Next round of Brigitte Bardot vs. Muslims.
No, Bardot's animosity has nothing to do with, say, a planned Algerian-made sex melodrama called And Allah Created Woman. Bardot, like millions of others in France and elsewhere, apparently just doesn't like Muslims, period.
She's now on trial for the fifth time since the mid-1990s for "inciting racial hatred" due to recent controversial remarks she made about Islam and its followers, five million of whom live in France. (Free speech laws in France are clearly less encompassing than in some other countries.) French anti-racist groups filed a complaint following comments Bardot made about the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, in which a sheep is usually sacrificed, in a letter to right-wing French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The letter, in which she wrote she was "fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts," was later published by her foundation.
Prosecutors asked that the Paris court hand the 73-year-old actress a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euro (approx. US$23,000).
Bardot did not attend the trial claiming illness. A verdict is expected in several weeks.
Brigitte Bardot, by the way, is not just an anti-Muslim bigot. She has also attacked gays, immigrants, and the unemployed. But not all is lost. She is supposed to love animals — though she can't blame this on France's Muslims.
You totally misread my piece.
My point is that there are millions of anti-Muslim *bigots* out there. Just like there are millions of anti-Jewish bigots, anti-Hindu bigots, anti-gay bigots, anti-this, anti-that bigots. I don't think one needs a book of statistics to know that's the case. Tribalism still rules everywhere, and "anti-other" has always been a popular stance among tribal groups of every stripe.
As for the meaning of free speech …
Well, there were people who felt insulted by "The Da Vinci Code." Should that be banned? There were people who felt insulted by "Brokeback Mountain." Should that be banned? There are people who felt insulted by "The Satanic Verses." Should that be banned? There are people who felt insulted by "Song of the South." Should that be banned?
If we are going to ban or fine everyone and everything who dares to say, write, produce, create something "insulting" to some group or other, just about nothing will be allowed.
Interesting how this article is soooo not biased against muslims. Funny how th eauthor had to add in 'millions of others' also dislike muslims. On whose statistics?
Could it be that they are Jewish/Christian, that they may not like muslims…at the end of the day who cares? 60 million Germans didn't like Jews in WW2, probably still don't….
Like the dig at French fee speech laws not protecting Bardot….
Its been said before so I'll say it again:
FREE SPEECH DOES NOT MEAN FREE INSULTS!
Rubbish article, its neautrality must be questioned.