An Assault on Free Speech at the LSE

October 2013

That is what free speech is all about — you have to accept you are going to be offended and have your feelings hurt. That's life I'm afraid.

Islam should not be protected from criticism, just as any other religion or ideology should not. Indeed, given the murder and mayhem currently being carried out in the name of Islam (rightly or wrongly) it is even more important that this religion be subject to scrutiny at the current time.

The word "Islamophobia" did not even exist a few decades ago and I suspect it is no coincidence that its introduction to the language coincided with the global rise of a brutal form of political Islam. Islamists and their many left-wing allies have elevated this word to a form of racism in a deliberate attempt to sanitise it — thus having a profound effect on the right to free speech, to the detriment of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Mr Glyn Rhys can continue to deny that the sharia dictat that Islam may not be criticised is having no effect on non-Muslims if he wishes, but the evidence is very clear. I have been threatened with violence, receive regular hate mail, and have been labelled a racist on numerous occasions. Secular and atheist students have been intimidated and bullied, as have many others who have dared to speak out — including, of course, Muslims. While remains the case, and I have no doubt it will, Mr Rhys's claim will remain as dishonest as the word Islamophobia itself.

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Tags:

Education

Freedom of Expression

Islam

Islamophobia

London School of Economics

Secularism

Sharia

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Delta Mike

January 4th, 2014
4:01 PM

"Islamophobia" is in essence anyone who resists the Islamization of the host society. The Muslims whine about "discrimination" yet butcher Christians and Jews, women and non-believers and their western apologists maintain a willful blindness. Hypocrisy!

mcrayven

December 1st, 2013
7:12 PM

I hope someone will eventually wake up. I think we will have to wait until Muslims will feel to confident and demand to much. That is the only hope someone will wake up.

Anonymous2

November 5th, 2013
6:11 PM

The distressing thing about the word "Islamophobia," or its cousin "Homophobia" is the etymology. Do these people know what 'phobia' means? Whether you are frightened of Islam or of the homosexual lobby, bullying and threats are unlikely to reassure you. Or convince you.

Anonymous

October 17th, 2013
1:10 PM

Unbearably depressing. The citadels of free enquiry that our universities are supposed to be are a distant memory. It's actually in unis where the pernicious multiculturalism (all cultures/religions/values are equally good - except for the Wests' of course - we're imperialistic oppressors) and relativism is most deeply entrenched. LSE is the world in small. These students are our future political and academic leaders (shudder). If you're indoctrinated with this nonsense, it will obviously affect you. Without a clear philosophical defence of free speech and Wester Enlightenment values - we're stuffed. We're stuffed as a country, and wider, as a culture. Look to the future and you'll see Eurabia.

John Riley

October 16th, 2013
11:10 AM

I sympathise with much of what this article says about Islamophobia etc. However, let's not use valid criticism of this as a way of defending these LSE students and their tee-shirts. The Jesus & Mo comic strip deliberately attempts to mock and offend the beliefs and feelings of religious people. By extension, those wearing the tee-shirts could reasonably be perceived as attempting to do the same thing. Yes, freedom of speech may mean that people are offended. But we shouldn't think that freedom of speech necessarily extends to having to tolerate boorish behaviour and rudeness. And this is what is also at stake even if it is mixed up with politically correct pandering to Islam. I don't see why we need accept a crass society just because we also object to the islamification of society. Therefore, on balance, well done the LSE.

TonyR

October 10th, 2013
6:10 PM

There is no 'Islamophobia'. The term is mock-analytical gibberish that seeks to disguise reflexive, sectarian dogmatism through a form of language that imitates the sound and appearance of empirical, scientific terminology.

Slartibartfarst

October 10th, 2013
1:10 AM

Interesting, perhaps worrying, to read of the LSE's loss of freedom of speech and the imposition of speech/action rules aligned to the ancient religio-political ideology of Islamism, but not too surprising really. I mean, you only need to look at what other, already-established as prime, religio-political ideology in the LSE supports it. What/which religio-political ideology might that be? Hmm...I wonder. Some people might describe it as "Greenie-socialist-Marxist-fascism", but I couldn't possibly comment. These people might further suggest that this "Greenie-socialist-Marxist-fascism" had hijacked the student union, if not the administration and faculty as well, but again, I couldn't possibly comment.

Max

October 8th, 2013
6:10 PM

'Glyn Rhys' is clearly ill-informed — over half the Sharia corpus concerns non-muslims (infidels: what to do with them, what they are allowed to do, and how muslims should behave towards them). And trotting out that trope - a form of racism. Strange isn't it that no one seems to have anything like the same problem with Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Taoists, Parsees and other religions that could be associated with other ethnicities. Islam always plays the victim card, though invariably it is the victimiser. But that is the standard defence when someone does not have the historical facts, the intellectual argument, the moral integrity, the philosophical rigour, and the emotional maturity, cry foul, accuse your debater of being a 'meanie' and say your feelings are hurt. The great attraction of Islam is that it gives its adherents authorisation: to condemn, bully, hate and lie without having to take personal responsibility for those actions; to go through some little behaviours and tick the boxes to qualify as a 'good' muslim; to bury yourself in spiritual darkness; and all the while to feel superior about it. What utter hubris.

Observer of the Scene

October 8th, 2013
9:10 AM

1) There's no free speech in Muslim countries, but, so one hears, a fair bit of corruption, misogyny and violence. 2) Britain has allowed large numbers of Muslims to settle here. 3) Muslims are now destroying free speech and indulging in a fair bit of corruption, misogyny and violence. Whoever could have foreseen #3? Whoever could have guessed the mass immigration from third world nations like Pakistan, Somalia and Nigeria might cause a few problems in a first-world nation like Britain?

Steven Buckley

October 7th, 2013
10:10 PM

Son "Islamophobia" is defined as "a form of racism expressed through the hatred or fear of Islam, Muslims, or Islamic culture, and the stereotyping, demonisation or harassment of Muslims, including but not limited to portraying Muslims as barbarians or terrorists, or attacking the Koran as a manual of hatred". If "Islamophobia" is a fear of Islam, how is it that people who are labelled "Islamophobes" are the ones standing against political Islam? Maybe our understanding of human psychology has suddenly reversed in the last few years, but I always thought people who feared something did everything they could to avoid it. Yet right-wing "Islamophobes" like Douglas Murray and Robert Spencer clearly have no fear of Islam, since they clearly quite enjoy debating it in public! In short, "Islamophobia" is the joke-word of this century (so far). I have a very simple suggestion for Ms.Waters. According to a recent Guardian poll,70% of Brits have a "negative view" of Islam. Another recent poll showed 25% of Brits "don't trust muslims". Therefore the majority of Brits are indeed "Islamophobes". So why doesn't someone start printing T-shirts with the slogan "Proud to be an Islamophobe". They will probably sell like hot-cakes and consign this word to the dustbin of history, where it belongs.

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