But not always. Our Czech correspondent JM sends this report about the cancellation of a Islamization debate on Monday night for politically correct reasons.
Czech University Bans Islamism Debate
by JM
“Perils of Islamisation in CZ” was to be the title of a debate scheduled at the Prague School of Economics (VSE) for 3rd October. Its Student Society organised it jointly with the civic association Antimesita (anti-mosque) recently established in the Bohemian city of Hradec Kralove as a citizen protest against the construction of a local mosque. The association has the support of the city council, from whom it has received a small grant. The mosque construction has for the moment been halted, pending appeals. The Prague debate was banned on short notice, and some panelists were told only upon arrival at the venue. The reason for the ban appears to have been a letter to the VSE Chancellor from an Islamologist scholar at the Academy of Sciences warning against “religious hatred on academic soil”, accusing the panelists of “the most debased level of interest in Islam” and labeling the debate, had it taken place, “an unfortunate precedent”.
The panelists scheduled to speak included Roman Joch, the Prime Minister’s advisor on human rights, and biology professor Martin Konvicka. The latter also acts as first-instance “saviour” to Czech female Muslim converts-turned-apostates, one whom was also to take part in the debate, describing details of Muslim family life. There are now several dozen of them, mostly from marriages to foreign Muslims, and some of them claim their lives have been threatened.
The Czech Muslim population numbers officially 11,000, mostly immigrants but including a fair number of converts. Accusations have been mounting of Saudi influence and shady financial support.
The VSE Chancellor later claimed the ban had nothing to do with the Islamologist’s letter, but had never been allowed in the first place because the students had not followed proper application procedures. This the students deny, claiming all procedures had been followed correctly, the debate had been widely publicised, and the names of the panelists known a month in advance.
“Academic soil is a space for free debate which should never be silenced,” was the reaction of Education Minister Josef Dobes. “All attempts at weakening freedom of opinion and exchange of dialogue have always led to totalitarianism.”
The event is to be followed up and publicly debated by the recently-formed Czech branch of the International Free Press Society.
2 comments:
So far, with little or no Muslim population, and a relatively recent experience of totalitarianism, it's been relatively plain sailing for Eastern Europe when discussing the Religion of Peace... but whether that's due to some inherent strength in this part of the world, or just pure luck, is another question.
With ever more kebab shops opening up (one on most street corners here in Warsaw), Turkish consortiums building subway systems and more and more Muslims coming to study, or just visit and "sample the delights", my fear is that the latter is the case, and that a level of political correctness similar to that in countries to the West is just around the corner.
Indeed, members of one of the key parties in the upcoming Polish elections this Sunday once broke into a regional parliament to put up a Star of David and Islamic crescent next to the existing Cross. Its popularity is rising rapidly just before the election and its leader, campaiging on a platform of an ideological war against the Catholic Church, is one of the most popular political figures.
This despite most Poles on the street - on both the Left and the Right - being decidedly against Islam... however, with Islamic groups keeping a low profile, and with far more pressing issues on most peoples' minds (such as getting that new car, fridge or a 400 sq ft apartment on a 30-year loan), will people wake up before it's too late?
Eastern Europe is following the West, but still always that bit behind. If it wants, it can decide - which aspects of the West it wants to adopt, and which it wants to reject? Eastern Europeans can go to Western countries and see their own countries 20 years down the line, if everything continues on its current path. In other words, Eastern Europe has an opportunity to easily look "ahead in time" - an opportunity that perhaps has not before existed in any part of the world. But in the rush for more money, better careers, more sexual freedom and less religious dogma, this is one issue that has been forgotten. The most dangerous diseases are the ones that grow without being noticed - such as cancer - and attack the patient when they least expect it. Like cancer, Islamisation develops silently... and at the moment, its targets in Eastern Europe remain in blissful ignorance.
There is nothing new about this. Suppression of debate about Islam happens all over the world. Actually, I am rather surprised that it took this long to get to the Czech Republic...
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