This Fickle Freedom

I was a refugee claimant in 2006. I had asked Canada for protection partly because a lot of the material posted on my blog would be considered offensive by Muslims in Pakistan -- my birth-country. Furthermore, the Pakistani state would have persecuted me for my opinion of Muhammad.

I wanted the liberty to say, write and think whatever I wanted on the topic of Islam. I wanted the dignity of freedom.

One won't find that in Alberta, Canada in 2008. There, in an Orwellian court, a publisher was brought forth for the terrible act of printing cartoons. The fact that Ezra Levant even has to appear in the clownish court is a win for the Islamists: Saudi Arabia is, was, and for some time will remain, a sharia-infested hell but in a tiny corner of the liberal West, because of a Saudi goon, a publisher was grilled about his "intent" behind showcasing some drawings.

In a saner world Saudi Arabia would be furiously trying to emulate Canada, not the other way around.

The West is torn apart rhetorically everywhere but Islam is outside the bounds of criticism in Muslim-majority nations. Now, after this thuggery by a "human rights" commission, every author, journalist and publisher in the West will ask, "Is it worth my time, energy and money to utter something that might be considered offensive by a Muslim?"

Many will choose the dishonorable, easy route.

To some this incident might seem inconsequential. It isn't. This is another front in our war. I wouldn't call it the clash of civilizations since the other side doesn't have a civilization to speak of. It's Western Civilization vs. Barbarity cloaked in a religious garb. Every single freedom we hold dear, they wish to crush. They're already assaulting the most essential of all liberties: Free speech.

What will you do?

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In what can seem like a lone battle, there is nothing more profoundly moving than to receive the support of freedom-loving peoples.

I'm truly heartened by the moral support that I have received on the blogosphere, in my own blog's comments, via e-mail and even on the Facebook support group. I promise I will continue to fight this battle to the end, even if that means appealling it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Go to the blog of Ezra Levant. There you can make a donation.

I donated $104.