James Kottak, the drummer for the rock band Scorpions, has been sentenced to one month in jail in the United Arab Emirates for conduct offensive to Islam. This reportedly included raising his middle finger and insulting the faith.
Kottak, 51, was arrested on April 3rd on a flight from Russia to Bahrain. The band was scheduled to perform at a Formula One race. Kottak was arrested in the transit hall and admitted that he had been drinking but denied other charges. He reportedly made comments about “uneducated Muslims” and flashed his middle finger. Witnesses accused him of cursing all Muslims and Islam.
It is a chilling example of how the blasphemy laws in these countries are applied. Such comments would be treated as entirely protected in 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.
This is a typical example of the application of such a standard. Kottak’s comments can simply be defined as causing imminent violence or social unrest to justify a blasphemy prosecution.
Source: BBC
Culture is “the villiage” required to raise a child.
When the village is cognitively impaired by ancestors who were likewise impaired, more and more deviant circuits appear.
Compulsive lying is one of the first circuit networks one should work on to begin to bring a dawn of reality within:
Dredd – I think you need to revisit lesson two. What you are saying does not seem to appear in the video.
It piques my curiosity how people who are not autistic can claim to know more about autism than people who live autism because they are autistic or they have autism.
It piques my curiosity how people who are not Muslim can make definitive statements about Muslims.
It piques my curiosity how any Muslim can authoritatively speak for all Muslims.
From my close-at-hand copy (ISBN 0 7232 0261 3) of the George Sale translation (long ago public domain) of the “Koran”:
“CXIV
THE CHAPTER OF MEN
Where it was revealed is disputed.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
Say, I fly for the refuge unto the Lord of men, the king of men, the God of men, that he may deliver me from the mischief of the whisperer who slyly withdraweth, who whispereth evil suggestions unto the breasts of men; from genii and men.
FINIS.”
What redeeming social merit is to be found through expert criticism of that which the expert critic does not accurately understand?
Dr. Harris – one of the problems of translations is that we are always at the mercy (so to speak) of that particular translator. Think how many translation into English there have been of the Bible? Some better than others. Some worse than others.
I am a big fan of Nikolai Gogal’s Dead Souls. I have read two different translations so far, one funnier than the other. There is a new translation that is supposed to be even funnier.
To repeat, unless we read the language, we are at the mercy of the translator.
observer,
Anyone who uses the phrase “blood hungry beasts” to describe people of a different culture, especially without support other than a feeling emotional hatred within, is suffering a mental impairment first imposed upon them by their culture.
If the impairment is not resisted it will lead you to produce mentally impaired offspring and perpetuate the illness rather than cure it.
Eventually it turns on one’s own family, friends, and one’s own nation (Hypothesis: The Cultural Amygdala – 2).
observer
simm, you said in the US no one has been arrested for criticizing Islam, so you do not think that the main reason the producer of the you tube movie that ridiculed Islam was arrested mainly for that reason, and to please blood hungry beasts who call themselves to be the followers of the peaceful religion?
=================
Your cultural amygdala is leaking out and showing through.
Dredd – observer answered the question correctly. I am not sure why you have a problem with that. You keep linking to your own blog and we have talked about the proper way to do that.
Our military, big oil, and big banksters are closely intertwined with Oilandia, capitol of the Oil-Coast (Islamic Ruler of Dubai, The Chamber of Corruption – 3).
feynman,
You are right. Jonathon Karl was wrong the last time too.
As I said. No big deal.
Feynman,
Obviously, you’re not going to believe my posts. I presume you’ll authenticate. After you read the evidence for yourself, would you petition Professor Turley (“Constitutional tipping point” and “exceeded his authority”) to grant Congress an audience and grant his imprimatur for a special prosecutor. Shouldn’t we be true to the memory of Nixon and prosecute objectively when the evidence is waxing and preponderant? Did we not accuse Nixon of the high crimes of conspiring to defraud and abuse of power?
“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle,”
AKA,
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
I was gloating and I apologize. My old coaches are kicking me in the ass from their graves.
I think it is stupid for anyone traveling to another country to expect that they will have the same rights, customs, foods and quality of drinking water wherever they travel. I think clean drinking water is a true fundamental human right and having just gotten whipped with food poisoning after traveling overseas, I can promise you that it it NOT a right that all are given.
It’s just not realistic in any way to expect that-and I do NOT see how “freedom of speech/expression” is a fundamental human right. It wasn’t even an American right until it was spelled out in the Bill of rights in 1791 and it basically took a long time after that before saying anything you wanted to say about anything was accepted as any kind of right. “don’t ask don’t tell” was the “right” many enjoyed until just a few short years ago-and in truth, it is the reality still for many in our own country.
Do you folks read anything besides left wing spin news?
Obama may not make it to 2016. Could give Uncle Joe a jump on HRC. No matter what, the feces is about to hit the fan on this and other cover ups. But please remain arrogant and in denial.
WaPo, USA Today, ABC, Politico. But wait, Mother Jones is spinning like a top. You know Mother Jones, that Obama lapdog. They say “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” This an email from Ben Rhodes, WEST WING.
Lead Story The Daily Beast. you know that right wing website.
Feynman and raff, It is ALL OVER THE MSM! Carney’s nose was growing 3 feet long. Deal w/ it. Google it. “Fox, Issa, Palin, yada yada.” Obama and Clinton lied and brave State Dept. people died. Do you 2 know just how ostrich like you are looking?
Rafflaw and Feynman, just more polishing of the tea pot to see if a Genie pops out.
Feynman,
More Fox News nonsense.
Sorry, Nick. They all look the same.
Mr. Issa has been working on this story for more than a year. And reports like this appear one after another. Each one looking much like the last one. Since no date was offered, I thought I’d ask. No big deal.
feybman, The story is all over the interwebs! Tough day or two.
George
Could you please tell us the source of your article that begins with “White House”?
Thans