The Legal Project
"[Those] who won our independence believed ... the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies." — Justice Brandeis
 
Facebook   Twitter   RSS
   

The Legal Project, an activity of the Middle East Forum, works to protect the right in the West to freely discuss Islam, radical Islam, terrorism, and terrorist funding. [More]

Commentary & Analysis

The New Censorship
Is this the return of the Thought Police?

by Phyllis Chesler  •  December 12, 2018  •  Tablet

In 1984, George Orwell wrote: "The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought. When people 'disappear' no one is allowed to mention it, no one is mourned, no one person is important, only the Party and Big Brother are important."

Today, Orwell's Thought Police are, rather ominously, everywhere. There is a definite intellectual chill in the air. Reason and civility are all but gone in the public square. In its place, we have insults, shaming, censorship and self-censorship that is meant to "pass" for thought. Hotly internalized propaganda rules the day online. We have met Big Brother, and he is us.

Full Text...

 

Threats of Violence Secure Victory for Sharia in the Netherlands

by Dr. Daniel A. Brubaker  •  November 24, 2018  •  American Thinker

Note: A shorter version of this article was published in the American Thinker. The version published here is the author's original.

The law of the Netherlands, as of the United States, broadly protects speech and conscience. By definition, this includes speech that some consider offensive; speech that is inoffensive and does not bother anyone needs no legal protection.

Full Text...

 

Rape-Grooming Gangs in the U.K.
Support Victims, Get Threats

by Paula Boddington  •  August 21, 2018  •  Daily Caller

"Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls," said U.K. Labour MP Sarah Champion (Rotherham). "There. I have said it. Does it make me racist?"

In the eyes of many, the answer seemed to be "yes."

Full Text...

 

Moderate Islam Falters in the Face of Silicon Valley Censorship

by Sam Westrop  •  June 18, 2018  •  National Review

In April, a federal court ruled that President Trump's Twitter account serves as a public forum, meaning that his account may not block other Twitter users. Writing in the New York Times, law professor Noah Feldman declared: "This is the first time, to my knowledge, that the First Amendment has ever been applied to a private platform."

Full Text...

 

Silicon Valley Censorship

by Sam Westrop  •  July 26, 2017  •  Gatestone Institute

Google's latest project is an application called Perspective, which, as Wired reports, brings the tech company "a step closer to its goal of helping to foster troll-free discussion online, and filtering out the abusive comments that silence vulnerable voices." In other words, Google is teaching computers how to censor.

If Google's plans are not quite Orwellian enough for you, the practical results are rather more frightening. Released in February, Perspective's partners include the New York Times, the Guardian, Wikipedia and the Economist. Google, whose motto is "Do the Right Thing," is aiming its bowdlerism at public comment sections on newspaper websites, but the potential is far broader.

Full Text...

 

Censoring Moderate Muslims

by Ahnaf Kalam  •  July 17, 2017  •  Daily Caller

Last month, the Aurora Sentinel published a letter to the editor titled "Islamism in Aurora?" by PK Kaiser, a candidate for Aurora City Council and a Muslim of Pakistani origin. Kaiser highlighted his concerns over a number of imams at prominent mosques and Islamic centers in the Denver area preaching extremism behind closed doors.

Once published, it wasn't long before the article received a slew of comments accusing Kaiser of "Islamophobia" and of smearing leaders of Muslim communities in Colorado.

Some commenters suggested that Kaiser penned the article to further his own political campaign at the expense of Muslim communities, while others went much further by harassing and sending threats to Kaiser and his family.

Full Text...

 

Freedom of Speech Is Under Assault in America: Book Review of The Silencing: How the Left Is Killing Free Speech, by Kirsten Power

by Johanna Markind  •  January 5, 2016 at 7:55 am

Besides being intrinsically interesting and well-written, Kirsten Powers' book, The Silencing, adds useful perspective to the struggle against Islamist suppression of speech about radical Islam. Powers notes the attempt to squelch discussion of Islam, but places it in a broader context.

