Religious Free Speech - Dead in England

Police arrested Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, who run the Bounty House Hotel in Liverpool, after a Muslim woman complained that she was offended by comments made to her in March. Because the legal case is ongoing the couple cannot comment publicly.

According to newspaper reports, the debate at the hotel involved discussion of whether Jesus was the son of God or just a minor prophet of Islam. Newspapers also reported the debate included comments that Mohammed was a warlord and Muslim dress for women was a form of bondage.

"Freedom of speech is something that is protected in England. But it is being eroded and there are cases of Christians now being told by police officers that they are not allowed to express their religious beliefs."
ponceleonsays...

It does seem bad, but there is a lot of information missing:

1. Did the Muslim guest initiate this "debate?"
2. If not, what exactly precipitated the discussion?
3. Was it a discussion, a debate, or an all-out argument?

I think it is going to be really hard to judge this one without more info. For example, if the Muslim woman initiated the conversation and was just unhappy with what the hotel owners believed, then yeah, this is bullshit.

However, if the hotel guest was minding her own business and the hotel owners decided that they needed to "educate" to her and try to convince her that Islam is "wrong" or some such crap, then I would say that they were skirting the lines of what free speech is.

westysays...

Well Its only a problem if as a business the hotel for example refused to serve the Muslims bassed on something that was not founded. in the same way that a hotel should get into a truble if it would not let kids or disabled people stay.

people should be alowed to say muhamid is a fucking retarded , or that juses is stupid , or that atheists are morons , I don't see why it matters what people say to each other. the only time its a problem is if sum one wont provide the bisiniess service because of say skin colour , religion , clothing , anny other random thing . only time a bisiness is in the right is if there is an obvouse impact to helth and safty or they cannot accommodate the person without a serous deficit to there business.

also when it comes to directly insulting people surly it would come down to which person was in the right from an objective stand point , in the case of an argument over religion , there is no evidence to support the Muslims claims /christains claims so it be like arguing something thats entiraly subjective so they r efectivly both in the wrong by default.

visionepsays...

I think free speech is only a problem if the person can't use punctuation or spell. Illiterate people should use advocates that can present for them; a lot like translators. That way the rest of us can get the point without being so distracted by the form.

choggiesays...

Its a great way to detect scams on the internet-Syntax and grammar is the best way to detect a Nigerian scam-
Pat Condell needs to don a cape and mask and play advocate fir all he similar cases in England-Civil Disobedience should get creative to combat such bullshit-

Nothing more fun than a religious debate; the Muslim wench who brought the charges forward should be made to suffer for her imaginary sand-god, court attendees aught disrupt the proceedings-The barristers should be boycotted who took the case, the accused should refuse to go to court, or pay any fines assessed-No other reasonable way to forgo similar travesties of a crippled and corrupt legal system-

The Dawkins Effect is backfiring, and it's the gullible and reactionary British atheists to blame in large part wouldn't ya say??? For all their banter, they forget what is more important than god/no god......basic human rights-

Send this Article to a Friend



Separate multiple emails with a comma (,); limit 5 recipients






Your email has been sent successfully!

Manage this Video in Your Playlists




notify when someone comments
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
  
Learn More