>#Bristol University put my life at risk, says professor accused of Islamophobia
>__Steven Greer said Bristol University failed to stop a social media campaign against him__
>Fariha Karim Wednesday February 15 2023, 9.50pm GMT, The Times
>A human rights law professor who was cleared of Islamophobia has accused Bristol University of putting his life in danger to avoid being seen as anti-Muslim.
>Steven Greer, 66, who was at the university until his retirement last year, said that he has been forced to wear a disguise and carry a weapon for his own protection after undergraduates at Bristol University Law School complained that elements of his course were racist and discriminatory.
>He was cleared of all wrongdoing in a five-month inquiry by a senior academic at the university after a formal complaint by Bristol University Islamic Society (BriSoc) of Islamophobia in his teaching and other material. An independent lawyer also concluded that he had not been guilty of harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
>Greer said that he felt so threatened that he and his wife went into hiding. He carried a “sturdy” umbrella and screwdriver in case he was attacked, grew a long bushy beard and disguised himself in public with false glasses and a pulled-up hoodie to obscure his face. He said that “the real villain is the University of Bristol”.
>“The university of Bristol routinely disciplines students for cheating in assessments, but in my case, they declined to discipline them for putting my life at risk. That’s the irony. So that is unforgivable,” he said.
>Greer had been teaching a module about Islam, China and the Far East since 2006 as part of a course on human rights in law. The module had been praised by external examiners for its “rigorous and critical” examination of contemporary human rights issues.
>In October 2020, BriSoc made a formal complaint to the university alleging Islamophobia in his teaching. It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric” and that he had given a “bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia. The society also claimed that he had laughed at a passage from the Quran in a seminar.
>Despite an investigation which both parties had been asked to keep confidential, BriSoc made its complaint public through an online petition and social media campaign in February 2021.
>Greer, a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and of the Royal Society of Arts, and research director at the Oxford Institute for British Islam think tank, said that Bristol University could have disciplined the students at that stage, but failed to do so.
>“The thing I hold most against [the university] is that when BriSoc went public, the university failed to warn them if they did that they would be disciplined. They then went ahead with their social media campaign. I pleaded with the university to put a stop to it. And they declined. The university has the power to discipline students, and it refused,” he said.
>“It’s quite clear. The reason the university didn’t discipline them was because it preferred the risk of putting my life in danger to the risk of being thought anti-Muslim. That’s the long and short of it.”
>Greer, who was off sick with stress for about four months, also said that the university had chosen to investigate the complaint despite it having been lodged outside the time limit, and without having been raised internally first.
>“The students who brought the complaint — they completely bypassed . . . about half a dozen mechanisms by which students can raise a complaint [such as raising them with personal tutors, or heads of department]. They took it straight to the university, and the university just capitulated.”
>He said he had taught his module for 13 or 14 years and “nobody batted an eyelid about it. Nobody took any complaint”. It was retained during a curriculum review for 2019-20.
>He was first exonerated in July 2021 but told he was not allowed to state this publicly until an appeal by BriSoc had concluded. At that time his colleagues decided to take his module off the syllabus “precisely because they were afraid of further complaints”, he said.
>“So there I am in September 2021 not able to tell anybody I’ve been exonerated, my module has been taken off the curriculum. I suspected that the university’s refusal to allow me to tell anyone about this, coupled with the cancellation of the module, [was so that] they wouldn’t have needed to say anything about the results of the inquiry because it would have looked like I was guilty, even though I had been cleared.”
>He said people complained online and said he was “an appalling person, how dare I insult Islam. It was threatening conduct that was not necessarily explicit about anything I’d suffer”.
>He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.
>“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”
>Bristol University said: “The unit in question is still being taught but in a new format. This change is quite independent of the complaint raised and conforms with normal practice in the law school in allowing the development of new teaching material to match students’ current interests.
>“Ensuring that all members of our community can exercise their right to free speech has always been and remains at the heart of our mission. We encourage students to engage with, debate, analyse and critique ideas and theories of all kinds within our academic programmes. As a university we are bound to investigate formal complaints when received. This complaint was not upheld.”
>He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.
>
>“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”
Wut? I understand this guy must have been under quite a lot of stress and it doesn’t sound like the complaints against him were made in good faith but that statement is totally unhinged.
>he contacted the police after a woman in islamic dress crossed the street and asked him if he saw a stray cat.
Lol.
Yes this dude is definitely not islamophobic.
Yes Mr Officer, I do carry a machete on me at all times, but it’s only because the wokerati are after me!
It’s hilarious to me when religious people don’t know their own religion and get offended by those that do…
This is horrible.
