In Europe, Free Speech Bows to Sharia

“When, the prophet of Islam took as his wife Aisha, who was then six or seven. The marriage was consummated when Aisha was nine. This is not a smear. It is an accurate account of authoritative Islamic scripture. (See, e.g., Sahih-Bukhari, Vol. 5, Book 58, Nos. 234–236.) Yet it can no longer safely be discussed in Europe, thanks to the extortionate threat of violence and intimidation—specifically, of jihadist terrorism and the Islamist grievance industry that slipstreams behind it. Under a ruling by the so-called European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), free speech has been supplanted by sharia blasphemy standards. The case involves an Austrian woman (identified as ‘Mrs. S.’ in court filings and believed to be Elisabeth Sabaditsch Wolff) who, in 2009, conducted two seminars entitled ‘Basic Information on Islam.’ She included the account of Mohammed’s marriage to Aisha. Though this account is scripturally accurate, Mrs. S. was prosecuted on the rationale that her statements implied pedophilic tendencies on the part of the prophet. A fine (about $547) was imposed for disparaging religion. Mrs. S. appealed, relying on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. That provision purports to safeguard ‘freedom of expression,’ though it works about the same way the warranty on your used car does—it sounds like you’re covered, but the fine print eviscerates your protection. Europeans are free to say only what they are permitted to say by the unelected judges of the European courts. Truth is irrelevant. As the jurists reasoned in the case of Mrs. S., a person’s freedom to assert facts must be assessed in ‘the wider context’ that balances ‘free’ expression against—I kid you not—‘the right of others to have their religious feelings protected,’ as well as ‘the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace.’ It is thus verboten to say things that might upset Muslims. There is no free speech in Islam. Sharia states do not merely forbid speech that insults or denigrates Islam; they regard as blasphemy—and punish with cruelty—any form of expression that casts Islam in an unfavorable light.”

Andrew McCarthy, “In Europe”, The National Review, Oct. 27, 2018

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