Europe is hurtling back to its barbaric days of prosecuting heresy.

First, it was Muhammad. You could not criticize Islam or insult Islam. It doesn’t matter if it’s true, if it offends the hair trigger sensibility of a Muslim or the Muslim community, the punishment is severe. Where Western law and Sharia (Islamic law) conflicted, the West gave way.  Read my book, Fatwa: Hunted in America.

Now, ironically, we have that same precept being applied to Christians citing their own biblical teachings. Unlike Islam, it’s not a prophet or in this case their savior, Jesus Christ, that is in need of such brutal protection. It’s homosexuality.

It bears noting the prosecution is selective. I’ve yet to see imams prosecuted for their position on homosexuality, or for their calls for genocide, for that matter.

For years I campaigned against these speech restrictions. We stood steadfast for free speech, going so far as to hold Muhammad art exhibit. It was not to provoke. It was to hold fast to our freedoms, our way of life. If you can’t criticize or draw Muhammad, then all of this, all of what has happened since was inevitable.

“The principle of free speech is not concerned with the content of a man’s speech, and does not protect only the expression of good ideas, but all ideas. If it were otherwise, who would determine which ideas are good and which have been? The government?” Ayn Rand, America’s greatest political philosopher, eloquently explained.

Freedom of speech is the foundation of a free society. Without it, a tyrant can wreak havoc unopposed, while his opponents are silenced. Putting up with being offended is essential in a pluralistic society in which people differ on basic truths. If a group will not bear being offended without resorting to violence, that group will rule unopposed while everyone else lives in fear, while other groups curtail their activities to appease the violent group. This results in the violent group being able to tyrannize the others.

NATO Member Country Prosecutors Double Down On Christian ‘Hate Speech’ Case

By: Lillian Tweten, Daily Wire, September 01, 2023:

The Finland Court of Appeals heard final arguments in prosecutors’ second attempt to sue two Christians for their beliefs following the country’s recent admission to the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to a press release from the International Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADFI).

Prosecutors had appealed the Helsinki District Court’s universal decision in April 2022 to acquit Finland Minister of the Interior Paivi Rasanen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of all criminal charges relating to their Christian views, according to the press release. The country was admitted to NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, becoming the 31st member of the international organization.

“The point isn’t whether it is true or not but that it is insulting,” the prosecution argued on Friday, according to ADFI. “You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal.”

The prosecution brought charges against Rasanen and Pohjola for publishing a pamphlet in 2004 on the Biblical definition of marriage. They also brought charges against Rasanen for a Twitter post with a screenshot of a Bible verse and comments she had made in a 2019 radio station debate about Christianity .

#kirkko on ilmoittanut olevansa #seta n #Pride2019 virallinen partneri. Miten kirkon oppiperusta, #raamattu sopii yhteen sen kanssa, että häpeä ja synti nostetaan ylpeyden aiheeksi? pic.twitter.com/cnjAQCrOc2

— Päivi Räsänen (@PaiviRasanen) June 17, 2019

The prosecution accused Rasanen and Pohjola of hate speech and alleged that their interpretation of the Bible was illegal, Christian Network for Europe News reported. The prosecution also alleged that Rasanen had incited discrimination by posting a Bible verse on Twitter.

“Everyone may believe anything he or she likes. But uttering discriminating speech is not protected by law,” Anu Mantila, the prosecutor in the case, said, according to CNE.

“Dragging an individual through a grueling criminal trial simply for expressing their religious beliefs is not a marker of democracy and ‘progress’,” Paul Coleman, the executive director of ADFI, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The vagueness of hate speech laws are not an error. . . These laws are vague on purpose so they can be deployed at will by those in power.”

NATO law prohibits all members from “discriminating” based on sexual orientation and encourages “allyship,” according to the NATO website.  The DOS announced in August 2023 that the U.S. would use foreign aid to enforce NATO’s stance on how other nations respond to “discrimination” against LGBTQ individuals, according to a press release from the White House.

Article posted with permission from Pamela Geller