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Lawfare Reaches Germany

Now Germany has its own version of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Austria – Michael Mannheimer has undergone legal prosecution for making statements about Islam displeasing to Muslims and their politically correct allies. Mannheimer ran afoul of German authorities after he issued a "Call to General Resistance of the German People according to Article 20, paragraph 4 of the Basic Law [Aufruf zum allgemeinen Widerstand des deutschen Volkes gemäß Art.20 Abs.4 GG]" on April 8, 2011. He made this statement initially in the reader comments section of the conservative German website Politically Incorrect (PI), which has as its proclaimed masthead goal, among others, of opposition "against the Islamization of Europe [Gegen die Islamisierung Europas]". Mannheimer's internet declaration of resistance earned him a criminal conviction and a fine of 50 Euros for 50 days (2,500 Euros) from a court in the southern German town of Heilbronn in the state of Baden- Würtemburg. *

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By Andrew E. Harrod | May 6, 2012 at 3:05 pm | Permalink

Danish Supreme Court Acquits Hedegaard

On April 20, 2012 in a 7-0 decision, the Danish Supreme Court acquitted Lars Hedegaard of violating Article 266(b), the infamous "hate speech" provision of the Danish penal code.

Hedegaard's case has been winding its way through the courts for some time now. Readers will recall that he was first acquitted and then retried and convicted—a decision he appealed to the country's highest court.

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By Ann Snyder | April 21, 2012 at 8:24 pm | Permalink

Hedegaard's Appeal to the Danish Supreme Court

Once again, freedom of speech is under attack in Europe. Lars Hedegaard's appeal to the Danish Supreme Court will be heard April 13^th along with the prosecutor's cross-appeal seeking a higher fine. Court proceedings are anticipated to wrap up the same day and a decision is expected within a week.

Americans should take an active interest in the state of free speech in Europe, because it is a forewarning of the direction our own country is heading if we don't take steps to reverse course. In a previous interview with the Legal Project, Lars Hedegaard remarked:

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By Ann Snyder | April 12, 2012 at 10:42 pm | Permalink

LP Fellow Ann Snyder Speaks at a Capitol Hill Policy Seminar

On February 7, 2012, LP Fellow Ann Snyder spoke at a Capitol Hill Policy Seminar called The Istanbul Process and the OIC's Continuing Efforts to Implement Restrictions to Prevent "Defamation of Islam." The event was sponsored by the Endowment for Middle East Truth and moderated by the Honorable Rep. Fred Grandy, former congressman, radio talk show host, and the Executive Vice President of the Center for Security Policy. Speakers featured at the event were: M. Zuhdi Jasser (American Islamic Forum for Democracy); Andrea Lafferty (Traditional Values Coalition); Supna Zaidi (The Lawfare Project); and Legal Project Fellow, Ann Snyder. Snyder discussed the impact of UN Resolution 16/18 and the "Istanbul Process" set into motion by the State Department to implement the resolution. Rather than being a victory for free speech or a defeat of the concept of "defamation of religions," she explained that the odious concept "defamation of religions" is alive and well and that the OIC's agenda of imposing limitations on speech it deems offensive or insulting to Islam or Muslims is unchanged.

Watch video from the event here.

By | February 25, 2012 at 1:07 pm | Permalink

The Strange Views of Mr. Quraishi and their Disturbing Implications for Free Speech

In response to an earlier blog post about him, Bashy Qurashi has left comments on several websites, including MEF's. Former Legal Project Law Clerk, Andrew Harrod, has written another piece to directly reply to Qurashi's new comments. Here it is:

The recent Legal Project (LP) blog post The OSCE: Yet Another Avenue for Islamists to Control Speech coauthored by Adam Turner and me has prompted a response from Bashy Quraishi himself following considerable linking by various websites in Europe and North America. On the Canadian website BlazingCatFur, Quraishy responded to the posting of the LP piece with the sentiment of being a "bit disappointed that you brought a very selected part of my presentation in your blog." Quraishy's reiterated "main thrust of my argument" was that "criticism of an individual, a group or even a religion is legitimate but it should be for an objective purpose and not to demonize an entire religion." Quraishy protested again that "Muslims do not ask for any special protection" but merely the "same protection…given to other minorities, for example to Jewish communities or Homosexual groups."

