An Egyptian court has ordered a one-month ban on YouTube due to the refusal of the company to remove material insulting to Islam — the latest example of the growing battle between religious orthodoxy and free speech. Hassouna Tawfiq has also ordered other sites banned if they show the controversial “The Innocence of Muslims.”
The film portrays Islam’s prophet Muhammad in an unflattering and foolish light. As previously discussed, this is a core expression of free speech. However, countries like Egypt continue to demand international enforcement of its blasphemy standards to punish those who insult Islam or Muhammad.
Efforts to force YouTube to pull the film in the United States have failed for obvious reasons. However, the Obama Administration asked YouTube to “review” the film and has publicly prosecuted the filmmaker on other grounds in a clear effort to show the Muslim world that he is being punished.
Egypt has led the effort to create an international blasphemy standard with the controversial support of the United States. For many years, I have been writing about the threat of an international blasphemy standard and the continuing rollback on free speech in the West. For recent columns, click here and here and here.
Much of this writing has focused on the effort of the Obama Administration to reach an accommodation with allies like Egypt to develop a standard for criminalizing anti-religious speech. We have been following the rise of anti-blasphemy laws around the world, including the increase in prosecutions in the West and the support of the Obama Administration for the prosecution of some anti-religious speech under the controversial Brandenburg standard. Now that effort has come to a head with the new President of Egypt President Mohamed Mursi calling for enactment of an anti-blasphemy law at the United Nations. Mursi is also demanding legal action against the filmmaker by the United States despite the fact that the film is clearly protected by the first amendment.
The ban on YouTube is not likely to have much of an impact but does show the considerable gap between the United States and its Arab allies on free speech. To its credit, YouTube is standing firm on refusing to censor anti-religious views.
Source: Washington Post
I have heard that they sell live dogs in the food markets there in Egypt, to be eaten by humans. Is this true? Inquiring dogs want to know.
OS:
Thanks, I was thinking a Hugo or Dostoyevsky riff on the nature of a working girl.
“What is the story of Fantine about? It is about society buying a slave.
From whom? From misery. From hunger, from cold, from loneliness, from desertion, from privation. Melancholy barter. A soul for a piece of bread. Misery makes the offer; society accepts.
The holy law of Jesus Christ governs our civilization, but it does not yet permeate it. They say that slavery has disappeared from European civilization. That is incorrect. It still exists, but now it weighs only on women, and it is called prostitution.
It weighs on women, that is to say, on grace, frailty, beauty, motherhood. This is not the least among man’s shames.
At this stage in the mournful drama, Fantine has nothing left of what she had formerly been. She has turned to marble in becoming corrupted. Whoever touches her feels a chill. She goes her way, she endures you, she ignores you; she is the incarnation of dishonor and severity. Life and the social order have spoken their last word to her. All that can happen to her has happened. She has endured all, borne all, experienced all, suffered all, lost all, wept for all.”
V. Hugo
Bron,
When you get screwed by a working girl, you get good services for your money. Whores are honest about both their product and who they are.
On the other hand, with regard to professional religionists, I am reminded of a lyric from an old Charlie Daniels song. “They tell you to send your money to the Lord, but give you their address.”
OS:
What does Heinlein mean by that? Absolution?
nick:
Habs havent been the same since Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur played.
raff,
I am old enough and have seen too many things to have much faith in True Believers.
*********************************
Whores perform the same function as priests, but far more thoroughly. [Robert Heinlein]
OS,
You are expecting logic out of a religion?? 🙂
Otteray Scribe: before there was death there were no black holes, No nebula, No gas clouds, No supernovas. When sin entered is when bang came in that destroyed what God made. People with sin in them like bang too in many ways. Satan is the one who gets pissy. He can impersonate God. That is why knowing Jesus is important now.
Otteray Scribe: before there was death there were no black holes, No nebula, No gas clouds, No supernovas. When sin entered is when bang came in that destroyed what God made. People with sin in them like bang too in many ways. Satan is the one who gets prissy. He can impersonate God. That is why knowing Jesus is important now.
Otteray Scribe: before there was death there were no black holes. No nebula No gas clouds. No supernovas. When sin entered is when bang came in that destroyed what God made. People with is in them like bang too in many ways. Sa5tan is the one wh9o gets prissy. He can impersonate God. That is why knowing Jesus is important now.
Ya hey Bron, I like Les Habitants myself..eh.
If the Muslims are confident in their relationship with Allah why do they do what the devil does.? The devil was banned from Gods light. That is why the devil thinks ban this, and ban that all the Time. Fear is the driving force to ban. They fear they are wrong putting up a stone wall is what they are doing. That is what USA law does. It rules with fear. State is not separate from religion in spirit, and in action.
nick:
eh, you a hoser? How bout them Canucks, eh?
AY, Our government simply doesn’t want us to turn into hosers.
Alright…. And we don’t get our servers censored…. Right… The how come the air waves won’t let to pick up Canadian stations right next door….
Let me see if I have this straight. The creator of a universe more than 13 billion years old, the observable part being 93 billion light-years in diameter, and which contains 10^24 stars? That is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, That is just the known universe. No one knows how many planets circle all those stars, but it will run into multiples of quadrillions. The creator of black holes, quasars, and supernovas, will get all pissy because a single (in galactic terms) submicroscopic carbon life form posts a video on YouTube?
I have a problem with the logic of that.
Is their god so weak that he/she/it can’t stand up to some idiotic film?
That’ll show ’em …
As our modern world grows ever more interconnected and complex, these courts will soon have to ban air.
Good for YouTube on holding firm. Many other countries cower to some ridiculous demands of other countries. I know that there can be much pressure to do so for financial reasons and to get a better return for their shareholders but I respect any company that stands up to censorship and gov’t abuse.