yonat Shimron

(Religion News) Hamline University senior Aram Wedatalla held back tears as she described how hurt she felt when her art history instructor informed the class she would briefly show a painting of the Prophet Muhammad last semester. Speaking at a news conference held […]

Charlie Hebdo doubles down on Iran leader cartoons

January 10, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo doubled down on its ridicule of Iran’s religious rulers on Tuesday, with fresh cartoons of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei despite protests from Iran and its allies. “The mullahs aren’t happy. The caricatures of their supreme […]

French National Rally: ‘Houellebecq excessive on Muslims’ Leader Bardella criticizes author's words

January 9, 2023 Unlisted Author

(ANSAmed) The leader of France’s far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN), Jordan Bardella, has distanced himself from the words used by writer Michel Houellebecq on Muslims of France, describing them as “excessive.” In an interview with magazine Front Populaire, the author described […]

Paris mosque drops complaint against French writer Michel Houellebecq

January 7, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Radio France) The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris has confirmed that he has decided to drop his complaint against award-winning French writer Michel Houellebecq over “violent comments” targeting Muslims made during a recent interview. In a statement issued on Friday […]

Charlie Hebdo attack victims honoured as Iran rages over new cartoons

January 7, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) French politicians paid tribute Saturday to Charlie Hebdo staff and other victims of the January 2015 Islamist attacks, days after the satirical weekly’s latest edition sparked outrage in Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted the names of all 17 victims of […]

French writer Michel Houellebecq says he is a ‘part-time Islamophobe’ The best-selling French writer is notorious for repeatedly arguing that Islam is not compatible with France's 'Republican values.'

January 5, 2023 Safaa Kasraoui

(Morocco World News) French writer Michel Houellebecq has strikingly admitted to condoning and promoting an anti-Islam discourse, sarcastically pleading guilty to being “a part-time Islamophobe.” France has a problem with Islam The writer made his shocking remarks as he barely emerged from […]

Charlie Hebdo: France’s satirical magazine in new controversy

January 5, 2023 Adam Plowright

(AFP) French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is making headlines again by stirring outrage in Iran, demonstrating that it has lost none of its appetite for provocation or its ability to stir up diplomatic problems abroad. The irreverent and militantly atheist publication operates […]

Iran warns France over ‘insulting’ Khamenei cartoons

January 4, 2023 Stuart Williams

(AFP) Iran warned France on Wednesday of consequences after satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons depicting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Tehran deemed to be insulting. The weekly had published dozens of cartoons ridiculing the highest religious and political figure in […]

Academic freedom vs. rights of Muslim students An instructor at Hamline U showed an image of Muhammad in an art history class. The president criticized the instructor for doing so. Another professor, who tried to explain the situation with an essay in the student paper, had his piece removed.

January 3, 2023 Scott Jaschik

(Inside Higher Ed) This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor (who has not been named) was discussing Islamic art and included for a brief period (under 10 minutes) a screen […]

Paris mosque sues French writer Houellebecq over anti-Muslim comments

December 29, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Radio France) The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris has filed a complaint against award-winning French writer Michel Houellebecq over “staggeringly brutal” comments made during a recent interview in which the author drew divisions between “native French people” and “the Muslims” […]

An academic is fired over a medieval painting of the Prophet Muhammad The dismissal of an instructor at Hamline University on baseless charges of 'Islamophobia' raises concerns about freedom on campus

December 22, 2022 Christiane Gruber

(New Lines) On Nov. 18, Hamline University’s student newspaper, the Oracle, published an article notifying its community members of two recent incidents on its campus in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one indubitably homophobic and the other supposedly Islamophobic. Both occurrences were placed under […]

Court upholds French far-right leader’s conviction over anti-Muslim comments The European Court of Human Rights dismisses former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour’s freedom of speech claim.

December 20, 2022 Nicolas Camut

(Politico) The European Court of Human Rights rejected the appeal of former French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who was convicted in France for “inciting discrimination and religious hatred” over comments targeting the French Muslim community. “The court held that the interference with […]

Report: Swedish police lacked competence during Easter Qur’an riots

December 16, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) A report into the Easter riots earlier this year sparked by anti-Islam activists has determined that Swedish police lacked both the proper skills and the manpower to deal with the violence. An external investigation into the riots by adherents of the […]

Woman admits to unwittingly funding effort to kidnap Iranian dissident Niloufar Bahadorifar was the conduit for money used to hire a private detective who shadowed the Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad.

