It's interesting how he frames hate speech laws as a slippery slope to Islamic law. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
He's not the first to point out that Western societies need to weigh Muslim pressure carefully, since the Muslim demand is, at bottom, not that Islam be given equal respect, but that Islam be given the superior respect which Muslims feel it is due:
Where does all this come from? Not, I fear, from the right, if misapplied, desire for different faiths to live at peace. Incitement to violence, after all, is already an offence, and so it should be. No, the pressure is chiefly from Muslims. If we want to understand its context, we should look at what happens in Muslim societies
Just because Muslims are upset about something doesn't necessarily mean that they have a reasonable grievance. They might or they might not. This is one of those points that Western society must weigh the issues. If they just instinctively grease the squeaky wheel, they'll soon find themselves playing dhimmis in their own countries. |
