It amazes us that in these times and in the liberal West a woman is going on trial for the crime of defaming a religion. One thing you probably could guess about the charges against her before you even read the synopsis below: The religion isn't Christianity.
Italian author and veteran journalist Oriana Fallaci goes on trial Monday, charged with defaming Islam in a 2004 book. Fallaci, who lives in New York, was not expected to attend the hearing in Bergamo, northern Italy.
Muslim activist Adel Smith filed a lawsuit against Fallaci, charging that some passages in her book, "The Strength of Reason," were offensive to Islam. Smith's lawyer cited a phrase from the book that refers to Islam as "a pool ... that never purifies."
Fallaci told The Associated Press last year that "I have expressed my opinion through the written word through my books, that is all."
Where are the staunch defenders of free speech and freedom of the press in Italy, or here, for that matter? If Fallaci were going on trial for having defamed the Catholic Church the media would be in full-throated dudgeon over the injustice of it all. As it is there's hardly a peep heard about this outrage beyond the conservative blogosphere and a few left-wing outriders like Christopher Hitchens and Nat Hentoff.
The dhimmitization of the West continues. In the global jihad to establish a world-wide caliphate the Islamists have already secured the surrender of most of the liberal/left simply by threatening them with death.