December 15, 2022 Benjamin Weiser

(NY Times) Four Iranians who plotted to kidnap a prominent Iranian American journalist in Brooklyn paid a private investigator to watch their target, using a woman in California as a go-between, the authorities said. That woman, Niloufar Bahadorifar, pleaded guilty in Manhattan […]

Bill Maher roasts ‘insane’ liberals for not calling out Islamic extremism The HBO host blasted 'the people who are purporting to uphold liberalism' for staying quiet on the issue

December 13, 2022 Scott Whitlock

(Fox) Bill Maher used his “Club Random” podcast on Monday to slam those who will not defend free speech, hammering fellow liberals as “insane” and “backwards” for failing to call out Islamic extremism. Maher had evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins as a guest, […]

Iranian influence and threats growing in the UK, says security minister Hardline regime in Tehran has threatened to kill or kidnap 10 people in Britain this year

December 13, 2022 Laura O'Callaghan

(National-UAE) Britain is facing growing interference, threats and influence from state actors including Iran, security minister Tom Tugendhat has warned. Since 10 Iranian plots were revealed in November more incidents have come to light. Foreign meddling of this nature, he said, poses […]

Over half of French teachers censor themselves to avoid religious backlash

December 11, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) Over half of French teachers practice self-censorship when discussing issues of secularism, according to a newly released poll, in order to avoid possible religious backlash and protests. The poll, taken by the French firm Ifop, revealed that 52 per cent of […]

UK: Police investigating teacher for saying 9/11 terrorists were Muslims

November 22, 2022 Jack Montgomery

(Breitbart) A teacher has been referred to the police for referring to the fact that the September 11th terrorists were Muslims. The teacher’s remarks, couched in woke terms, were made in an attempt to dress down Muslim pupils who had heckled Khakan Qureshi, […]

Mount Ridley College student upset after teacher shows ‘explicit and blasphemous‘ cartoon A Mount Ridley College student has been left with 'psychological and mental trauma' after a teacher played an 'explicit and blasphemous' cartoon.

November 8, 2022 Suzan Delibasic and Susie O'Brien

(Herald Sun) A Muslim student has been left with “painful psychological and mental trauma” after an offensive cartoon about the Prophet Muhammad was shown in a year 11 media class. A teacher at Mount Ridley College in Craigieburn played an “explicit and […]

French far-right MP suspended in ‘back to Africa’ backlash

November 4, 2022 Adrien de Calan and Joseph Schmid

(AFP) France’s National Assembly voted Friday to sanction a far-right MP with a rare 15-day suspension and pay cut after he yelled “back to Africa” at a black colleague, a clash that drew outrage across the political spectrum. Gregoire de Fournas, a […]

Free speech or hate speech? Clifton candidate’s comments on Middle East may sway election

November 3, 2022 Deena Yellin

(Bergen Record) Eighteen months later, a city school commissioner’s critical comments about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians are dogging him on the campaign trail — and fueling a debate over political speeches during public meetings. Fahim Abedrabbo, a trustee on the Clifton Board […]

Montgomery County Council unanimous in vote for antisemitism resolution

November 1, 2022 Mark A. Kellner

(Washington Times) A unanimous Montgomery County Council on Tuesday passed a non-binding resolution affirming an internationally recognized definition of antisemitism and condemning anti-Jewish hatred. The council affirmed the “working definition” of antisemitism prepared by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). It states […]

NGOs call for rejection of IHRA’s anti-Semitism definition in US county A coalition of NGOs are calling for the rejection of a resolution in Montgomery County in Maryland that could make criticism of Israel part of a definition of anti-Semitism, raising wider concerns over free speech.

