May 4, 2013

Silencing Speech on Islam

By Andrew E. Harrod
Bavaria's Interior Ministry announced April 12, 2013, that the provincial Office of Constitutional Protection (Verfassungsschutz) will monitor local chapters of the website Politically Incorrect (PI) and the small conservative Freedom Party (Die Freiheit). As reported in the media, Bavaria is the first province in Germany to take this step, an important German milestone in ostracizing criticism and/or condemnation of Islam. As the ministry website explains, the Federal Republic of Germany is a "militant democracy [wehrhafteDemokratie]." The Verfassungsschutz hereby functions as an "early warning system" against threats to a free society. Verfassungsschutz offices at the federal and provincial levels "observe anti-constitutional efforts" (including with secret surveillance) across the political spectrum and report to authorities and the public. The press release announcing the decision stated that a "hostility to Islam had developed outside of rightwing extremism that was significant...(Read Full Article)