Full Text...

 

Sixth Circuit Rejects Muslim 'Heckler's Veto' Against Christian Group
Proselytizing Christians have a right to demonstrate at Muslim festival.

by Johanna Markind  •  November 13, 2015  •  PJ Media

Christians around the world have faced persecution in recent years. While it is most severe in places like Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sudan, it occurs in other places as well.

In Dearborn, Michigan, for example.

Dearborn used to host an annual Arab International Festival. In 2010 and 2012, Christian missionaries were, respectively, arrested and threatened with sanctions while proselytizing festival attendees.

Full Text...

 

Free Speech Under Fire at UK University and Art Show

by Johanna Markind  •  September 29, 2015  •  American Thinker

Previously published under the name "Free speech loses to Islamists at UK universities."

Two events last week crystallized the grave danger facing freedom of speech in the United Kingdom.

Warwick U. Students' Union Censors Speaker Against Radical Islam, Then Caves

Full Text...

 

Quebec Law Would Stifle Criticism of Radical Islam

by Tarek Fatah  •  August 25, 2015  •  Toronto Sun

Originally published under the title "Quebec Law Would Stifle Free Speech."

While the rest of Canada is being force-fed the Duffy Senate "scandal," in Quebec a proposed law that will label any criticism of Islam or Islamism as "hate speech" is being quietly pushed through the National Assembly.

Bill 59 will permit Muslims to make complaints to the Quebec Human Rights Commission (QHRC) against anyone critiquing Islam or Islamism, triggering lawsuits for hate speech.

Full Text...

 

Follow-Up on the U.S. Supreme Court, Speech Regulation, and Islam

by Johanna Markind  •  August 17, 2015 at 3:29 pm

Back on June 23, I blogged about Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a Supreme Court decision issued last term. The case concerned a challenge to an ordinance that regulated outdoor signs based on the type of speech they conveyed. Writing for the majority, Justice Thomas wrote that the regulation was improperly content-based in violation of the First Amendment. "Innocent motives do not eliminate the danger of censorship presented by a facially content-based statute," he wrote.

Full Text...

 

Should Israel Criminalize Insulting Muslims?

by Daniel Pipes  •  July 28, 2015 at 2:20 pm

Originally published under the title, "A 'Pig' Incident in Jerusalem."

As most non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem can attest, groups of screaming female banshees accost them, yelling Allahu akbar and other Islamic slogans, making for a highly unpleasant experience. (Called the Murabitat, or the Steadfast, they are funded by an Islamist organization.)

On schedule, this recurred on July 23, when a Jewish group visited the holy area.

Worse, the banshees followed the group outside the Temple Mount and into a surrounding street, harassing and threatening the group.

Full Text...

 

Muslim Teacher Loses Claim School Violated His Free Speech Rights and Discriminated Against His Religion

by Johanna Markind  •  July 20, 2015 at 6:05 pm

On July 16, 2015, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a wrongful termination suit against the Columbus City Schools by a Muslim teacher claiming retaliation for some religiously-motivated comments and actions.  The suit was brought by Abdurahman Haji, an elder in the Somali community of Columbus, Ohio.  Haji was hired in November 2005, to teach English as a Second Language at a public school, and discharged in April 2008.

Briefly, Haji's practice was to leave school early every Friday in order to lead prayers at his mosque.  On his departure, he would not sign out from school.  Usually, he would return to school after services, but if they ran long he would not return.

Full Text...

 

The U.S. Supreme Court, Speech Regulation, and Islam

by Johanna Markind  •  June 23, 2015 at 4:36 pm

Last week, the United States Supreme Court decided two cases – Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Reed v. Town of Gilbert – dealing with free speech, which have the potential to impact the right to discuss Islam.

Full Text...