November 1, 2022 Brooke Anderson

(New Arab) On a rainy Monday evening at the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, located near Washington, DC, a group of NGOs held a press conference calling on the Council to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which would […]

Dutch police ignored Iranian activist’s safety concerns before murder: report

November 1, 2022 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) In the years before his assassination in The Hague in November 2017, the Iranian-Dutch political activist Ahmad Mola Nissi made at least seven reports to the police regarding risks to his safety. Little to nothing was done with these reports, […]

‘Demonises Muslims’ — UK officials censor name, ethnicity of London terrorist in report

October 28, 2022 Jack Montgomery

(Breitbart) Local government officials in England will censor the name and ethnicity of the London Bridge terrorist in an official report, to avoid “demonising” Muslims. The Safeguarding Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Staffordshire County Council produced the report on Usman Khan, who stabbed […]

Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye, use of hand after knife attack

October 23, 2022 Isabel Keane

(NY Post) Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand after he was repeatedly stabbed during a literary event in upstate New York two months ago, his agent said. The 75-year-old author, whose 1988 novel “The Satanic […]

Dutch police disperse planned Quran burning rally of Islamophobic group Pegida Police warn against hate speech, Pegida's Netherlands leader Edwin Wagensveld arrested

October 22, 2022 Selman Aksünger

(Anadolu) Dutch police on Saturday arrested a leader of far-right Islamophobic group Pegida, which ended the planned Quran burning rally of the group in Rotterdam before it started. Anti-Islam movement Pegida earlier announced that they would gather in the city center of […]

Met apologises for wrongful arrests of Christian evangelist

October 21, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Christian Today) The police have issued an apology and awarded a Christian evangelist £10,000 and costs after two wrongful arrests. Hatun Tash was arrested at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park in May 2021 after engaging in a heated debate with a […]

Suspect in Charlie Hebdo attack gets life sentence on appeal

October 20, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A man accused of helping find weapons for the jihadist gunmen who attacked the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in France eight years ago was given a life sentence after his appeal trial, a judicial source said Thursday. Ali […]

French teen handed jail term over links to Samuel Paty killing

October 19, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Arab News) A Muslim teenager in France has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison over her association with and support for the killer of schoolteacher Samuel Paty. Paty was stabbed to death in a Paris suburb after showing […]

Samuel Paty honoured on the second anniversary of his brutal murder

October 17, 2022 Michael Fitzpatrick

(Radio France) As ceremonies continue on Monday commemorating the second anniversary of the death of secondary schoolteacher Samuel Paty, the French daily newspapers look back on a weekend of memorial events marked by sadness and dignity. Samuel Paty, teacher of history and […]

Two men sentenced to six years in prison over Swedish Easter Qur’an riots

October 13, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) Three men between the ages of 21 and 28 have been sentenced for their activity during the Easter riots in the city of Norrköping earlier this year which followed a burning of the Islamic Qur’an by anti-Islam activists. The Norrköping District Court sentenced […]

France: Teacher subjected to death threat over Mohammed cartoons

October 13, 2022 Chris Tomlinson

(Breitbart) A teacher in a French high school was subjected to death threats after discussing freedom of expression and cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, leading to the arrest of a student and her uncle, in a case redolent of the death […]

McGill lecturer’s tweet calling execution of Iranian protesters ‘heartwarming’ sparks backlash McGill says it is looking into matter while petition gathers thousands of signatures online

October 7, 2022 Unlisted Author

(CBC) Red tape covered their mouths. Their hands were bound behind their backs. They were on their knees. That was the silent statement protesters wanted to make as they gathered in front of Montreal’s McGill University Thursday afternoon to demonstrate against online […]

McGill investigating tweet by instructor who allegedly promoted violence against Iranian protesters

October 6, 2022 Joe Lofaro

(CTV) McGill University says it is investigating one of its instructors who allegedly called for the death of people participating in anti-government protests in the streets of Iran in recent weeks. Members inside and outside the McGill community are accusing the staff […]

Former head of Alberta Human Rights Commission sues government for firing him Collin May seeking $2.1M in damages and lost salary for alleged wrongful termination

October 4, 2022 Elise von Scheel

(CBC) The man recently fired from the top job at Alberta’s Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is suing the provincial government, specifically the justice minister, for what he alleges was a wrongful termination, malicious treatment and collusion that led to his removal from […]

Stockport Conservative councillor expelled from party over retweets

September 15, 2022 Unlisted Author

(BBC) A Tory councillor who retweeted claims that mosques had “secret arsenals” and immigration was “cultural suicide” has been expelled from the party. Alanna Vine, who represents Bramhall North on Stockport Council, was suspended as part of an investigation into her Twitter […]

Alberta rescinds appointment of Human Rights Commission chief in book review dispute

September 15, 2022 Dean Bennett

(Canadian Press) The Alberta government has rescinded the appointment of the head of its Human Rights Commission in a dispute stemming from a passage in a book review that has been criticized as Islamophobic. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro’s department did not formally […]

