It's Not Unusual to Be Offended by Anyone...

Published on February 8, 2005

Death-threat recipient and author, Salman Rushdie, comes out strongly against Tony Blair’s proposed ban on inciting religious hatred, and not just for the reasons one might think. For one, Rushdie begins, because it will make England more like the American senator he met who despised Osama bin Laden first and foremost for referring to Americans […]

Death-threat recipient and author, Salman Rushdie, comes out strongly against Tony Blair’s proposed ban on inciting religious hatred, and not just for the reasons one might think. For one, Rushdie begins, because it will make England more like the American senator he met who despised Osama bin Laden first and foremost for referring to Americans as Godless. More importantly though, because the battle for the Enlightenment, and with it, free thought and speech, “is about to be un-won.” Offensive speech and ideas, writes Rushdie, come with the free thought package — and incidentally, can be found en masse in the religious section of any bookstore where anyone can learn about all the different types of hell they’re damned to…

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