Self-censorship

The worst repercussions I can expect for writing something is to be sued for libel. Not so in Afghanistan.

See here.

The 23-year-old Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh allegedly added three paragraphs to a story which criticizes "the ignorance of the Prophet Muhammad on women’s rights," according to the NY Times, and distributed the story around school. He can appeal his death sentence, but even without the Taliban, Afghanistan clearly isn't a place for free speech.

So what about the United States? Could I say something like that here?

A Danish paper in 2005 ignited controversy across the Muslim world when they ran cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. The Wikipedia entry on the subject depicts the original cartoons. It's hard to believe mere cartoons resulted in embassies being set on fire, but that is the sensitivity of this issue.

I've seen various student and professional newspapers publish controversial items just to draw attention to themselves. I would never publish something just for the sake of creating controversy, but, conversely, would I shy away from publishing something for fear of the consequences?

I'd like to say no but I can't honestly say that is really the case. The religious fanaticism and consequences of publishing a negative depiction of Muhammad, even in America, can be great. Being a "fearless journalist" becomes a much more complex issue when dealing with the prospect of fanaticism. Would we be the ones putting our heads on the chopping block if we called Muhammad ignorant, or would fanatics lash out at others? Would we be responsible if that happened? What about all the moderate and liberal Muslims who would also be offended by such a reference?

Is defaming Muhammad the equivalent of screaming "Fire!" in a crowded theater?

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The Daily Titan isn't a real big fan of definition leads, but I can't help this one:
When one types "define:blog" into the Google search engine, you get a few results:
- Short for "Web log," a specialized site that allows an individual or group of individuals to share a running log of events and personal insights with online audiences. Blogs with political or current-events themes have grown in popularity and become "soap boxes" for instant mass-audience commentary.
www.pvt.com/oth/glossary.htm
- Web LOG is a journal kept on the Internet. This journal is often updated daily and contains all information that the person maintaining the BLOG (the blogger) wishes to share with the world. www.avatar.co.nz/resources/web-site-design-web-marketing-definitions-b.html
- Like an online dairy. This can be about and be used for anything at all, it can be used for news, reviews, products etc for a business, organisation etc. This is great as it helps the user stay in touch with the website with new and up to date information.
germworks.net/blog/2007/02/11/web-jargon-explained/
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