In his latest Contra Costa Timesop-ed, Diablo Valley College instructor Amer Araim joins the ranks of Middle East studies academics whose reaction to the recent Islamic terrorist attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo demonstrates that they neither understand nor support free speech when it comes to criticizing or parodying Islam:
When Salman Rushdie wrote his book "Satanic Verses," . . . I suggested that the Muslim community in Britain should initiate legal proceedings in British courts against Rushdie for defaming the family of Prophet Muhammad. . . . Many Muslims all over the world condemned the [January, 2015] terrorist attacks, but they were in pain at the continuous insults to the symbol of the religion by Charlie Hebdo and other media sources. . . . [T]he media could help by not agitating people through outrageous political or cultural publications. That will not diminish the freedom of the press, but it will ensure harmony in the world.