Daniel J. Pipes

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Correction on "To all supporters of freedom of speech"

Reader comment on item: How the Cartoon Protests Harm Muslims
in response to reader comment: To all supporters of freedom of speech

Submitted by nbl957 (Canada), Feb 21, 2006 at 11:51

Unfortunately Obied Khan overlooked a small but important point in his post.

Austria is a democratic government. This means that the majority of Austrian citizens had some say in the laws that govern them. It also means that any law may be overturned by a subsequent government to reflect the will of the people.

In the Western democracies freedom of speech is not absolute but has been tempered by courts and laws. Hence, for example, this free speech does not permit the shouting of "FIRE" in a crowded cinema.

The restrictions on this freedom are open, judicial, and legal. They are merely the dictates of some individual or group who wish to stifle the free expression of others.

As was seen on TV. Muslims in many of these protesting mobs were holding signs saying "We don't want your democracy." If this is true then why are Muslims attacking the outcome of our democracy which include this important freedom largely denied to them?

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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