Muslims Do Not Believe in Free Speech Says Cleric

A Muslim cleric says that Muslims do not believe in free speech or any freedom of expression because all of their speech and expression is guided by Allah. Writing an op-ed for USA Today, Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary made it clear that since Muslims do not believe in free speech, it is not acceptable for anyone to criticize Islam or the prophet Mohammed. He went on to suggest that the murders of 12 people yesterday at the satirical weekly publication in Paris, Charlie Hebdo, were justified and asked why France did not stop the paper from insulting his faith.

Choudary seems to indicate that all people must follow Sharia law, and that Sharia law dictates: “Whoever insults a Prophet kill him.” He then suggests that since the law did not provide for capital punishment for the satirists, the killers simply took the law “into their own hands” as dictated by their religion.

Choudary goes on to pose the question “Why in this case did the French government allow the magazine Charlie Hebdo to continue to provoke Muslims, thereby placing the sanctity of its citizens at risk?”

Reaction to the opinion piece has been overwhelmingly negative, with hundreds of comments from social media users condemning the author and his message. Many have pointed out the irony in someone saying that free speech should not be allowed while in the same article condoning the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and calling for Sharia law to be imposed upon non-Muslims.

Charlie Hebdo has announced today that the publication will actually go in the exact opposite direction Choudary calls for. The staff of the weekly magazine will print one million copies of their next edition.

France is a democracy with free expression and free speech laws similar to those of the United States, however, there are more limitations in France due to numerous pieces of anti hate-speech legislation. Satire, such as in the case of Charlie Hebdo, is protected in France under the freedom of speech laws there.

Earlier today, ISIS came out in support of the terrorist attacks on the magazine, but stopped short of saying their organization was involved in the killings. ISIS and Choudary share in common the fact that they are “radical” Muslims. Thus far, there has been no counterpoint published disputing the fact that Muslims do not believe in free speech. It is unclear whether USA today will seek out such an opinion or let Choudary speak for the whole Muslim community.

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