Two Minutes Hate Against Bild

Yesterday afternoon we published a translation of an opinion piece by Nicolaus Fest from the German newspaper Bild. Mr. Fest put into writing his doubleplus ungood thoughts about Islam, and now he’s in big trouble: his own editor has repudiated him, and politicians have called for the paper to apologize to German Muslims.

My goodness! Based on the aversive reaction, you’d think he was Diana West writing about Harry Hopkins and FDR!

Below are excerpts from a Breitbart article about the brouhaha:

Germany’s Biggest Paper under Fire for Attacking Islam

Germany’s biggest newspaper was forced into a climb down after it criticised Islam’s “criminality,” “murderous contempt” and “honour killings.”

“I don’t believe in God, but at the same time Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism don’t bother me. Only Islam bothers me more and more,” wrote Nicolaus Fest, vice editor-in-chief of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an opinion piece published on Sunday, according to The Local.

“I’m bothered by the considerably disproportionate criminality of youths from Muslim backgrounds. I’m bothered by Islam’s murderous contempt for women and homosexuals. I’m bothered by forced marriages, ‘justices of the peace,’ ‘honour killings,’” he wrote.

These cultural manifestations were making Islam “a barrier to integration.”

He also called for more deliberate policies when dealing with claims for asylum and visa applications to Germany. According to RT.com, Fest concluded by saying: “I don’t need any imported racism and I don’t need anything else Islam stands for.”

The opinion piece attracted thousands of angry online comments and criticism from German politicians who called the article “racist.” Politicians such as the Green party’s Volker Beck demanded an apology from the newspaper to German Muslims, who currently make up 4.3 million (over five per cent) of the country’s population.

On Sunday evening, Bild‘s editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann wrote an online editorial rejecting Fest’s arguments because he had not drawn the line between Islam as a religion and the political beliefs of Islamism: “For Bild and Axel Springer [the newspaper group [that] owns Bild] there has been a clear, unshakeable dividing line between Islam as a world religion and the degrading ideology of Islamism.”

“That’s why in Bild and Axel Springer there is no room for generalized, depreciating comments against Islam and the people who believe in Allah. We don’t want such a debate along religious lines. We don’t want to lead it, take it up or conjure it. For they always end in disaster — history has shown that to us often enough.”

Hat tip: JLH.

9 thoughts on “Two Minutes Hate Against Bild

  1. ……mmmmm – got it I think

    Nazi Concentration camp guards and Soviet Gulag guards are really swell fellows, but Nazi and Soviet ideology are not so nice or is it vice versa? But wait – I really can’t criticize either because they are German and Russian and then I get into racism or something like that. So really both ideologies (NSDAP and Soviet Party), countries (Germany and Russia) and their people (Germans and Russians) are all beyond any type of criticism.

    So maybe I can get mad at penguins and prairie dogs.

  2. And avoiding the debate–bottling it up–doesn’t lead to disaster? September 30, 1938.

  3. 36. The Special Rapporteur has consistently underlined the importance of the right
    to freedom of opinion and expression, not only as a right that should be guaranteed
    to all, including individuals belonging to marginalized groups, but also as a means
    to claim and enjoy all other rights. Indeed, it is a fundamental right that safeguards
    the exercise of all other rights and is a critical foundation of democracy, which
    depends on the free flow of diverse sources of information and ideas. The
    Constitution of UNESCO also affirms that peace can be promoted by facilitating the
    free flow of ideas and understanding among peoples of the world. Moreover,
    freedom of expression is essential to creating an environment conducive to critical
    discussions of religious and racial issues and also to promoting understanding and
    tolerance by deconstructing negative stereotypes. As the Special Rapporteur has
    previously emphasized, for the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
    to be fully realized, robust examination and criticism of religious doctrines and practices — even in a harsh manner — must also be allowed.

    Frank La Rue, Promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion
    and expression
    , UN General Assembly, document A/67/357, 7th September 2012.

  4. “That’s why in Bild and Axel Springer there is no room for generalized, depreciating comments against Islam and the people who believe in Allah. We don’t want such a debate along religious lines. We don’t want to lead it, take it up or conjure it. For they always end in disaster — history has shown that to us often enough.”

    WHEN exactly has a debate “along religious lines” concerning Islam ended in disaster? Care to mention, Mr Diekmann?

    Did it end in disaster at the Battle of Vienna in 1683?
    Did it end in disaster at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816?
    Did it end in disaster during Britain’s war against the Sudanese Mahdi, in 1898?

    And how exactly is the new PC-compliant “it’s not Islam, it’s a small minority of Islamists” line faring these days? Well, with the likes of ISIS, Boko Haram and Hamas in the ascendancy, and Islamic “extremist” movements going strong in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Russia, the policy of “don’t mention JIM” is surely reaping its fruit like never before, eh?

    • Did it end in disaster in Malta in 1565? Disaster for the Muslims perhaps but not for the Christians – this was (arguably) the most important battle between Christians and Muslims. If the Muslims had been victorious they would have controlled the Mediterranean and could have gone on to control Europe. This is an inspiring tale – 600 Knights of St John (Hospitallers) against 40,000 Muslims, and the Muslims departed with their tales between their legs, the few that were left that is!

  5. one wonders what mosques the politicians who are calling for the repudiation of the op/ed piece attend. They sound as the local islami do in their objections.

  6. The rule “Thou shalt not adversely criticise islam” is being enforced as stringently as ever while politicians across the EU are looking more prosperous than ever as are newspaper proprietors and media barons. Any connection?

  7. Germans of all people should know not to bow down to a militiarised ideology.

    Islam has been a militia since the very early 7th century (source all of history)

    You can’t “Ungoodthink” all of history.

    Germans: Grow up and deal with your problem.

  8. This is a life and death situation. Life for the Islamic plague carriers and death for the enablers – that’s us.

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