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By Andrew Harrod | February 17, 2012 at 3:05 pm | Permalink

Disinformation and Lawfare: the Al-Dura Cases

Wars have rarely been won by using a single tactic, and this holds true for current non-military campaigns, including those waged by the use of legal warfare, or lawfare. When the goal of a campaign is to widely disseminate disinformation, legal intimidation is often an effective means of silencing inconvenient facts that would disrupt the disinformation campaign, especially through defamation lawsuits. The enduring myths surrounding the "Al-Dura Incident" provide a case in point.

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By Aaron Eitan Meyer | February 16, 2012 at 9:59 am | Permalink

The OSCE: Yet Another Avenue for Islamists to Control Speech

Although more attention goes to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) prominent attempts to police speech in Western nations regarding Islam-related topics through the UN and the "Istanbul Process", Muslim and Islamist desires to restrict critical speech concerning Islam-related topics and promote a positive image of their religion have also played a role in yet another international organization's efforts to address the debate about Islam and Muslims. On October 28, 2011, a conference, titled: "Confronting Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims in Public Discourse," was held at the Vienna headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE is an international grouping encompassing 56 states from North America (Canada and the United States), Europe, and the former Soviet Union. At this conference the Danish-Pakistani general-secretary of the Initiative of European Muslims for Social Cohesion (Die Initiative Europäischer Muslime für Sozialen Zusammenhalt or IEMSZ), Bashy Quraishi, called for "guidelines against Islamophobia in public discourse" and stated that "freedom of speech in Europe entails responsibility, something often forgotten by political leaders and journalists." Also, General Quraishi as well as numerous other participants at the conference extolled the civilizational contributions of Islam – and Muslims – to humanity. Perhaps not too surprisingly in this politically correct world, in the end the OSCE seemingly acceded to Quraishi's desire to protect Muslims from insulting speech and promote a positive view of Islam.

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By Andrew E. Harrod and Adam Turner | February 3, 2012 at 4:59 pm | Permalink

North American Muslims Join Effort to Support Husain Haqqani

Politics can be a dangerous business in Pakistan.

As the "memogate" controversy shows no signs of abating, a group of American and Canadian Muslims joined the push for U.S. government intervention on behalf of Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. In a January 12^th letter to Secretary of State Clinton, the group called upon the Secretary and the Obama administration to "let Pakistan's military chief General Kayani and ISI boss General Pasha know that they will be held responsible for any harm that comes to Ambassador Haqqani."

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By Ann Snyder | January 23, 2012 at 2:28 pm | Permalink

Update on State Department-OIC Conference in DC: "The Istanbul Process"

The Legal Project recently reported that the Obama Administration would be holding meetings this week in Washington on "implementing" UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18. (See Why is the Obama Administration Giving the OIC a Say in Our Right to Free Speech?) On December 13^th, Nina Shea, Director of Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, reported on the first session of the three-day, closed-to-the-public conference called "The Istanbul Process."

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By Ann Snyder | December 13, 2011 at 7:37 pm | Permalink

Why is the Obama Administration Giving the OIC a Say in Our Right to Free Speech?

Starting on December 12^th in Washington, DC, a meeting is being held that jeopardizes freedom of speech as we currently understand it in the United States. The Obama Administration has invited the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC," formerly, The Organization of the Islamic Conference) to a meeting of "experts" to discuss the implementation of a UN resolution ostensibly targeting "religious intolerance." Now, even if by combating "religious intolerance" the resolution were just targeting actual violations of freedom of religion (READ: violating rights, not hurting feelings), it still should raise a few eyebrows that the OIC is behind the resolution and was invited as a partner to these meetings. The Jeddah-based OIC includes as its members such "champions" of human rights and religious freedom and tolerance as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran.

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By Ann Snyder | December 10, 2011 at 2:27 pm | Permalink