But under this small victory is something much more sinister: a new trick that makes censorship seem OK.
Geert Wilder's case was dismissed on a highly-technical "escape clause" in the law. The judge ruled that Wilders' remarks were directed at Islam (the religion), not at Muslims (the people). That meant his remarks didn't constitute hate speech. Apparently in The Netherlands you can hate a thing but not a person. It's disturbing that the case was thrown out on such a thin technical issue.
This is a small victory for free speech in a modern country where free speech shouldn't even be a question. I'm frankly shocked by this case. Is it really possible that free speech is disappearing in a modern democracy?
Apparently so. Consider this story from Denmark:
Lars Hedegaard, Islamic expert and president of the International Free Press Society, was found guilty of racism today by Denmark’s Eastern High Court. He was fined about $1,000. He will appeal.Got that? Telling the truth can be illegal.
The charges stemmed from what Hedegaard says were factual statements made about the higher-than-average incidence of family rape in the Muslim world.
But under Denmark's racism law, Article 266b, it doesn't matter if what you said was true. It only matters that a group was insulted.
European Muslims have discovered a very clever Orwellian trick. Instead of being for censorship,
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