One of the many downsides to socialism is that freedom of speech and thought is inevitably restricted, usually under the guise of either protecting minority rights or shielding citizens from “controversial” viewpoints. This occurs because the natural progression of socialism is to shift responsibility form the individual to the state. Examples of this phenomenon can be found in almost every socialist society. For instance, Canada is expected to approve legislation whereby it will outlaw public criticism of homosexuality. And in Sweden just last year, the government censoredan Oprah program because it showed bias towards the removal of Saddam Hussein attack by providing more airtime to those who supported military action against Iraq. This type of political and social censorship contradicts the tenants of a free and democratic society which prides itself on having a open debates free from government intervention. In certain cases, it can even be dangerous.

Now enter France. As reported by news wire service AFP, former French actress Brigitte Bardot was fined $6,000 for writing a book in which she voiced her disgust with France’s tolerance of Islam. Resulting from a lawsuit brought forth by two civil rights groups, the Paris court found that Ms. Bardot provoked racial hatred by expressing “right-wing and xenophobic views.” One of the more interesting aspects of the wire report was the following:

In its verdict, the court ruled that Bardot had deliberately tried to draw a link between Islam and terrorism by mentioning the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States in a chapter on a Muslim holiday celebrated in France and elsewhere.

The truth is that there is no debating whether or not Islam had a role in the September 11th attacks, it did. Anyone with a remedial understanding of geopolitics knows this to be true. But in France, where the Muslim population is estimated at 6 million out of a total population of 60 million (and increasing rapidly we might add), any rhetoric that could be seen as criticizing or attacking Islam will be forbidden, even if it is true. So in the interest of “keeping the peace” between the Muslim minority and the secular majority, the French government has decided that speech which criticizes Islam and/or France’s overt tolerance of the religion is racist and will not be permitted.

AFP also states that one of the most incriminating sections of Ms. Bardot’s book was a passage that stated the following:

“I am against the Islamisation of France! This obligatory allegiance, this forced submission disgusts me…. Our ancestors, the elderly, our grandfathers, our fathers have for centuries given their lives to push out successive invaders.”

That the above comments are considered controversial illustrates perfectly how rampant political correctness and a policy of multiculturalism can wreck debate in a country. France’s Muslim population is growing rapidly due to high birth rates, increased immigration from North Africa, and a declining birth rate among the general population. Since North African Muslims assimilate poorly into French society owing to deficient immigration policies, they are becoming increasingly disenfranchised with French society. The result is that young Muslim men experience high rates of unemployment, commonly resort to the life of criminals and are becoming increasingly radicalized in their religious views, making them ripe for recruitment by Islamofascist organizations.

Under normal circumstances, the changing cultural demographics of a population should not cause much concern. After all, the assimilation of values and beliefs from other cultures is what keep domestic cultures fresh and viable. However, those who are worried about an increased Muslim population have valid concerns. Muslim immigrants from Africa or the Middle East by and large desire Sharia law, which is law based on strict interpretations of the Koran. Sharia law makes no provision for non-Muslims to live as equals to Muslims and among other things, requires women to be subordinate to men. A common punishment under Sharia law is death by stoning. As featured earlier in the week on GPR, Canada is currently discussing allowing their growing Muslim population to use Sharia law for settling disputes.

In a time before political correctness was the norm, Ms. Bardot would be guilty of nothing more than stating an opinion on an important topic. Now she is a criminal. That France, and all of Europe have a looming demographic problem with their growing and radicalized Muslim populations are obvious and real, for the statistics do not lie. Between 1989 and 1998, the Muslim population increased 143% and in Holland, 50% of the under 18 population will be Muslim by 2020. Unfortunately, European governments rather than discuss the situation, choose to ignore it and in some cases, even punish those who dare to discuss it.

Posted by GPR at June 11, 2004 11:50 AM | eMail this entry