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Hitchens: Stop Fearing (and Coddling) Islam

'Threat of violence' behind Muslims' demand for religious respect

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 31, 2007 10:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – Unflappable contrarian Christopher Hitchens asks why he's accused of "insulting 1.5 billion Muslims" whenever he challenges their faith in public. Arguing that no other group takes such umbrage when its empirical beliefs are questioned, the militant secularist concludes that the appeal to Muslims' feelings has an "unmistakable note of menace" behind it.

Hitchens invokes the case of a New York City college student arrested and charged with a hate crime for flushing a Quran down the toilet. The gesture may be vulgar, but "if I choose to spit on a copy of the writings of Ayn Rand or Karl Marx or James Joyce," he writes, "that is entirely my business." It's only the fear of its adherents, Hitchens claims, that makes the Muslim holy book special.

A Muslim protestor shouts slogans against author Salman Rushdie, seen in poster in background, during a protest in Jammu, India, Friday, June 22, 2007. Most shops, offices and schools were closed Friday in India's Muslim-majority Kashmir region to protest Britain awarding a knighthood to Rushdie, who has been accused of...
A Muslim protestor shouts slogans against author Salman Rushdie, seen in poster in background, during a protest in Jammu, India, Friday, June 22, 2007. Most shops, offices and schools were closed Friday...   (Associated Press)
Thousands of supporters of a government allied party Mutahida Qami Movement or United National Moment take part a rally in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, April 15, 2007.  About 100,000 people rallied in Pakistan's largest city Sunday against a radical Islamic mosque and seminary that launched a Taliban-style anti-vice campaign...
Thousands of supporters of a government allied party Mutahida Qami Movement or United National Moment take part a rally in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, April 15, 2007. About 100,000 people rallied in...   (Associated Press)
Parisian Muslim women protest against the publication of caricatures of Muhammad in a Dutch newspaper, in this February 11, 2006 photo. The banner, translated, reads After having forbade the veil, after raping our Sisters, after attacking our Brothers, you insult the Prophet (peace be upon him). Stop the provacation.
Parisian Muslim women protest against the publication of caricatures of Muhammad in a Dutch newspaper, in this February 11, 2006 photo. The banner, translated, reads "After having forbade the veil, after...   (Wikimedia Commons)
A veiled Iranian woman holds Muslims' holy book the Quran during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 15, 2007 condemning Wednesday's attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra in Iraq. On Wednesday, suspected al-Qaida bombers blew the minarets off a sacred Shiite shrine in Samara, the second in less...
A veiled Iranian woman holds Muslims' holy book the Quran during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 15, 2007 condemning Wednesday's attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra in Iraq. On Wednesday,...   (Associated Press)
Muslim protestors hold posters of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, half seen left bottom, and U.S. President George W. Bush, right, before burning them, as they shout slogans against author Salman Rushdie, seen in poster in background, during a protest in Jammu, India, Friday, June 22, 2007. Most shops,...
Muslim protestors hold posters of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, half seen left bottom, and U.S. President George W. Bush, right, before burning them, as they shout slogans against author Salman Rushdie,...   (Associated Press)
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Radical Muslims Protest at Westminster Cathedral   (mlbalan74 (YouTube))

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