Supreme Court: Insulting Islam is Not Insulting Muslims

Excerpt:

The Supreme Court yesterday produced an important ruling in principle in favour of freedom of speech. The highest court of the Netherlands acquitted a man of insulting Muslims although he dubbed Islam a tumour.

The Supreme Court quashed a ruling by an appeal court in Den Bosch. As had a district court earlier, the appeal court did find the man guilty. Yesterday's acquittal can have consequences for all future court cases on insulting followers of a faith or ideology, including the notorious case against MP Geert Wilders.

According to the country's highest court, people expressing themselves offensively about a religion are not automatically guilty of insulting its followers, even if the followers feel insulted. "The statement must unmistakeably refer to a certain group of people who differentiate themselves from others by their religion," ruled the Supreme Court.

Read the complete original version of this item...

Related Topics: Censorship, Free Speech, Legal receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free islamist watch mailing list

Note: The content of external articles does not necessarily reflect the views of Islamist Watch.