All that glitters is not gold

Publication and republication of the blasphemous sketches of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in many European countries has been dubbed as freedom of expression by the Western peoples. Somehow this freedom only applies when Muslims are the target.

Here are few examples of recent past revealing that the assertion of the Western peoples about freedom of expression is incorrect and baseless. 1. Some months back, David John Cawdell Irving, a researcher of history, was arrested and is under trial for delivering a hate speech in which he is said to have denied the holocaust. He had also been declared an anti-semitic and racist. He is forbidden to enter Australia, Canada, Germany, Austria and some other European countries because denying the holocaust is an unpardonable crime.

2. Over a year ago, during Mr Tony Blair’s election campaign, Labour Party had published an advertisement that showed the then leader of the opposition, Mr John Howard, a Jew, as a pig with wings having Mr Howard’s head. The British Jews reacted angrily and demanded apology from those responsible. Mr Tony Blair had immediately done the needful.3. Again over one year back, the mayor of London had likened the Jew reporter of a British newspaper who had been pestering him, to a “concentration camp guard.” This caused uproar in the Jew community and it wanted him to retract his words. The British premier had also joined them by asking the mayor to apologize.
4. A couple of years back, the then prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohammad, had caused a storm in the West by criticizing the Jews, although his words were true and he had also praised the Jews for their many positive accomplishments.

5. There was an outrage in the US and Europe when the Iranian president recently suggested that the Holocaust did not actually occur and that Israel should be shifted to Europe or Alaska, etc.
6. T V Al Jazeera office in Afghanistan had been “mistakenly” attacked by American forces and its reporter injured around 2001 after coverage had been given by the news channel to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, in addition to presenting the western viewpoint.

7. Similarly, Al Jazeera office in Iraq was bombed by American forces killing one staffer because they used to give some news of the other side also.

8. Recently, there has been a news leak that Mr George W Bush and Mr Tony Blair had discussed the possibility of bombing the Qatar-based channel’s headquarters as a punishment for exercising it’s freedom of expression.