Shocked and appalled
Gunman kills Dutch film director
Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who made a controversial film about Islamic culture, has been stabbed and shot dead in Amsterdam, Dutch police say.
The film in question is submission, which Van Gogh made with Dutch MP, Ayaan Hirsi Ali - who has been under police protection since the film was aired - in order to highlight the violence against women in Islamic societies.
A couple of months ago, Hirsi Ali said of the reaction to the film:
I accept some people are offended, that’s legitimate, but in a democracy it is not legitimate to intimidate and threaten someone for expressing her views.
Which is still true today - if not more so.
But I’d go further. A democracy needs people like Theo van Gogh who are willing to challenge consensuses and raise issues that many people would rather ignore.
At the end of the day, without a bit of controversy, freedom of speech is a meaningless concept.
Tuesday 02 Nov 2004 | Paul | Censorship and Freedom of Speech
