Free Godless And Free by Pat Condell

insult. And our politicians have only got themselves to blame for that, because what they need to realise is that we in Europe reject sharia totally – not because it’s different, but because it’s barbaric.
    We once also employed mutilation and gruesome death in the name of religious justice. We called it the Inquisition. But then we came to our senses. Dare I say it, we became more civilised.
    And before somebody reminds me that Islam preserved ancient scientific knowledge when Europe was still going through the Dark Ages, yes, that’s very commendable, but you get the impression that Islam wouldn’t do that now, because modern Islam, if you’ll pardon the expression, seems to be more about bulldozing ancient statues than preserving ancient texts, apart from its own ancient text, of course.
    And the results of that are there for all to see in any country where Islam has control; notably in the leading Sunni state, Saudi Arabia, and the leading Shia state, Iran. Both barbaric regimes with brutal Iron Age values. And we don’t want that in Europe any more.
    I’m sorry to be so racist and Islamophobic and everything, but we’ve seen how every concession to Islam is the thin end of an even bigger wedge, and we don’t want religious police patrolling our streets, not anywhere, for anyone. We don’t want legalised rape, amputations, stoning, beheading, or any of the other niceties of Islamic jurisprudence, where a man’s word is worth twice that of a woman, as long as he doesn’t let on that he’s secretly gay, of course. That would be a fly in the ointment. And what a dilemma for the judge. He wouldn’t know who to stone to death first.
    What I’d like to know from our European politicians if they can spare a couple of seconds to step down off the gravy train, is when will it be time to stop showing respect for Islam? Will it be when they take away your wine and your beer because they disapprove of it, would that do it for you? Or perhaps when your wife is beaten up for showing her face in public? Or maybe you’ll wait until your daughter is raped and then punished for it. Would you show less respect then, or would you continue to be culturally sensitive and suck it up like you’re sucking it up now?
    Because, if that’s the case, then my advice to the future people of Europe is: Don’t be a woman. And don’t even think about being gay.
    I wonder how long it will be before the first European is actually stoned to death for adultery. If that catches on there’ll be hardly anyone left in France.
    Although that’s not strictly true, is it, because according to current birthrate projections, France will be a majority Muslim country anyway in about fifty years. But something tells me that nobody will be breaking out any champagne.
    Our friends in America have their critics here in Europe, as we know, but I get a lot of e-mails from Americans who think that Europeans are spineless, and I think they’re right.
    Yes, we confronted Hitler, but only after a lot of hand-wringing. We could see it coming a mile off, but we only acted when we no longer had any choice, and by then it was too late.
    To make matters worse, most people living in Europe nowadays have never actually had to fight for the freedom they enjoy, and so I think we’ve forgotten its true value.
    And this is precisely why our politicians feel that they can trade it away so cheaply for the sake of their own miserable careers.
    So I say cultural sensitivity be damned. Some things are more important. Peaceful protest and free speech are not negotiable, and anyone who’s offended by that can damn well stay offended.
    Personal faith should stay personal. It has no place in other people’s lives.
    Centuries ago religion may have had a role to play in maintaining social order, but now it’s a threat to social order. It’s a threat to world peace, quite frankly, and I think its role should be seriously reassessed in all civilised countries.
    We need to