euro|topics - Defending freedom of expression

Main focus of Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Defending freedom of expression

In the wake of the publication in the 'Figaro' of his opinion piece entitled 'What must the free world do in response to Islamist intimidation?' French philosophy teacher Robert Redeker has received death threats. Several public figures have sprung to his defence, arguing that the affair shows freedom of expression is in great danger in Western countries.

Le Monde - France

The daily has published an appeal in support of Robert Redeker signed by a score of public figures. "A handful of fanatics is currently brandishing so-called religious laws in order to call into question our country's most fundamental freedoms. This threat comes in addition to the mutterings here and there in Europe that provocation should be avoided to spare supposed foreign sensibilities ... Times are once again hard in Europe. This is no time for cowardice. We therefore solemnly appeal to the authorities not only to continue to protect, as they already are doing, Robert Redeker and his family, but, in a strong political gesture, to pledge to meet his material needs as long as he is danger, just as the British authorities did throughout the duration of the Rushdie affair." (04/10/2006)

Corriere della Sera - Italy

The French philosopher Bernard-Henry Lévy looks at the Robert Redeker affair. "One does not argue with a man on the ground, one helps him to his feet. One does not start a controversy against someone who, because he has written an article, finds himself threatened, hounded, and stigmatized. One lends him a hand and, if one is a government, then one protects him and his family and provides him with shelter. In a word, I am not interested in whether Redeker's statements are stupid or intelligent ... Does not freedom of opinion finish where respect for others begins? No. It finishes, and this is quite different, where racist hate begins or, even worse, where appeals to kill in the name of that hate begin." (04/10/2006)

The Independent - United Kingdom

Paul Valley examines "the accusations of prejudice or bigotry" that Westerners and Muslims so often trade every time there is a flashpoint between freedom of expression and Islam. "The trouble with debate carried out in this adolescent fashion is that it obscures rather than enlightens. Though it purports to open a dialogue with Muslims about the values of a pluralist society, in reality it is simply gratuitously offensive. And it merely reinforces the prejudices of the fundamentalists on both sides. ... This is not so much a clash of civilisations as one between religious and secular fundamentalists. For our world is very different from even that of our fathers, let alone that of Voltaire, in his day, religion was the dominant oppressive culture against which emerging rationalism struggled. Today, by contrast, Islam embodies the identity of one of the most vulnerable, and alienated, minorities in Europe." (04/10/2006)

La Vanguardia - Spain

In an analysis of the close ties that have always bound the West and Muslim countries, the French-Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun rails against the current spate of misunderstanding. "How can it be that the Muslim world should have become the prisoner of fanatics who, though indeed a minority, now threaten free thought, doubt, and dialogue? Why have these rich, fruitful ties been broken, and what has happened for freedom to be smothered by words of hate and distrust? ... A mere speech from the Pope containing a negative opinion of Islam is all it takes today to unleash unprecedented, brutal expressions of anger. Nothing remains between these two partners whose relations were harmonious for centuries, despite different instances of antagonism and the many ups-and-downs of history." (04/10/2006)

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, October 4, 2006

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