Alberta in showdown with human rights chief in Islamophobia controversy

September 13, 2022 Dean Bennett

(Canadian Press) A day after Justice Minister Tyler Shandro publicly directed the head of Alberta’s human rights commission to quit, the commissioner’s office lobbed the issue back at him, saying it’s Shandro who does the hiring and firing. “The commission does not […]

King Charles III: Five things the new British monarch said about Islam and Muslims The king, who once studied Arabic to better understand the Quran, has long spoken about Islamic history and theology

September 13, 2022 Rayhan Uddin

(Middle East Eye) In 1996, the grand mufti of Cyprus, shockingly, accused Charles III — the new British king — of secretly being a Muslim. “Did you know that Prince Charles has converted to Islam. Yes, yes. He is a Muslim. I […]

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro asks Alberta Human Rights Commission chief to resign 28 Muslim organizations called on Shandro to act

September 12, 2022 Paige Parsons

(CBC) Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has asked Alberta Human Rights Commission chief Collin May to resign, responding to concerns raised by more than two dozen Muslim organizations. In July, May came under fire following the resurfacing of a 2009 book review he wrote that critics say highlighted […]

Appeal trial opens over 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in France

September 12, 2022 Anne-Sophie Lasserre

(AFP) The appeal trial opened in Paris on Monday for two men suspected of helping the gunmen who stormed the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015, the first of a wave of Islamist terror attacks that have […]

Appeal to start in French court over Charlie Hebdo attack

September 10, 2022 Anne-Sophie Lasserre

(AFP) An appeal trial is set to begin Monday as two men ruled to have helped Islamist gunmen prepare a deadly 2015 attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo seek to overturn their convictions. Twelve people were killed at the magazine’s Paris office […]

NCA officer unfairly sacked after offensive Muslim remarks

September 6, 2022 David Rhodes

(BBC) A National Crime Agency (NCA) officer who made offensive remarks about Muslims was unfairly sacked, an employment tribunal has found. Abbey Brooke made the comments at a training session led by Abrar Javid, a Muslim community leader in Rotherham. The tribunal […]

FB, Instagram, Twitter remove migrant rape video Meloni sparked row by re-posting footage, vowing crime fight

August 23, 2022 Unlisted Author

(ANSA) Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on Tuesday removed a video of a Guinean asylum seeker raping a Ukrainian woman in Piacenza Monday, which had been controversially re-posted by conservative leader Giorgia Meloni in a post vowing to boost law and order in […]

Pro-Iranian group chief ‘praised fatwa against Salman Rushdie’ Massoud Shadjareh is accused of telling Islamophobia conference in 2021 that Muslims thought publishing of The Satanic Verses 'was wrong'

August 21, 2022 Laura O'Callaghan

(National-UAE) The head of a pro-Iranian non-profit group based in Britain voiced support for the fatwa calling for the death of Sir Salman Rushdie, it has been claimed. Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), allegedly backed […]

Cartoon in independent New Brunswick paper causes social media outcry

August 20, 2022 Suzanne Lapointe

(Global News) A cartoon published in Wednesday’s edition of l’Acadie Nouvelle, an independent French-language newspaper in New Brunswick, is causing a social media outcry. Marcel Boudreau’s cartoon depicts a caveman dragging a woman juxtaposed with the image of a man wearing a […]

Professor who beat lawsuit over his Islamic terrorism quiz takes victory lap over cancel culture 'Civilization one, cancel culture zero.'

August 20, 2022 Alex Swoyer

(Washington Times) A professor who was sued — and won — over his teaching about Islamic terrorism says he’ll continue to teach the lesson and won’t back down to cancel culture. A Muslim student along with the Council on American-Islamic Relations of […]

Accused Salman Rushdie stabber held without bail after DA cites Post interview

August 18, 2022 Haley Brown and Ben Kesslen

(NY Post) The New Jersey man who allegedly stabbed Salman Rushdie at a literary event in western New York has been indicted by a grand jury — and he was denied bail on Thursday in part because of his jailhouse interview with […]

Salman Rushdie attacker praises Iran’s ayatollah, surprised author survived: jailhouse interview

August 17, 2022 Steven Vago and Ben Kesslen

(NY Post) The New Jersey man who allegedly stabbed Salman Rushdie in western New York last week praised Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in an exclusive jailhouse interview with the Post on Wednesday — and admitted he didn’t think the author would survive the […]