The university did not enforce its charter. It did not follow its own processes. Instead, the used a policy of appeasement to extremists, in the hope that the problem goes away.
But now the extremists are stronger than ever.
Either we are a free society, and we are happy to defend our freedom, or we are not.
It’s not Islamophobic to tell people to stop harassing someone while the official investigation goes through its due process. Fair enough, a complaint has been made, that never excuses vigilante justice and students should have been reprimanded for every case of it. Frankly, it should be done retrospectively when possible to prove.
Tolerance breads intolerance. Its a tough line to walk
*He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”*
Sounds like islamophobia given a literal definition, no? You’re scared of someone in a hat. And the carrying a screwdriver around, the guy seems a bit unhinged.
Can’t really see the point or purpose of teaching what he was anyway nor that the outcome or not of a trial or hearing would have any bearing on the kind of people he believes were triggered in any case.
It’s like suggesting that you could explain to people that Salman Rushdie’s book wasn’t blasphemous. Well, no, you couldn’t – because the people that are going to attack him are not capable of understanding reason nor do they want an explanation that leads to that conclusion.
Thus I think this guy is making a big mistake publicising further the hullabaloo. If he wasn’t a target before he will be now. No amount of getting £9k a year off idiots is worth it. Teach computing or something. Just don’t say “Ada Lovelace? She was horrible…look at my next slide” or “Cobol is shit…here’s a picture of Grace Hopper”
Disgusting, pathetic response from the university.
Once again, just another establishment which continues to appease Islamists and screw over the victims.
The fact that the University has taken down the module just because a few students can’t handle the ugly truth about their religion, speaks volumes about the integrity and ethics of the uni.
Have the students drop the module if they’re so offended with the content. But don’t ruin an academic’s life because of cowardice.
See this is what happens when accusations are made and people start assuming guilt…. Something you see very frequently on this sub
>It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric”
That was an event that occured. Factual events can’t be prejudiced, an -ism, or a phobia. Mentioning apropos of nothing could be, but it seems related to the course he was teaching.
>“bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia
An example: *Saudi men have unilateral power in decision making and can thus divorce their wives without consent from a judge and without legal grounds. Women are unable to obtain a divorce without consent from both their husband and the court*
If you find reality to be Islamaphobic then maybe Islam is the problem?
The alternative seems to be putting on blinkers for any event or fact that casts Islam in a negative light, which is nothing short of revelling in ignorance.
>In October 2020, BriSoc made a formal complaint to the university alleging Islamophobia in his teaching. It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric” and that he had given a “bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia.
What a weird hill to die on. Surely, by arguing that being critical of these things is islamophobic, BriSoc is accepting that these things are a fundamental part of Islam that should not be criticized? You can’t simultaneously claim that your religion is peaceful and worthy of respect in a modern society while also refusing to allow condemnation of the violent acts that are still being committed in its name.
This is ridiculous. He doesn’t even give any reasons for being afraid other than the complaints about his course and a woman approaching him about a missing cat. Why exactly was he so scared?
He fears for his life because a woman in a headscarf asked him if he saw a missing cat? Is that not the exact definition of Islamo*phobia*
An incredibly large amount of money has been… er… put into ensuring Islam can be not criticised, both in the UK and Western Europe.
No more freedom of speech within the UK.
Guess what prophet mohammed says for those who critique islam. “You should give them back rubs and sweets”
It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric”
​
What? That’s Islamophobic rhetoric now really? mealy pointing out jahadi attacks is now Islamophobic rhetoric. WTF!
I hate to break it to this guy but the university almost certainly did not actually have a mechanism to discipline the students without putting the institution into deep shit.
This aged well.
> True. But if he was bullying, say, Muslim students, and challenging them to prove themselves not agents of IS, I don’t think his sacking would have been quite so protracted or controversial.
This thread & article is like a Times writer’s wet dream.
* In a university where students live
* a question of free speech
* surrounding an altercation between a mid 60s white man
* and young Muslims
Throw in a bit of hysteria and a bit of whistling past &/ obfuscation of exactly what it was that the professor is being accused of by the wicked free speech-stifling students who are… speaking freely about their experience in the class, let’s hurry past that bit too – and Bob’s your uncle, rage bait of the day.
As a society we are very tolerant of other cultures and religions. We have to come to terms with the reality that not all are as tolerant as we are. So we will have to make decision at some point as normal coexistence seems difficult. Difficult as it may be, we have to stand up for our beliefs customs and culture and not give in to a baying minority
I am an ex Muslim, and have been accused of Islamophobia myself a few times, for simply citing the information i attained to those Muslims or non Muslims, who know less than i do.
