---by Micheal
Two men were arrested recently, in different countries, but for the same crime: speaking against a culturally accepted dogma.
The first "criminal" was Al-Harbi, a Saudi teacher. He was arrested and charged with discussing the Bible with his students, defending the Jews and "ridiculing Islam." Al-Harbi denies the charges, but is still in prison. Whether guilty or not, he is charged with not (sufficiently?) toeing the Islamic dogma line that Christians are infidels and Israel should be destroyed.
Is this an outrageous violation of a human right to express an opinion? Before you say yes, consider our second criminal.
David Irving, the controversial British "historian" was arrested in Vienna. His crime? Irving was charged with denying the Holocaust. Are you quietly thinking to yourself that this was a good thing? Jewish groups in several countries were voicing their approval.
Excuse me? It can be a crime to not accept history? Since when does history become dogma with legal penalties? If someone said that George Washington was a British sympathizer, or that the Texans actually won the Alamo, they should be imprisoned? It looks as if the Holocaust has moved beyond being historical facts, and has moved into the realm of sacred dogma -- with legal punishments.
If you catch yourself feeling any outrage that it sounds like I'm defending Irving, then you may have succumbed to history-as-sacred-dogma too. Just for the record, I think Irving is wrong, but his arrest worries me as much as Al-Harbi's.
When it becomes a state's job to enforce historical (or "scientific") views, then we're all in a heap of hot water.
Fox News Story on Saudi Teacher Imprisoned
Fox News Story on David Irving Arrested
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