(France) When so called esteemed Islamic speakers are invited to speak in the West and somebody exposes the bigotry they promote, the faithful go into full defence mode, attacking anybody in sight as an Islamophode, that whatever was said was taken out of context, and that in the promotion of free speech this individual should be allowed to speak, and that by allowing this person to speak, then and only then can we fully debate the issue at hand.
But what happens when an Arab writer is asked to visit Israel to speak?
Well, Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was presented with an French award on Thursday, however, because he visited Israel in May, they withheld the €15,000 prize money as Hamas objected to his visit by calling his participation “an act of treason against the Palestinian people.”
Can somebody please explain how a non-Palestinian visiting Israel can be classed as 'treason'?
Commenting on the decision to withdraw the prize money, laureate Sansal said it was “completely unacceptable,” adding that Arab countries – and his home country, Algeria, in particular – had “shut themselves in a prison of intolerance. Sansal added that in order to truly help the Palestinians, individuals like himself should be able to visit Israel freely. “Yes, there are complicated relations with Israel, but we are not at war with them,” he said.
Strange how while the Islamic world has no problem in defending true bigots in speaking their mind, they shout foul play when a peaceful person actually does it for real.
But what happens when an Arab writer is asked to visit Israel to speak?
Well, Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was presented with an French award on Thursday, however, because he visited Israel in May, they withheld the €15,000 prize money as Hamas objected to his visit by calling his participation “an act of treason against the Palestinian people.”
Can somebody please explain how a non-Palestinian visiting Israel can be classed as 'treason'?
Commenting on the decision to withdraw the prize money, laureate Sansal said it was “completely unacceptable,” adding that Arab countries – and his home country, Algeria, in particular – had “shut themselves in a prison of intolerance. Sansal added that in order to truly help the Palestinians, individuals like himself should be able to visit Israel freely. “Yes, there are complicated relations with Israel, but we are not at war with them,” he said.
Strange how while the Islamic world has no problem in defending true bigots in speaking their mind, they shout foul play when a peaceful person actually does it for real.