In Britain per se, extremism has grown uncontrolled and is endangering lives. A lot of non muslims are lied to with a sugar coated version of Islam, so they may convert. Once they do and they later find out more, the hidden small print emerges, of apostates being killed.
In many (although some states are islamic ones like saudi, iran etc, some are not islamic states, yet laws exist that will punish anyone who may insult islam) Muslim nations, often apostates or even those who merely question Islam, or reveal the well hidden facts of it are either ostracised, lynched or killed. As an ex Muslim, i have to hide my apostasy when around Muslims incase they pose a threat to my life (in pockets of London, parts of Birmingham and other hot spots) it is nearly impossible for one to reveal their apostate status, in Britain ffs.
By definition, islamophobia means that one has a fear of Islam or things pertaining to Islam. Considering i was once deceived by this religion, can i have a phobia of it? How can the ones most at risk of harm from something, be the ones that are in the wrong?
What is worse is, the majority of the things that they accuse people of being islamophobic over, is the widely accepted and known examples from the most prominent Islamic scholars. Reciting the exegeses of the Quran, hadiths etc, that modern or lay Muslims wish away today, is enough to be labelled this term, despite it being their doctrine.
A new concerning issue is that politically correct peoples of a liberal persuasion in the west, have swung the pendulum in favour of Muslim apologists. Now non Muslims, can accuse you of Islamophobia based on the watered down version ‘some’ revisionist Muslims claim, due to fears of offending or actual fear of harm, who knows.
I believe in freedom of speech, and to quote many who have said this: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”.
If we lose our right of freedom of speech, i worry our future might look like parts of the world, where prisons are not filled with murderers, rapists, thieves but instead journalists, philosophers, academics and normal people who disagree with a narrow minded and fragile dictatorial, tyrannical regime.
If i need to change how I live to appease your religion, then you and your religion can fuck off.
Your choice of religion should affect you and ONLY you. If me not wearing a certain piece of clothing offends you because YOUR religion says i should wear it, then get the fuck out of this country, because you don’t belong here.
23 comments
>#Bristol University put my life at risk, says professor accused of Islamophobia
>__Steven Greer said Bristol University failed to stop a social media campaign against him__
>Fariha Karim Wednesday February 15 2023, 9.50pm GMT, The Times
>A human rights law professor who was cleared of Islamophobia has accused Bristol University of putting his life in danger to avoid being seen as anti-Muslim.
>Steven Greer, 66, who was at the university until his retirement last year, said that he has been forced to wear a disguise and carry a weapon for his own protection after undergraduates at Bristol University Law School complained that elements of his course were racist and discriminatory.
>He was cleared of all wrongdoing in a five-month inquiry by a senior academic at the university after a formal complaint by Bristol University Islamic Society (BriSoc) of Islamophobia in his teaching and other material. An independent lawyer also concluded that he had not been guilty of harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
>Greer said that he felt so threatened that he and his wife went into hiding. He carried a “sturdy” umbrella and screwdriver in case he was attacked, grew a long bushy beard and disguised himself in public with false glasses and a pulled-up hoodie to obscure his face. He said that “the real villain is the University of Bristol”.
>“The university of Bristol routinely disciplines students for cheating in assessments, but in my case, they declined to discipline them for putting my life at risk. That’s the irony. So that is unforgivable,” he said.
>Greer had been teaching a module about Islam, China and the Far East since 2006 as part of a course on human rights in law. The module had been praised by external examiners for its “rigorous and critical” examination of contemporary human rights issues.
>In October 2020, BriSoc made a formal complaint to the university alleging Islamophobia in his teaching. It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric” and that he had given a “bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia. The society also claimed that he had laughed at a passage from the Quran in a seminar.
>Despite an investigation which both parties had been asked to keep confidential, BriSoc made its complaint public through an online petition and social media campaign in February 2021.
>Greer, a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and of the Royal Society of Arts, and research director at the Oxford Institute for British Islam think tank, said that Bristol University could have disciplined the students at that stage, but failed to do so.
>“The thing I hold most against [the university] is that when BriSoc went public, the university failed to warn them if they did that they would be disciplined. They then went ahead with their social media campaign. I pleaded with the university to put a stop to it. And they declined. The university has the power to discipline students, and it refused,” he said.
>“It’s quite clear. The reason the university didn’t discipline them was because it preferred the risk of putting my life in danger to the risk of being thought anti-Muslim. That’s the long and short of it.”
>Greer, who was off sick with stress for about four months, also said that the university had chosen to investigate the complaint despite it having been lodged outside the time limit, and without having been raised internally first.
