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September 30, 2006
Criticism of Islam Forces Teacher into Hiding
French teacher Robert Redeker, 52, wrote in the daily Le Figaro 10 days ago that Muhammad was "a merciless warlord, a looter, a mass-murderer of Jews and a polygamist," and called the Koran "a book of incredible violence."
"Jesus is a master of love; Muhammad is a master of hatred," Mr. Redeker wrote, adding, "Whereas Judaism and Christianity are religions whose rites forsake violence and remove its legitimacy, Islam is a religion that, in its very sacred text, as much as in some of its everyday rites, exalts violence and hatred. Hatred and violence dwell in the very book that educates any Muslim, the Koran."
Predictably, he is now the target of violence and death threats by those he criticized. The Times reports:
Immediately afterward, Mr. Redeker, who teaches in a public high school near Toulouse and is the author of several books on philosophy, began to receive death threats by telephone, e-mail and through the online Islamist Web site known as Al Hesbah, a password-protected forum with ties to Al Qaeda. The forum published photos of him and what it said was his home address, directions to his home and his cellphone number, according to the SITE Institute, which tracks violent Islamist groups.The threats include statements such as:
- You will never feel secure on this earth. One billion, three hundred thousand Muslims are ready to kill you
- It is impossible that this day pass without the lions of France punishing him.
- May God send some lion to cut his head.
Violence in response to verbal or written attacks has always been a sign of intellectual weakness, corresponding to a bankruptcy in one's belief system. For those who assert that Redeker falsely characterizes Islam as violent, there is no greater weapon than the truth. Conversely, there does not exist a stronger way to acquiesce than to live out your critic's assessment.
The American Thinker publishes this letter to Redeker's friend and philosopherAndre Glucksmann:
Dear André,Also, see Michelle Malkin's prior report.I am now in a catastrophic personal situation. Many very precise death threats have been addressed to me, and I was condemned to death by associates of Al-Qaïda. The (French security services) have helped somewhat, but... I no longer have a right to my own home. On the websites condemning me to death there is a map showing how to get to my house to kill me, my photo, the places where I work, the telephone numbers, and the death sentence. But at the same time the authorities do not provide me a place, I am obliged to wander, two evenings here, two evenings there... I am under permanent police protection. I must cancel all my planned conferences. And the authorities make me move on. I am a displaced person. It all leads to a lunatic financial situation, I have to pay all the expenses including rental for a month or two in distant places, moving costs, notary expenses, etc. ... It is quite sad. I exercised a constitutional law (to free speech), and I am punished for it, even on the territory of the Republic. This business is also an attack against national sovereignty: foreign laws, decided by criminal fanatics, punish me to for exercising a French constitutional right, and I am suffering great damage even in France.
In friendship,
Robert Redeker
Update: Here's another Redeker quote:
"There is a very clear map of how to get to my home, with the words: 'This pig must have his head cut off'," he said.
Posted by tim at September 30, 2006 2:14 PM
