Totten Gives Us The Big Picture

For John, BLUF:  Islamists do try to intimidate our citizens, here in the US, and we should all be troubled.

Michael J Totten writes about "The Terrorists’ Veto" in City Journal.  Here is a key paragraph from the article:

Six months ago in the New Republic, Berman reviewed a book by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea called Silenced:  How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide.  It makes for sobering reading.  Islamist murder and intimidation campaigns against apostates and blasphemers are so widespread and common nowadays that the authors managed to write 448 pages about them and only cover 20 countries.  Religious minorities are the principal victims, but so are liberals, free-thinkers, and humanists from every religious community.  “Our survey,” they write, “shows that in Muslim-majority countries and areas, restrictions on freedom of religion and expression, based on prohibitions of blasphemy, apostasy, and ‘insulting Islam,’ are pervasive, thwart freedom, and cause suffering to millions of people.”

Yes, it CAN happen here.  Michael Totten cites the case of Seattle Weekly cartoonist Molly Norris.  Back in 2010 the FBI put her into the Witness Protection Program, following her infamous "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoon.

This is about our freedom and our way of life and our way of governing ourselves.  Give in to the threats and we will live in fear or more.

Regards  —  Cliff

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