>“The students who brought the complaint — they completely bypassed . . . about half a dozen mechanisms by which students can raise a complaint [such as raising them with personal tutors, or heads of department]. They took it straight to the university, and the university just capitulated.”
>He said he had taught his module for 13 or 14 years and “nobody batted an eyelid about it. Nobody took any complaint”. It was retained during a curriculum review for 2019-20.
>He was first exonerated in July 2021 but told he was not allowed to state this publicly until an appeal by BriSoc had concluded. At that time his colleagues decided to take his module off the syllabus “precisely because they were afraid of further complaints”, he said.
>“So there I am in September 2021 not able to tell anybody I’ve been exonerated, my module has been taken off the curriculum. I suspected that the university’s refusal to allow me to tell anyone about this, coupled with the cancellation of the module, [was so that] they wouldn’t have needed to say anything about the results of the inquiry because it would have looked like I was guilty, even though I had been cleared.”
>He said people complained online and said he was “an appalling person, how dare I insult Islam. It was threatening conduct that was not necessarily explicit about anything I’d suffer”.
>He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.
>“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”
>Bristol University said: “The unit in question is still being taught but in a new format. This change is quite independent of the complaint raised and conforms with normal practice in the law school in allowing the development of new teaching material to match students’ current interests.
>“Ensuring that all members of our community can exercise their right to free speech has always been and remains at the heart of our mission. We encourage students to engage with, debate, analyse and critique ideas and theories of all kinds within our academic programmes. As a university we are bound to investigate formal complaints when received. This complaint was not upheld.”
>He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.
>
>“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”
Wut? I understand this guy must have been under quite a lot of stress and it doesn’t sound like the complaints against him were made in good faith but that statement is totally unhinged.
>he contacted the police after a woman in islamic dress crossed the street and asked him if he saw a stray cat.
Lol.
Yes this dude is definitely not islamophobic.
Yes Mr Officer, I do carry a machete on me at all times, but it’s only because the wokerati are after me!
It’s hilarious to me when religious people don’t know their own religion and get offended by those that do…
This is horrible.
The university did not enforce its charter. It did not follow its own processes. Instead, the used a policy of appeasement to extremists, in the hope that the problem goes away.
But now the extremists are stronger than ever.
Either we are a free society, and we are happy to defend our freedom, or we are not.
It’s not Islamophobic to tell people to stop harassing someone while the official investigation goes through its due process. Fair enough, a complaint has been made, that never excuses vigilante justice and students should have been reprimanded for every case of it. Frankly, it should be done retrospectively when possible to prove.
Tolerance breads intolerance. Its a tough line to walk
*He contacted the police when a woman in Islamic dress approached him and asked if he had seen a stray cat on the day the TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a story about his case.“She crossed the street, and seemed to have been waiting for me. One interpretation is that it was a very bizarre coincidence,” he said. “But people in our neighbourhood, when cats go missing they don’t do that.”*
Sounds like islamophobia given a literal definition, no? You’re scared of someone in a hat. And the carrying a screwdriver around, the guy seems a bit unhinged.
Can’t really see the point or purpose of teaching what he was anyway nor that the outcome or not of a trial or hearing would have any bearing on the kind of people he believes were triggered in any case.
It’s like suggesting that you could explain to people that Salman Rushdie’s book wasn’t blasphemous. Well, no, you couldn’t – because the people that are going to attack him are not capable of understanding reason nor do they want an explanation that leads to that conclusion.
Thus I think this guy is making a big mistake publicising further the hullabaloo. If he wasn’t a target before he will be now. No amount of getting £9k a year off idiots is worth it. Teach computing or something. Just don’t say “Ada Lovelace? She was horrible…look at my next slide” or “Cobol is shit…here’s a picture of Grace Hopper”
Disgusting, pathetic response from the university.
Once again, just another establishment which continues to appease Islamists and screw over the victims.
The fact that the University has taken down the module just because a few students can’t handle the ugly truth about their religion, speaks volumes about the integrity and ethics of the uni.
Have the students drop the module if they’re so offended with the content. But don’t ruin an academic’s life because of cowardice.
See this is what happens when accusations are made and people start assuming guilt…. Something you see very frequently on this sub
>It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric”
That was an event that occured. Factual events can’t be prejudiced, an -ism, or a phobia. Mentioning apropos of nothing could be, but it seems related to the course he was teaching.
>“bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia
An example: *Saudi men have unilateral power in decision making and can thus divorce their wives without consent from a judge and without legal grounds. Women are unable to obtain a divorce without consent from both their husband and the court*
If you find reality to be Islamaphobic then maybe Islam is the problem?