 

Good Taste Offered as Rationale for Suppressing Muhammad Cartoons

by Johanna Markind  •  June 5, 2015 at 11:33 am

"Boss" Tweed, head of the corrupt late-19th century leadership of New York City known as "Tammany Hall," is reputed to have had a particular aversion to cartoonist Thomas Nast. Why? Because Nast exposed Tweed's corruption in a pictorial form that was easily understood and effective – by political cartoons. "Stop them damn pictures. I don't care what the papers write about me," were Tweed's instructions to his minions.

Why do people express serious concepts in cartoons? Because they are effective in getting the message across. Some cartoons are in good taste, some in bad taste.

Full Text...

 

The Current Struggle for the Soul of Academia

by Johanna Markind  •  June 1, 2015 at 10:54 am

Recently, there has been an encouraging amount of attention paid to the issue of free speech on the college campus. Some of it specifically discusses speech about Islam or Islamism, but a lot doesn't. The refusal to discuss radical Islam is, unfortunately, not an isolated event but one facet of political correctness in academia. The heckler's veto that is so obvious in situations like the Charlie Hebdo massacre and American newspapers' refusal to print Muhammad cartoons is an extreme expression of a phenomenon all too common in American universities today, of speech being policed and 'trigger warnings' required because a reader or listener takes offense to it.

The people voicing concerns are not new to the issue, but the amount of focused attention they have paid to it in just the last few months is noteworthy. Here's a suggested 'reading list' on the issue:

Full Text...

 

Ninth Circuit Reverses Course in Garcia v. Google: YouTube Video 'Innocence of Muslims' Back in Business

by Johanna Markind  •  May 27, 2015 at 10:45 pm

On May 18, 2015, a federal appeals court reversed course from its earlier opinion suppressing Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's 14-minute YouTube video, 'Innocence of Muslims.'

The video, purportedly a trailer for a movie, was created by dubbing film shot under the name 'Desert Warrior' into a diatribe against Muhammad. Eventually, an Arabic version was posted on YouTube. After the September 11, 2012, attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, the Obama Administration blamed the assault on Muslim protests about this selfsame video, and asked YouTube to remove it.

Full Text...

 

YouTube Kowtows to Lawfare in Australia:
Billions for Tribute, But Not One Penny for Defense?

by Johanna Markind  •  May 21, 2015  •  American Thinker

Originally published under the title "Billions for Tribute, But Not One Penny for Defense?"

On May 18, 2015, YouTube – or really its owner, Google, won a major victory for free speech. A U.S. appeals court rejected an actress's attempt to prevent YouTube from showing a movie trailer critical of Muhammad that has been blamed for 'causing' riots in the Muslim world on September 11, 2012.

Sadly, when it comes to criticizing Islam outside the U.S., Google is much less brave. It appears to have capitulated to Islamist lawfare in Australia without firing a shot in defense.

Full Text...

 

145 American Writers Think Honoring Charlie Hebdo is 'Islamophobic'

by Phyllis Chesler  •  May 1, 2015  •  Breitbart

The PEN award to the survivors of theCharlie Hebdo massacre has drawn some very distinguished fire. On April 26, 2015, six PEN "table hosts," all highly regarded writers, publicly protested PEN's decision to give an award for "Freedom of Expression Courage" to these courageous survivors. This award, to be given on May 3rd, is separate from the literary prizes.

Full Text...

 

French Free Speech Victory

by Andrew Harrod  •  January 30, 2015  •  FrontPageMagazine

A French appeals court on December 18, 2014, overturned a hate speech conviction involving Christine Tasin's condemnation of Islam. Tasin's encouraging victory, won with Legal Project aid, demonstrates that not all threats to free discussion of Islam are violent like the subsequent Paris jihadist Charlie Hebdomassacre.

Full Text...

Geert Wilders Lauds Legal Project

"Last June, I was acquitted of all charges by an Amsterdam court. The Middle East Forum's Legal Project ... was always there to help, advise and assist ... The importance of the MEF's Legal Project in reclaiming free expression and political discourse ... cannot be overestimated."

Geert Wilders, September 29, 2011

Read the full text of Wilders' statement

© 2024 The Middle East Forum.