Finland: Publisher says "technical error" led to omission of part of book critical of Islam
Finland is the least politically correct nation I know of. It has less Muslim immigrants than almost any other Western European nation. Yet even here, the translator of Islam-critical literature hides his real name in fear. The fear is not unfounded. The Norwegian publisher of Salman Rushdie's book "Satanic Verses" was shot and almost killed. This happened more than a decade ago, when the number of Muslims in Norway probably didn't much exceed one - 1 - percent of the population. When such a tiny number of Muslims can prove lethal for freedom of speech, I wonder why so many people still believe that Islam can function in a democratic society:Publisher says "technical error" led to omission of part of book critical of Islam
The Finnish translation of a controversial book by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born a Somali-born member of the Dutch Parliament, has a passage missing, in which the writer sharply criticises the founder of Islam - the Prophet Mohammed. Head of publishing at the company’s non-fiction department, was unaware of the missing passage when Helsingin Sanomat contacted him. He said that he is certain that Otava did not deliberately order the cut. "It is interesting. Mysterious", he admits. However, he insists that no decision was made to cut the passage, and that its omission must have been a "technical error". For safety reasons Otava omitted the name of the Finnish translator from the book. Translators’ names have been left out of other versions as well. The book, published under the Finnish name Neitsythäkki ("Virgin Cage"), is not based on a single original title. It has been translated from Dutch-language articles that have appeared in the books De zoontjesfabriek ("The Boy Factory"), and De Maagdenkooi ("The Virgin Cage"). In addition, the Finnish version contains Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s script for the short film Submission, which was directed by Theo van Gogh, who was later murdered by a Moroccan-born radical Muslim. Hirsi Ali’s Paris-based agent did not know that the Finnish version did not contain the book’s most widely-quoted passage, in which she said that by Western standards, Mohammed was a "pervert and a tyrant" who opposed freedom of speech. She also says that Mohammed is the model for all Muslim men to follow, and suggests that this may be the reason why many Muslim men are violent.
posted by Unknown @ 1:44 PM
3 Comments:
Finland, Europe, 2005. Sad but true.
If you look at how much our freedoms have eroded since 9/11, you see what radical Islam has done to our world. What is strange is the leadership of many countries seem to have a disconnect from what is going on. The people are aware, but the governments seem oblivious to the continued threat of unabated immigration of Islamists into their countries. Perhaps part of this is the fear of reprisal, appeasing the crocodile in the hope that you will be eaten last. This isn't good leadership, and it doesn't work.
What is even worse is that the Finnish translator's name was withheld for safety reasons. To my surprise, few people seem to have understood the implications of this. Even with a minuscule Muslim population, one risks one's life when getting involved with something that might upset the Muslims. This very fact alone should wake people and politicians up to the deadly threat Islam and Muslims are. No amount of talk about the "real, peaceful face of Islam" will change that.
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