The alternative seems to be putting on blinkers for any event or fact that casts Islam in a negative light, which is nothing short of revelling in ignorance.
>In October 2020, BriSoc made a formal complaint to the university alleging Islamophobia in his teaching. It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric” and that he had given a “bigoted and divisive” lecture on women and non-Muslims in Islamic states and the penalties handed out under sharia.
What a weird hill to die on. Surely, by arguing that being critical of these things is islamophobic, BriSoc is accepting that these things are a fundamental part of Islam that should not be criticized? You can’t simultaneously claim that your religion is peaceful and worthy of respect in a modern society while also refusing to allow condemnation of the violent acts that are still being committed in its name.
This is ridiculous. He doesn’t even give any reasons for being afraid other than the complaints about his course and a woman approaching him about a missing cat. Why exactly was he so scared?
He fears for his life because a woman in a headscarf asked him if he saw a missing cat? Is that not the exact definition of Islamo*phobia*
An incredibly large amount of money has been… er… put into ensuring Islam can be not criticised, both in the UK and Western Europe.
No more freedom of speech within the UK.
Guess what prophet mohammed says for those who critique islam. “You should give them back rubs and sweets”
It claimed that a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo was “Islamophobic rhetoric”
​
What? That’s Islamophobic rhetoric now really? mealy pointing out jahadi attacks is now Islamophobic rhetoric. WTF!
I hate to break it to this guy but the university almost certainly did not actually have a mechanism to discipline the students without putting the institution into deep shit.
This aged well.
> True. But if he was bullying, say, Muslim students, and challenging them to prove themselves not agents of IS, I don’t think his sacking would have been quite so protracted or controversial.
From the sacking of David Miller at the same university last year. https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/pz7fs1/comment/hezlg1h/?context=1
This thread & article is like a Times writer’s wet dream.
* In a university where students live
* a question of free speech
* surrounding an altercation between a mid 60s white man
* and young Muslims
Throw in a bit of hysteria and a bit of whistling past &/ obfuscation of exactly what it was that the professor is being accused of by the wicked free speech-stifling students who are… speaking freely about their experience in the class, let’s hurry past that bit too – and Bob’s your uncle, rage bait of the day.
As a society we are very tolerant of other cultures and religions. We have to come to terms with the reality that not all are as tolerant as we are. So we will have to make decision at some point as normal coexistence seems difficult. Difficult as it may be, we have to stand up for our beliefs customs and culture and not give in to a baying minority
I am an ex Muslim, and have been accused of Islamophobia myself a few times, for simply citing the information i attained to those Muslims or non Muslims, who know less than i do.
In Britain per se, extremism has grown uncontrolled and is endangering lives. A lot of non muslims are lied to with a sugar coated version of Islam, so they may convert. Once they do and they later find out more, the hidden small print emerges, of apostates being killed.
In many (although some states are islamic ones like saudi, iran etc, some are not islamic states, yet laws exist that will punish anyone who may insult islam) Muslim nations, often apostates or even those who merely question Islam, or reveal the well hidden facts of it are either ostracised, lynched or killed. As an ex Muslim, i have to hide my apostasy when around Muslims incase they pose a threat to my life (in pockets of London, parts of Birmingham and other hot spots) it is nearly impossible for one to reveal their apostate status, in Britain ffs.
By definition, islamophobia means that one has a fear of Islam or things pertaining to Islam. Considering i was once deceived by this religion, can i have a phobia of it? How can the ones most at risk of harm from something, be the ones that are in the wrong?
What is worse is, the majority of the things that they accuse people of being islamophobic over, is the widely accepted and known examples from the most prominent Islamic scholars. Reciting the exegeses of the Quran, hadiths etc, that modern or lay Muslims wish away today, is enough to be labelled this term, despite it being their doctrine.
A new concerning issue is that politically correct peoples of a liberal persuasion in the west, have swung the pendulum in favour of Muslim apologists. Now non Muslims, can accuse you of Islamophobia based on the watered down version ‘some’ revisionist Muslims claim, due to fears of offending or actual fear of harm, who knows.
I believe in freedom of speech, and to quote many who have said this: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”.
If we lose our right of freedom of speech, i worry our future might look like parts of the world, where prisons are not filled with murderers, rapists, thieves but instead journalists, philosophers, academics and normal people who disagree with a narrow minded and fragile dictatorial, tyrannical regime.
If i need to change how I live to appease your religion, then you and your religion can fuck off.
Your choice of religion should affect you and ONLY you. If me not wearing a certain piece of clothing offends you because YOUR religion says i should wear it, then get the fuck out of this country, because you don’t belong here.